Matthew 5:43-45; Romans 13:1-6; KJV; Respect those in authority. Love even those whom you consider your enemies.

God Has Blessed Us

1 John 3:1-3 KJV; All Saints Sunday; God has blessed us by forgiving our sins through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Care For The Children

Luke 11:9-13 KJV; Ask for the Holy Spirit that you might by the power of God care for and love the children as God cares for you.

He Came To Redeem Us

Luke 2:22-40 KJV; 1^st Sunday after Christmas; He came to redeem the world.

God Has Mercy

Psalm 123 KJV; 7th Sunday after Pentecost; God has mercy upon His children.

Teach The Children To Know The Lord

Matthew 18:1-7 KJV; 15th Sunday after Pentecost; We cause offense to the children by not teaching them of the Lord.

Joy

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 

                                                                                     (3 John 1:4 KJV)

Children are a great blessing. They bring with them much joy. But, there is no greater joy for a Christian parent than to know that their children and grandchildren walk in the way of truth. Jesus is the truth. 

At his last meal with his disciples Jesus let his disciples know that he would be leaving this world; that they should not worry as one day they (and we) would join him in our Father's house.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

                                                                                  (John 14:2-7)

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Listen to him; follow him, trust him for by faith in him, who is the truth and the way, we are know the Father and live eternally in His presence.

Joy for Christians parents comes in know that their children live with hearts of peace and genuine joy. Genuine joy comes with knowing and living in the presence of God for all of eternity; not just for life after death to this world; but, for today. 

Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 

                                                                                   (Psalm 16:1,11)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Teach The Children To Praise Him

I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.

Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.

I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.

(Psalm 145:1-5 KJV)

One of my pet peeves is hearing Christians complain that the world has corrupted their children. The institutions (particularly public schools) have turned them away from God. It makes me a bit irritable when I hear that the state has kicked God out of school when it became illegal to pray in school. First of all: it is not illegal to pray in schools. It is illegal to force a child to pray in school. It is illegal to mandate that a teacher lead your children in prayer. Think about it for a half a minute! Do you really want someone who is not a Christian leading your children in prayer? What will they be teaching them with the prayers. Remember, Christianity is not the only religion whose people pray. 

It is not illegal for our children to pray in school. If God seems to be absent from the schools it is not the state's fault. If our children do not pray wherever they may be, it is the church's and the parent's fault. No one can stop our children from bowing their heads and praying before a test. No one can stop them from giving thanks and praise to God for the lunch that is provided for them. But, it is not the state's job to teach them to do this. It is ours as the church. It is ours as parents and grandparents; as family members and friends.

I do not agree with many things the public schools now teach our youth. Secular society has taught them many things that we would prefer that they had not learned as it can be most damaging to them and to future generations. As for our young children, we do need to be cautious about what kind of environment we are allowing them to engage in. But, when it comes to giving thanks and praise to God, it is our job, as Christians, to teach them that and not the state's; not our public school systems.  Psalm 145 is a reminder of our privilege and responsibility to teach the generations that come after us: "One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."

Having served as a pastor responsible for previewing Sunday School material for over twenty years, I found that much of the material does not teach our youth about Jesus or about being in relationship with God our Father because of what Jesus has done for us. Many never even consider introducing them to the Holy Spirit! Many of these programs do not teach our faith as much as it teaches our youth how to be good citizens. My contention is that if our youth come to know Jesus, they will also be good citizens, not because they are so good; but, because the Spirit of Christ abides them is. 

I have also found that many within our congregations assess young people to be little more than irritants at worship. Some of these servant/leaders end up on committees and councils that spend more time trying to regulate youthful behaviors rather than teaching the next generation why God is to be praised.

If the generations after us do not praise God, it is no one's fault but our own. Martin Luther recognized this problem in his day. He wrote the Small Catechism as an aid for heads of households to teach their families the very basics of our faith. Sadly, the Small Catechism is used very rarely in the home today. I am not sure if it is even prevalent in the church any longer.

May God remind and inspire us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to teach our children of the awesome works of God that God might be praised by them. Maybe it would help if we spent a little more time praising Him in their presence.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Blessed Are They...

Matthew 5:1-12 KJV

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

+++

Blessed are the merciful! Blessed are the peacemakers!

May God's grace, mercy, and peace be with you all in these tumultuous times!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

We Are One

 

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

                                                                                  (Gal 3:26-28 KJV)

Dress down and go shopping in an exclusive store and you will find, in many  cases, eyes watching you as you wander around the shop. The way that we dress and carry ourselves often determines whether we will be targeted as a desirable or an undesirable.

Unfortunately, having served as a pastor for over twenty years, I have witnessed this occurring among some members within some congregations as well. Discrimination against brothers and sisters in Christ; discrimination against anyone is an ugly sinful attribute. 

God does not desire that we should pick and choose who is worthy. He cared enough for all of His creation to send His only begotten Son to die for all people. He loves humankind enough to sacrifice His Son that we might be reconciled to Him and to one another in the Body of Christ. 

May God help us to remember that by faith we are all children of God and are one in Christ Jesus.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Then There Were Five

How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.

For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me.

Psalm 36:7-11 KJV

Two weeks ago, the mama duck in the photo was swimming around with six ducklings. They were sleeping on the bank about one hundred yards from the house. Last week, I woke up and mama and her brood of now five ducklings were next to my back porch. The babies were sleeping. Mama was standing on the bank of the river standing guard, watching over the water. For what she watching, I am not sure. Maybe, she was watching for predators. Maybe, she was looking for her sixth baby. Maybe, she was doing both. I thought that sixth baby must have become some predator's lunch. However, later that day while mama and what was left of her brood were swimming in front of the house, I could see a lone duckling hiding in the weeds downstream. It struck me that this lone duck may have decided to be independent and left the brood like many young people who are not prepared to strike out on their own. I have not seen this little duckling since that day. Mama duck is still on vigilant alert chasing after the rest of the brood when they get too far from her; watching out over the water for predators and 8most probably her lost baby.

Children do tend to think that they can handle anything adults can handle. A few rare teen-agers may be able to. But, most do not have the life experience to face the world alone without ending up in a major crisis or danger. This world has predators just waiting for the wandering child. Most parents try to protect their children as much as they can. But, there are some children who will reject that protective eye and leave too early, anyway.

God, our Father, wants to protect us as well. He wants to protect us from ourselves and our willful ways. Sadly, we often wander and lose ourselves. Some, to deadly ends.

Do not let the foot of pride come against you, and let not the hand of the wicked remove you from the presence of our Father. Put your trust in the Lord. In His lovingkindness, He desires to shelter you under His wings. Stay there and do not stray. Stay where the light shines and darkness will not overtake you. 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Good Gifts for Children

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:13 KJV)

Not every parent gives good gifts to their children. There are those parents who are so self-absorbed that their children are neglected and/or abused in order to satisfy their own egos; their own desires. Years ago I was doing substance abuse assessments on new intakes at a youth correctional facility. One young man told me how his uncle who was his guardian beat him with an electric cord when he didn't live up to his uncle's expectation. I asked for an example of what would get him a beating. This teen was expected to keep the house clean. On his knees, he used a scrub brush and rags to clean the floors. Of course, this is not unheard of. Many of us still do this. However, if his uncle found the job to be unsatisfactory, the boy would bare his back and the uncle would beat him with an electric cord. I asked to see his back.  His dark skin was covered in stark white and fresh pink scars; too many scars to even count. I cannot comprehend how anyone could hurt anyone like this. I do not recall why this child was in the correctional facility. However, the atrocities that were committed against him by someone who should have been caring for him are burned into my mind.

Not all parents or guardians know how to give good gifts to their children. But, it is not so with our heavenly Father. Whether we live up to all of the standards the world would set for us; our Father in heaven loves us and cares for us.  Every now and then I cannot help but give thanks in wonder at why He should bless me so richly. 

Let us give thanks to God for our life and our breath and for His loving presence with us always. May He also put a spirit of unconditional love into the hearts of all who are in positions to care for children. And, we all are!

God's Peace - Pr. J

The God of Power and Glory

Thine, O Lord is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. (1 Chron 29:11 KJV)

So, your life seems totally messed up? The whole world is against you! Everything bad that happens is someone else's fault. If so, just maybe it's because you are worshiping a false god. I know, you are a Christian. The reality is many Christians don't really comprehend what it means to follow Christ. It means he comes first. He comes first before us. He comes before our personal desires that actually go against the will of God.

God is the greatness, the power, and the glory! When we put anyone or anything else before him we are deluding ourselves and setting ourselves up for a fall. We are short-changing ourselves and setting ourselves up to live in a very dark place. 

May the light of Christ shine in and through all of His children that He might be exalted in all of the earth.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Grateful For His Mercy

"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children; To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." (Psalm 103:17-18 KJV)

If we are grateful for His mercy, we will listen to Him. We will strive to do His will. We all fall short; but, we try because "We love him, because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

May all of God's children honor Him by following in the way He has shown us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Where Have All The Children Gone?

Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.

As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.

Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.. 

                                                                     (Psalm 127:3-5 KJV)

It is no secret that many congregations from some of the older mainline denominations are bereft of children. Young families are seen mostly at various rites of passage such as baptisms, first communions, affirmations or confirmations of baptism. It can make one wonder: "where have all the children gone?" They haven't gone any place. They are staying home.

Recently, I moved to a more rural area of Florida and yesterday I happened to get stuck behind a school bus on the way home. What joy! I purposely did not turn off and take another route home; but, followed the bus. It gave me hope. It gave me joy to see so many young people get off of the bus. Parents were waiting for their children to either walk or drive them home. The little children were excited to see them. 

What a blessing from the Lord, these little children are. Welcome them and their families into your sanctuary that you too might know the joy of their presence. Help them to grow in the way that our Lord Jesus would have them go. I am totally convinced that it takes a whole village to raise a child. Be that village. Children are not extinct. Sometimes, we just fail to take the time to see them; to be with them; and to be there for them.

God's Peace - Pr. J