Kids and Faith

As parents we learn to never take on a conflict with our children unless we are sure we're going to win. Unless we're willing to follow through with the punishment or other measures the child needs for training on a certain issue, then we avoid the conflict; otherwise we might be "training" our children that they can get away with inappropriate behavior.
As a young parent I tended to apply the same principle to faith, but I now think that was a mistake. Usually, if I didn't think there was a strong chance that a payer would be answered "yes", I kept my prayer requests private and didn't involve the kids. In a few cases even prayers I fully expected to get a "yes" ended in disappointment and I worried it would hurt my children's faith, but it hasn't.
When discussing discouragement and a seemingly unanswered prayer with my now much older 17 year old son, he said "You're looking at it wrong, God isn't some prayer vending machine where you always get what you asked for." I see that faith is strong in all three of my children; they often turn immediately to prayer in the face of dangers and perplexities. I now wish that I had included the kids more often when they were younger in our family's prayer requests. I think it would have given them an even richer prayer life experience, and more data points in which they could see that God often allows the events of life to take their course, even with prayer, but finds a way to take care of us in other ways that make everything okay, even if He didn't intervene in the way we'd expected or hoped.
A sick cousin, Taylor, who dies and is not healed, and yet maybe got an extension on her life and had a greater bonding and parental relationship than most kids get in a lifetime. A car wreck that happens even though special attention was put on prayer for safety for that trip, and yet no one was seriously hurt in the head-on collision.
Not to say that God doesn't directly intervene and provide the miracle we would have wanted, but more often in my experience God finds a way to make things work out anyway. And I think now that those initial disappointments followed by discoveries of divine assistance is not something we should protect our children from, but rather an important part of developing their young faith.
There is a value in putting our hopes in the Lord, regardless of the outcome, and teaching our children to put their hopes in the Lord will be a strength to them their entire lives.

One hundred percent

Giving 100%, nothing held back, will open the floodgates of blessings from heaven. So many Christians do the equivalent of dipping their toe in the water but don't just jump in and go for it. They fully intend to "someday" but convince themselves that they are doing pretty good by choosing one thing to work on, and use that one thing as a distraction from having to feel guilty about whatever it is that they are holding back.

A 100%-er is someone who has no sin they are unwilling to give up. A 100%-er is someone who gives their whole heart to God, imperfections and all, nothing held back. They say:

"God I give you my life. Wherever you may lead I give you full reign of the events of my life. I give you my abilities, my hopes, my past present and my future. I give you my health, my family, my finances, my fears. I give you my sins and weaknesses, my strengths and talents. I give you all who have wronged me and forgive them. I give you all that I have ever done wrong and ask forgiveness. I give you my possessions and means, my ideas and imagination. Whatever is your will in my life, I trust you with it."

It is so liberating to have nothing held back, to know that although you have a road yet to travel, that as of right now you are "right" with God, and knowing that no matter how bad things get, you can trust that God will guide your path so that you can have a worry-free life regardless of your circumstances. God is the same God who blessed Job and made him very wealthy. The same God who gave Solomon all his famous riches. God will probably not make you wealthy in a monetary sense, but he will take care of you so that you will lack nothing, and make you wealthy in the abiding presence of the holy spirit.

Another wonderful thing about being a 100%-er. You get to participate in the miracles of God. People love to hear about miracles and God's intervention. By becoming a 100%-er you'll be joining His inner circle, and some pretty amazing things happen there. Not all the time, not instantly, but you will be where the "action" is, and it can be very fulfilling to be in God's inner circle. Just remember that Paul prayed three times asking God about his "thorn in the flesh" which the devil was pestering Paul about. Finally the third time God gave him an answer. The miraculous and direct answers from God will still be the exception, and may never become commonplace, but if you're going to be a Christian, being a 100%-er is definitely the place to be.

If you are part of a church group, a sign of a 100%-er is that they will be an active worker and contributor, not just another person sitting in the audience.

Catching the Sin Bug

When we hear about how we have a sinful nature and how we can't be good, it's easy to feel helpless and wonder, "so why even try?" But let's consider an analogy to a very similar weakness we have: the common cold.

Let's think about this - it's almost cliche' to refer to "finding the cure for the common cold". Truth is, with a normal immune system we always get over it, thus it's "cured", but the old cliche' is referring to wiping out the common cold altogether so that we never catch it again. 

Well, that cure has not been found (and as a side note, our body's continual battle with a potential cold keeps us stronger, so that we're actually better off with colds than if they didn't exist. It's also a way to make us slow down once in a while when we've overworked ourselves to a weakened state.) 

And so far, neither has the cure for sin. But just like we can be healthy and without a cold, so we can be sin-free. Lest someone is inclined to disagree, think about it - can you keep from sinning for a while, say while attending church or while in prayer? Sure you can. And you can go even longer than that. You don't have to feel helplessly addicted to sin, and you can be sin-free for periods of time. Just as everyone will get a cold again some time, so we will all sin again sometime. 

But just as we can take measures to protect against a cold, so also we can take steps to avoid sin. Funny thing is, some of the steps ARE EXACTLY THE SAME. You are much more likely to sin in a weakened state, such as lack of sleep, too much sugar, overworked to exhaustion, or exposure to those already sick (peer pressure to sin). 

We can prioritize rest, maintain a healthy diet, and surround ourselves with people who uplift and encourage us. We can choose to live a life that honors God and pursue righteousness even though we'll sometimes need a little help. 

A bigger gift than we sometimes realize

Early in my Christian experience I used to wonder innocently "What did Jesus really give up, by dying on the cross?" He was raised back to life in three days, after all. Well, we also know that if we give our life as a Christian that we will be ressurected too. But we don't want to die, do we? Especially not painfully. Leaving hurt ones behind and missing out on the life we'd planned, even though we know a better life awaits us. But even that requires faith. "What if something goes wrong?" "What if we don't make it?" Jesus had to deal with these same issues, and the stakes were very very high, the life of God's own son at risk. There are other things Jesus may have given up by assuming humanity, but much of that we don't know till Jesus comes again and we get to ask all those questions.

But God gave up something we don't always think about, when he let Jesus be a sacrifice for our sins.

Think of what Jesus accomplished in three short years of His ministry. Can you imagine what another 30 years could have accomplished to benefit mankind?

I can just see God watching approvingly as His Son "finally got it right"; as the truth about God was revealed and Jesus lived his life as a perfect example of love, kindness and forgiveness.

What an opportunity for God! Jesus wept when Isreal would not accept him. Imagine how Jesus felt too, about all that he could accomplish for good.

Even though it was Christ's mission to come and be a sacrifice for our sins, it was also his mission to minister to mankind, and it was likely a very hard choice to let Jesus be sacrificed so soon, and so harshly. It is not so different from Isaac - a young life so perfect and full of promise. We get a glimpse of this when Jesus prayed to the Father: "if there be another way..."

So what does all that mean? To me, just that the price was great, and that I need to keep aware and respect the great price given. Then my awareness and awe will turn to a life in which I try to honor that - and make sure that so great a price is not wasted. Either on me or for anyone else I am able to help along the way.

Freedom through giving

To keep the benefits of giving, we have to stay in the realm of truly giving, rather than falling into the trap of "just doing our obligations". The quickest way to get out from under an obligation is to go the second mile. I think that this was the gift Jesus was giving the Jews when He gave the instructions to give their cloak also or to go the second mile in the sermon on the mount. By going two miles, both miles became a gift, so that neither mile was by obligation. Jesus set the Jews free of many oppressive obligations, and to us now if we will listen to that same advice.

I think most people would hear that teaching and paraphrase it in their minds to say "don't just do what you ought, do even beyond that" as a calling to a higher standard, but I think it was more than that, I think He was giving them a tool to lessen the burden of the Roman oppression they were under.

You know how when you were just about to do some task, unasked, and you imagine how everyone will be pleased when they see you've done it. But then someone asks you to do it, thereby stealing your good deed and turning it into an obligation. Well, by using Jesus' method you can take it back by simply going it one better. Load the laundry to the dryer and take out the trash. How cool is that?

Seek ye first the kingdom of God

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God,and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt 6:33 --- Most people have heard this verse, and usually it is given in the context of "Put your attention on the important goals, and these smaller day-to-day issues will sort themselves out" Or some similar way of looking at it.

In my personal life I am hoping to get my now-empty house sold, and rescue my finances.

Today in church our pastor related his recent doctor visit which revealed that his choice of lifestyle and healthy diet is why he is alive today. He has a hereditary cholesterol condition that if had been combined with ordinary diet and lifestyle, he'd be dead. So for him, "seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" was not merely a better choice to focus attention than other worldly pursuits, it is why he is still alive at all!

Which made me consider my own situation. Sometimes there may be a direct cause-effect such as with the pastor's health. Other times there may be a cause and effect, with another factor at work: Remember the Lord's prayer? It asks in part "Lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from evil".

Assuming God answers our request, there may be lessons we need to learn in order to move on. I need to learn to say "No" to my kids when they ask for things, especially when I see it is from a dissatisfaction in life and they are asking for things as their own personal shopping "fix", a temporary feel-good that invariably doesn't even last all the way home from the store. I probably need to be more careful with money for what I spend on myself as well. Those small Items add up to big money. In hindsight, would I forgo a couple months of fast food in exchange for a laptop? all it takes is discipline.

So it comes down to this: If I seek first the kingdom of God, and learn the lessons that God is waiting for me to learn, then the rest "shall be added unto me". Perhaps the things I am seeking first are set as a learning opportunity, by changing my focus those things will all come together.

Fighting the enemy on our shore or theirs

We struggle with sin, yet we invite the enemy to our own turf before we finally decide to battle. Far easier to fight the battle on a foreign shore than right at home.

What am I talking about? Fantasies. We play out our temptations in our minds be it revenge fantasies, sexual fantasies, greed fantasies, or just mean-spirited prideful "I sure showed them" fantasies that we fully indulge and allow to play out in our minds.

Whata perfectly safe way to have all the sin we like, right? No one gets hurt and we can do whatever we please without repercussion. Not so. Soon enough, the real thing comes knocking, and we are unprepared, having given in to the temptations many times over in our minds.

So if you're serious about being in that number "blessed are they who overcome", consider taking the battle to the foreign turf, where not so much is at risk, and a lost battle does not carry the same casualty counts as a home turf battle, and truthfully, the battle is more easily won.

But we love our fantasies, don't we? Well, you've been there, done that. Get a new fantasy: a life where Christ reigns supreme in our minds and hearts 24/7. Because there is not a single minute of a single day that we don't need Him. Think of it - as life's daily elements come your way, what if you were not so often "on the outs" with God, always needing to apologize before you felt you could ask for help and advice? What if you were friends, sharing the day as it came along? That is such a better place to live, because life doesn't leave you alone, and there is always something we need His help with. If you'reused to going without you are missing out on much more than whatever you're still clinging to instead. Just FYI.