Bible Living - info

22/12/2023

Many times at Christmas our heart and mind is turned to things that are more important. Christ, relationships, family and others.
We stop at the beginning of the new year to try to prioritize our life a little bit better. The Bible calls us to redeem the time and set our affections on things above.
Make sure that in January you have the right focus. It is too easy to go back to doing things the same way and hope for different results. If you need to refocus, refocus and keep the right focus.

12/10/2023

Would all of your children be viewed by the prophet as king material?

Psalm 127:5 (JPCS Ps 89-150): Jesse was such a man; imagine having a son like David. Happy, happy was Jesse, down there on the farm, when the prophet Samuel appeared with the news that Israel’s next king was to be chosen from among Jesse’s sons. “Well,” Jesse might have said, “you will have plenty to choose from.” And what a handsome, strapping, impressive group of sons he was able to parade before the prophet. As each one, big, burly, and commanding, stood before the prophet he said: “Surely this is the one.” As far as Samuel was concerned, any one of Jesse’s sons, humanly speaking, was suited to be a prince of Judah.

29/08/2023

So many Christian families are losing their kids to the world. God want us to teach the next generation to follow Him. Excited to be a part of this event Temple Baptist Church of West Cobb So glad to be in a family where my brothers and sisters are serving God. I encourage you to join us or watch the live stream.

14/07/2023

10/06/2023

Here are some key biblical things needed to get to 23 years of marriage. I am sure many more could be added, but not doing these can break a marriage.

23 years of marriage

1. Takes commitment. Commitment helps you not quit in the hard times. Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:6
2. Takes saying no to sin. The temptation will come along stay faithful in mind as well as the body. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, “Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28
3. Takes walking in the Spirit. Walking in the Spirit fixes bad days. You don’t want to be yourself you want to be walking in the Spirit “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Galatians 5:22-25
4. Takes hard conversations. Somethings require holding each other accountable and talking through issues. “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4
5. Takes forgiveness… “And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.” Luke 17:3-4
6. Takes growing in love. Love is action. When you focus on growing yourself and taking action to show love your emotions will follow. “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
7. Takes giving yourself physically “Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.” 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
8. Takes putting no one or anything before your spouse except for Christ but making sure your put Christ first “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:17-18
9. Takes leaving and cleaving “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
10. Takes getting love at it source. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” 1 John 4:8
11. Takes realizing it is not your job to “fix” your spouse. That is God’s job. You can only “fix” yourself.

23/05/2023

When you stay close to daddy you get special treatment. Are you staying close to your Heavenly Father?

07/04/2023

I don't bring my kids to church, so my children grow up right. I don't take my children to church so my pastor can fix them. I don't take my children to church because they need activities. I don't take my children to church so they can be friends with people their age. I don’t take my children to church because I want a break. I don’t take my children to church to get a free meal.
I bring my children to church because Jesus gave Himself for the church! My children have trusted Christ and need to know how much Jesus cared for the church. “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:23-27 Christ gave Himself for the church. The church is the bride of Christ. If Christ thought the church was so important that He would give Himself for it and make it His bride why would I not think it is crucial in my own life or the life of my children? Why would I put something else before what Christ died for?
I bring my children to church because I want to be an obedient Christian. I am commanded not to forsake “the assembling” of other Christians and they are commanded to also.
Part of the job of Christians is to provoke one another to do things that are right. Hebrews tells us, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25 I want my children to stay faithful to God when they leave my home. I want them to grow up to love and serve God. I want them to be provoked to be the Christian that brings honor and glory to the name of Christ. They need the church Just like I need the church. I bring my children to church because I want them to be provoked to love and good works. I want my children to live the Word of God. I want them to show their good works so that the Father can be glorified. The church is the place where that is taught and preached. The church is where they see other Christians trying to live out the Word of God in their own life, where other Christians can hold my children accountable for following the Word of God.
I bring my children to church because “faith cometh by hearing” “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 I want their faith and my faith to grow. In the right church they will hear the preaching of the word of God regularly and be challenged by the Spirit of God through the Man of God to live a life pleasing to God. I want them to have their own personal relationship with God.
I bring my children to church because I want them to be edified. The Bible says “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” Ephesians 4:11-12 as a dad I should be helping to edify my children. If the only place they hear God's word is at church, they will likely turn away from it. However, God gave the church to help them grow as Christians. He gave me to them as a parent, but He also gave me help through the church. By missing out on the church, they are missing out on a core part of growing as a Christian and being edified in their Christian life.
I bring my children to church so they can serve God. “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Psalms 84:10 “But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.” Psalms 52:8, both the doorkeeper and an olive tree are a blessing to others. I don't want my children to just go to church to sit. I do want them to sit under the preaching of the Word of God, and the Man of God. But I want them to serve! Whether it is playing an instrument, singing in the choir, moving chairs, cleaning the bathroom, straightening up envelopes, or opening a door. They need to be a blessing to the others that come to the House of God.

I bring my children to church because I need the same things they do. Just because I am older or have been saved longer doesn’t mean that I don’t need to be edified, provoked, obedient, or serving. I want them to see that their dad loves God and wants to please God with all of his heart. “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.” Proverbs 23:26. I want my children to see the church is a vital part of my life and should be of theirs also. If they have an activity where they get to have fun or a free meal, those are just additional benefits. They are not why I bring my children to church.

06/04/2023

This is a key reason we have all the crime in our country.

23/02/2023

“God’s reply to Jeremiah, however, wasn’t what he expected (12: 5–6). God’s focus was not on the wicked; it was on His servant Jeremiah. As most of us do when we’re suffering, Jeremiah was asking, “How can I get out of this?” But he should have been asking, “What can I get out of this?” God’s servants don’t live by explanations; they live by promises. Understanding explanations may satisfy our curiosity and make us smarter people, but laying hold of God’s promises will build our character and make us better servants.”

—Warren W. Wiersbe

23/02/2023

“There’s no growth without challenge, and there’s no challenge without change.”
Warren W. Wiersbe

20/01/2023

About the Bible “If you don’t practice, don’t proclaim it. Walk in its light, bow to its authority, cling to its integrity, obey every precept, feed on its treasure, and hide it in your heart.” -J. Edwin Hartill

04/01/2023

The Lord used two illustrations to explain how Christians are to be as light: a lamp and a city. The city illustrates our impact on the great outdoors; the lamp illustrates our influence on what goes on indoors. The lamp illustrates our individual testimony. The city, lit up at night by all the individual candles shining in Christian homes, indicates corporate testimony, the aggregate of all the little individual candles.

13/12/2022

Marriage series on SoundCloud https://on.soundcloud.com/Nmw2V
Forgiveness, Trials, Conflict

Listen to Are We There Yet by Matthew Hon on

10/11/2022

This is part 1 of a lesson on Forgiveness. Part of a series on marriage called "Are We There Yet"

Traveling Light - Forgiveness - Part 1

29/10/2022

"Justice does not demand that all should receive the same privileges, and perform the same duties, but that there should be fairness in the distribution."

H. D. M. Spence

25/10/2022

Reading about hypocrisy today. It’s pretty interesting as we live in a day and get closer to the Lord’s return.

5272. ὑπόκρισις hupókrisis; gen. hupokríseōs, fem. noun from hupokrínomai (5271), to pretend. Hypocrisy, dissimulation (Matt. 23:28; Mark 12:15; Luke 12:1; Gal. 2:13; 1 Tim. 4:2; 1 Pet. 2:1).
The noun hupókrisis was generally used for flattery or evil deception. Hypocrisy is a thing God cannot tolerate (Job 22:16), and which He is continually exposing (Job 5:13). Idolatry is a form of hypocrisy which keeps a man from being perfect, i.e., wholehearted, with the Lord his God (Deut. 18:13).
In the NT and especially in the synoptics, few sins are so directly denounced as hypocrisy. In John’s Gospel it is equated with pseúdos (5579), falsehood, lying, which is equally condemned. Our Lord presents this evil as something hidden that one day will be made manifest, a sin which glories in misleading another by smooth flatteries (Matt. 22:16). The religious hypocrites of Jesus’ day went about in long robes seeking to be reverenced by public salutations, taking honor for granted and cloaking oppressive avarice with long prayers (Mark 12:38–40). Hypocrisy cleanses the outside of the cup and platter while leaving them full of extortion and wickedness. It makes men as hidden tombs, white and shining without but foul within (Luke 11:44).
Hypocrisy is a sin which is exposed by our Lord as no other because it corrupts the conscience averting holiness of life. It substitutes the ceremonial and formal for the personal and practical (Matt. 15:6). It uses ecclesiastical rule as a substitute for judgment and the love of God (Luke 11:42). It cannot receive the truth, because its eye is on man and not on God (John 5:44). It makes inquiries not in order to hear the truth, but in order to refute it (John 9:27, 28). It is chained to its error by a confident assurance that it alone is right (John 9:41).
Examine your own life, examine your own heart make sure you don’t find a hypocrisy in your life.

22/03/2022

Moral knowledge, however, does not guarantee moral conduct, since many other factors in addition to knowledge motivate human behavior. Instruction in what is moral acceptable is the easy part; teaching a child to control his behavior to conform to moral principles is much harder.

22/03/2022

If a child is does not grow in the virtue of self-control, there will be a discrepancy between his knowledge and his behavior. He will know what is expected but will not always do what is right. If no change comes to this pattern of learning, he will grow up moral on the outside but not on the inside.

05/03/2022

Do you say what you mean and mean what you say?

13/08/2021

Being A Parent To Your Children First vs A Friend

11/08/2021

Having Peace in the Lord

28/05/2021

Some really good thoughts on screen time and kids.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/screen-time/art-20047952 #:~:text=Developing%20screen%20time%20rules&text=If%20you%20introduce%20digital%20media,doesn%27t%20work%20as%20well.

Managing your child's screen time takes effort. Find out how to ensure quality screen time and set limits.

28/04/2021

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Psalm 37:7

Very interesting to see what "Rest" in these verse is talking about. Not taking a nap but "standing still" "don't move" Then wait patiently is talking about being like an anxious child wanting to do something but having to wait while your parent is preparing something for you.

22/01/2021

What are two more common ways that parents provoke a child to anger? Video 2 of 1