Infected!

Infected!

The Corona Virus has been widely publicized as a disease responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. Many have great fear about being infected. They want a vaccine. They stock up on essentials such as toilet paper and water anticipating being quarantined for a time. They buy hand sanitizer and other hygienic products to prevent its spread. Why? They don’t want to get sick and die!infected sanitizer

There is a disease that destroys many more lives than the Corona Virus every day. Yet none in the news media discuss it. This disease is responsible for the deaths of billions. This disease is responsible for poverty, STDs, the drug cartels, obesity, addiction, drunk driving, and every other evil perpetrated on society. It is the disease of sin. This problem cannot be solved by a syringe or by stocking up on supplies. It must be solved through repentance and a changed life. That is something that many are unwilling to do. They would rather blame someone else instead of taking ownership of their own lives. So, the disease runs rampant through society and infects billions, and billions die—they die to a life of freedom from sin and become the living dead, slaves to their own passions. They die to prevent dying.

Death eventually comes for all (Hebrews 9:27). Nothing will stop it. Worrying to death about death is death! Jesus gives us freedom from the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). He brings the abundant life! (John 10:10). “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:31).

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Selling the House not the Home

Selling the House not the Home

Bob had just walked outside the front door to begin weeding the flowerbed when his neighbor saw him. The neighbor began the conversation with a comment about how sad he was to see Bob selling his home for they had become good friends. The neighbor was surprised when Bob said we are not selling our home, we never plan to do that. We are selling our house, and next month our home will be in a new house just a few miles away. There is a vast difference in a home and a house, especially for Christians.

It may be easy, at first, to see this as nothing more than a play on two words we often use interchangeably, but such is far from the case. Consider the following to see that there is a vast difference in the home of Christians and the house in which they live.

One aspect of that home is how marriage is viewed so differently. The vows they made were not just words which seemed so appropriate for the occasion. They would never forget the expression found in that ceremony where they each promised “…to keep yourself him/her alone for as long as you both shall live.” Their home had been built around the solemn promises made that day. There was trust which began that day and was never violated. They were faithful to each other.

There was another part of the ceremony they both remembered, and it followed them in every house in which lived. The words were those from Jesus: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh…Therefore what God has joined together let no man separate” (Matt. 19:5-6). The concept of how the two become one flesh removes selfishness from the hearts where selfishly they are standing and arguing their own private position. They have surrendered and become selfless, and a new entity has been formed. Divorce is not a word ever considered in their relationship.

There are many other aspects in the home of Christians which are not for sale, but one so vital is how children are seen. Like Hannah, they prayed before the children were born and God heard them.  Hannah said, “The Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord” (1 Sam. 1:27-28). Our world has vastly changed as the government uses the school system to control the values children need. If parents do nothing, children will be brainwashed with new sexual orientation of society. Our children are not for sale!

Our world view is different. Our homes are not for sale. We sell our houses but never sell our homes!

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The Heavens and The Earth

The Heavens and the Earth

The Bible begins with this simple statement: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). This verse reminds us that 1) there was a beginning, 2) there is a God, 3) God is powerful, 4) the heavens and the earth are the result of His creative efforts.

All physical things have a beginning and have an end. The universe is a physical thing. So, it had a beginning and will have an end. Some deny that the universe ever had a beginning. They believe that it has existed for all eternity. Recent science has disagreed with the endless universe hypothesis. Science teaches us that all things “wind down” as potential energy is converted to kinetic energy, and, just like a spring-powered clock, the universe will stop. But if it has such an end, it must have had a beginning! How did it begin? God began it.

The power that is in the universe is estimated to be 2 x 1080 watts per second. That is a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion times a billion more energy than the sun every second. That’s more 100 watt light bulbs than there are grains of sand on the earth and mars combined. Where did such great power originate? It could only have come from an infinite source of power: God!

From nothing comes nothing! But something exists, and not only is there something, there is an amazing, incredible, and astounding amount and complexity of something. What accounts for it all? The only rational explanation for the universe’s existence is God. The heavens and the earth were put here by God for a purpose. They are His creation.

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Mental Health

Mental Health

Over the past six months I’ve seen a serious uptick in private messages from parents expressing concern for their children’s mental health.

Many have pointed back to Covid and the quarantine as a possible trigger for the change in behavior. According the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) this uptick is real. In 2021, the CDC reported more than 4 in 10 (42%) students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third (29%) experienced poor mental health.

They also noted more than 1 in 5 (22%) students seriously considered attempting suicide and 1 in 10 (10%) attempted suicide. Suicide now ranks as the second leading cause of death in young people.

Add to this the impact social media is having on young people. In a study released in March 2017, the Center for Research on Media reported frequent use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram caused depression, anxiety, and feelings of social isolation.

So, even though we are the most connected generation in history, our children feel more depressed, anxious, isolated, and suicide is on the increase.

But it’s not just young people. Pew research recently reported at least four-in-ten U.S. adults have faced high levels of psychological distress during COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the National Alliance on Mental Health reported that 21% of U.S. adults experienced a mental health condition.

The church is not immune to this issue. Many of our members are walking around with brain fog, anxiety, or depression. Many Christian homes are truly suffering today, and sadly mental health is one of those topics that our culture does not discuss.

And so instead of becoming a healing balm for those who are anxious or depressed, many church families simply ignore the problem and hope it goes away. Until finally, one day we get the horrible news that one of the young people in the youth group has taken their own life.

Having studied this area—and having had a close relative who suffered with mental illness, I want to share one area that I think needs to be addressed:

Our culture has become addicted to screens and it is literally killing many of our young people. And sadly, too many Christian parents have turned a blind eye.

I want to offer ten practical steps that will help improve the mental health of your family:

  1. Do not let children under 13 years old have their own phone/device. Yes, I know your children will “hate you” and you will not be considered cool. But that’s okay. God didn’t call you to be cool. He called you to be their parent. Introducing young children to their own device often leads to addiction, dependence, and even an early introduction into pornography. The longer you can put off handing your child their own phone the better!
  2. On the coattails of that one, dramatically cut down screen time, even in older children—take media fasts. Look at how much screen time your children average on their phones (you can check it under settings). We should be good stewards of the time God has given us, and part of that is how much time we are blankly staring at a screen.
    In too many cases screens have become objects of our worship. Don’t believe me? Walk into any restaurant and just observe how many people are glued to their phones. People would rather stare at a screen than carry on a conversation with a live human.
  3. Do not use screens as a baby-sitter. I get it, there are times you may need a break. But constantly handing your child your phone to watch videos is not the answer. Look for better ways to stimulate children’s interest and help them develop a natural curiosity for the world around them.
  4. Don’t feed discontentment. Our children are seeing their friends post beautiful pictures (not realizing it took 37 tries just to get that one good picture)—and they wonder, “Why don’t I look that good?” Or “Why isn’t my life that nice?” Or “Why can’t my family get along like that?” What they fail to realize is that that one picture represents a fake virtual world.
    This discontentment feeds depression. Satan has convinced us that we must have perfect teeth, perfect hair, and perfect families—families without blemishes. Social media like Facebook and Instagram have fed these lies, encouraging Christians to only display pictures of a beautiful happy family. (As a result, Christians often never share what is really going on at home and in many cases, we are left to suffer all alone through our issues.)
  5. Encourage/force your child to read books (including the Bible!). Let’s be honest, those screens are awesome at delivering cool games and movies to our children. However, these devices are dramatically reducing attention spans, because of the massive stream of new images to look at.
    Eventually this causes permanent changes in the brain, as their brains get used to rapid-fire visuals. In turn this causes tasks that require concentration or don’t have a rapid stream of images to feel unpleasant. This would include things like sitting through a sermon, prayer, or Bible reading. They simply cannot compete with the “pleasure” of web surfing, TV watching or video gaming.
  6. Don’t promote division and strife! Screens oftentimes promote division and negative feelings, even within our church families. Consider how many times you’ve watched comments get ugly simply because someone disagreed with someone’s post.
    Consider how many times people use social media to vent about some particular issue going on within the culture. Paul wrote, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men” (Romans 12:18).
  7. Force your children to go outside and observe the handiwork of God. In Romans 1:20 Paul writes about seeing and perceiving the invisible attributes of God. Our children can’t see or understand those things unless they put down the screen and go observe His creation.
  8. Help your child to “be still and know” (Psalm 46:10). In many cases the brains of our children are like an engine that is close to overheating. They are revved up from information (and stimulation) overload! What they really need in many cases is just some quiet time—and some alone time with God.
  9. Help limit temptation. Screens often tempt viewers. Maybe they tempt us to buy things we really don’t need. Maybe they tempt us to keep looking at videos or playing games. Or maybe they tempt us by promoting lust of the flesh.
    In 1 John 2:15-16 we read, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.”
  10. Encourage face-to-face contact! In too many instances young people would rather text someone in the same room with them than have a real-life conversation. This is not healthy. If our children are going to evangelize and make disciples then they need to know how to talk to people. John wrote, “Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.”

While these 10 practical applications won’t cure every mental health issue, they can certainly help many young people who are suffering today.

Take the time to shift your child’s attention toward God and away from screens. It will bring you both more peace and joy in the future.

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The Apostles Minus Who?

The Apostles Minus Who?

The early history of the church that began on Pentecost at times looked so bleak. With all the apostles present it was so easy for the infant church to “…continue steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching” (Acts 2:42). However, it was not long until two of the leading apostles were arrested and brought before the Jewish officials who ordered them to stop preaching (Acts 4:17-18). Yet, they kept on preaching.

In the next chapter it appears that all the apostles are arrested by the Jews and imprisoned. How on earth could the early church survive without the apostles? For the church to flourish it must have leadership, yet the leadership had been taken away. It is remarkable that those men were freed overnight by an angel of the Lord, and they kept on preaching.

When persecution arose with Saul being in the forefront, the church was scattered, with no one remaining in Jerusalem, except the apostles. The Lord had made provision for the survival of the church by providing spiritual gifts to all the saints. With no apostles, it might have looked like the church was doomed, but those scattered abroad kept on preaching.

As time passed, another persecution arose in Jerusalem. Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword, and when the evil king saw how much joy it brought to the Jews, he seized Peter and set the date for him to be killed (Acts 12:1-3). How could the church survive without the leadership of two of the inner circle of apostles? That inner circle of Peter, James and John had experienced events none of the others had seen. The church met to pray and how heavy their hearts must have been. It is not hard to imagine what their hearts were saying. “Oh, No! James is dead, and in a week’s time Peter will also be dead!” They were praying but none of them expected that an angel would free Peter from the sixteen soldiers who were guarding him.

However, there was another James to replace the one who had been slain. It was not the other apostle named James, the son of Alpheus. It was James, the brother of Jesus. He is James who stepped into the leadership role in the rest of the book of Acts. He was the one who wrote the epistle of James.

Samuel said that the Lord raised up Moses and Aaron to lead Israel out of Egypt (1 Sam. 12:6). In the promised land the people cried out to God who raised up judges (Judg. 2:16, 18; 3:9, 15). The Lord raised up prophets in Babylon (Jer. 29:15). When “James” dies, God provides another “James.” Now think of how in your lifetime you have seen older preachers and elders die and you worried, thinking the church could not survive. It always has survived and always will because God’s nature is to raise a new “James” as they are needed.

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