I write like I read.

Per the title, I write like I read.  I have a tendency to forget words in a sentence, sometimes multiple words. The Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business is responsible for my reading technique.  The assigned reading could become oppressive as the quarter progressed.  To adapt, I started skipping words.  I eventually began skipping paragraphs.  I read more in less time and improved comprehension.  A win, win, win.  

The reason I mention my bad habit... I always find multiple errors or misspellings or missing words or a wrong verb tense.  I get annoyed with the errors in earlier posts.  I imagine readers might get a little irritated.  Allow me to apologize for the frequent mistakes or errors.  

I find I constantly revise or rewrite posts.  Today, I not only revised the three posts listed, but I changed two titles (#1 and #3 below):

1. Satan's cohort Resistance
2. The Big Swindle
3. A funny thing happened... 

Have a good and godly day. 

Bible Study

Postscript to Lessons from poor friends:

Piper, my daughter, has now decided God wants her to start a Bible study. She asked five girls. All agreed to participate in the girls only, no adults Bible study. They will meet in a coffee shop or a local café or a doughnut shop… anywhere but church. If I were to ask her why not church, she would likely explain she doesn’t trust church youth leaders and tell me church is not much different than high school. There are clicks and fitting in. The meanness. The exclusion. The falseness of it all. Her perception is that church is as difficult, if not more difficult, than high school because she has no expectations of high school to be kind to her or allow for her faults. 

In less than twelve months, God has changed her life, her passions, her friends, her priorities, her self worth, and even her relationship with her twelve year old brother.  They now spend a time together and have a relationship on their terms, not mine or their mother’s.    

All because she held fast and didn’t compromise. She understood not to settle again. Settling is yielding to pressure and following the herd. Following the herd does not produce joy. It does not produce excellence. It does not produce strength. She understood she wanted to live instead of just endure; to be strengthened by peers instead of be weakened by them. 

Her life changed because she didn’t give up on God. I am proud. Honored God gave me a daughter like her to care for.  

Have a good and godly day. 

Lessons From Poor Friends

What makes a good friend? What characteristics do you value? I ask only because my daughter experienced a great deal of pain learning what good friends don’t do, or shouldn’t do. It started with her sophomore schedule that differed greatly with her current friends, specifically lunch. She would not have the same lunch as her friends. Trying to find a niche in that environment, where one gets tossed around by the sea, only served to frustrate her and steal her joy. 

The discussion meandered toward God and her prayers that He help her find better friends. She acknowledged for God to place new friends in her life, her current friends needed to be removed. Eight months later, her high school experience changed. She found friends who accept her, as is. Friends who genuinely want her to be successful and are happy for her when she succeeds. They support her. They root for her.  Friends who help her become better. Best of all, she is more comfortable with who she is and more importantly, who she isn't.

Tears are no longer part of the afternoon conversations how her best friend stopped talking to her without an explanation. Or a five page text from a friend criticizing her opinion about what's godly and what's not godly. Or being falsely accused of saying something. She no longer has to compete with friends ready to elevate themselves at her expense.  The friends who made her feel bad, even horrible, are no longer part of her life. That pain taught her what good friends don’t do. 

She knows she is good. She knows she is valuable. She's attempting to find her niche in this life; her purpose. All of it came because she left the life she built and knew and trusted God for a better life. Much of her new identity comes from Jesus Christ. She is learning to ignore what others say about her. She learned people and society frequently change their opinion without reason. 

Today, she knows what she wants from her friends. She is happier because her identity was found, and continues to be found in the unchangeable God. The price paid, the pain and hurt she endured, was a bargain considering I know women, married with three children, who haven't figured it out yet.  

I am a Christian

Christians 

by: Maya Angelou

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."

I'm whispering "I was lost,

Now I'm found and forgiven."

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble

and need Christ to be my guide.

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak

And need His strength to carry on.

           

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed

And need God to clean my mess.

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible

But, God believes I am worth it.

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches

So I call upon His name.

         

When I say... "I am a Christian"

I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner

Who received God's good grace, somehow! 

Amen.  That's true, Mrs. Angelou, that's true.

Have a good and godly day.   

Stronger

Question... is it difficult, almost impossible, to believe the good things people say about you and so easy, incredibly easy to believe the bad things people say? 

What do you do when you have been given a cross to bear?  Big or small, what do you do?  Keep it?  Hold it tight?  Own it?  Hoist the cross over our shoulder and drag it around until we finally listen?  When you do, it's exhausting.  Even horrible.  It weakens us.  That cross will kick your butt with both of its feet.  BUT, it's the mental, emotional, and spiritual exercise from hauling that cross around that makes you stronger.  It's precisely that strength, the cross builds, that prepares you to trust God, to follow Him, to have faith even when faith doesn't make sense.

The cross that has been handed to you, that accidental gift, will force you to examine your life.  It will pursue you, suffocate you, smother you, and love you until you concede to examine... everything about you.  It will force you to become aware… aware of you; your choices; your behavior; your priorities; your wants; your heart; your life.  When you, or me, lead a self examined life, we discover that cross we carry is both our fault and not our fault.  That’s right.  It's both.  

The Bible addresses this very issue.  There are the sea and the waves.  The waves are tossed around due to the ever changing wind.  The wind represents ever changing opinions.  The best illustration I can give is sports fans.  The coach and players can go from losers to heroes to losers and back multiple times during one game.  Coaches don't succumb to that pressure because if they did, they would have no strategy, no game plan... no identity.  

Jesus speaks of building on sand versus solid rock.  When the storm bores in on you, the sand disappears.  The sand turns and runs when you need it the most.  The sand has no strength.  You find out there is no support.  The sand is the community on which you depend in times of trouble.  The community you thought cared for you is gone.  It was all a mirage.  Solid rock is Jesus Christ.  He will not turn from you; He will not belittle you; He will not abandon you.  He will be there when you call.

I learned, recently, when I depend on other people (friends, family, teachers, etc.) to make me feel good, to feel worthy, to feel valuable... that's my fault.  Why do we, as Christ followers, depend on others to approve of us?  To deem us worthy and good and cherished based on their subjective definition or opinion?  Make no mistake, it’s our fault if we slip into a routine of craving accolades and praise to feel good; to feel valuable; to feel liked.  It’s our fault when our priorities have been shuffled.  It's our fault when our priorities were wrong to begin with.  Finding our worth in other people's inconsistent and uninformed opinions and emotions never ends well.  That rut will always drench you with negative thoughts that will push you, and your mother, down a flight of stairs if you let it. 

However, joy is a choice.  Make no mistake, those who like to demean, belittle, and disparage aren’t your issue.  Those who like to hand out crosses need your misery.  They thrive on your misery to elevate themselves at your expense.  Do not let them dictate if your day is good or bad.  Do not let them determine your choices.  Limit their access to you... stop hanging out with them.  Do something else.  Serve others.  Spend time with you.  As hurtful and heavy as that cross feels, stop carrying it for them.  Drop it. 

Know Satan would rather you be depressed and rejected than confident and happy.  Depressed and rejected Christians aren't good witnesses for Christ, they act more like Eeyore from Winnie The Pooh.  Who wants to listen to that guy?  Know you are good because of what you do for others.  Know you are good because of what you pursue.  Know you are good because of your heart.  Know you are good and valuable and cherished because Jesus said so and He has proved it.  Know you are good because... you know you, not because of what others say.  When you know that, hang out with people that know it too. 

Per Joyce Meyer, "Remember, Friday comes before Sunday."  The cross came before the glory.  Once you learn to examine your life, you will be mentally stronger, emotionally stronger, and spiritually stronger.  That strength produces confidence to trust in God’s Word and pursue God’s Will… when that happens not even Satan himself can stand in your way.

Have a good and godly day.

Faith Explained?

We are what we believe and do each day. 

Psalm 1 instructs us to meditate on God’s Word day and night.  Why?  I only ask because I have been enlightened over the last few weeks regarding laziness and apathy… specifically relating to the faith Christians profess.  

Youtube provides a great platform for atheists and Christians to support their positions on just about any topic.  I have been spending too much time watching Youtube lately.  I must confess, I was surprised so few Christians were able to intelligently explain their faith or why they believed in God.  Too many believers simply defaulted to “God says so” or quoted scripture as evidence God exists.  I was disappointed when immature or emotional behavior rendered a promising position for God’s existence ineffective.  Both sides exhibited arrogant and unpleasant behavior.  Atheists seemed better prepared to articulate their views.  They were certainly more passionate.  Overall, atheists were more effective communicating their beliefs, or lack thereof, and why. 

Why is that?  Why do atheists seem to easily articulate and support their opinion while Christians struggle?  I began to wonder if our Christian faith hinders our ability to explain why we believe.  Faith, by definition, is personal, intimate, and packed with emotion.  It should impact every area of our life… as a parent, a spouse, a student, an employee, a friend.  The fact is faith is a foundational tenet of the Christian faith.  It occurs 270 times in Bible (NIV).  Paul writes extensively on faith, especially in Romans (34 times) and Hebrews (31 times). It is discussed, directly and indirectly, at length, especially in the New Testament.  Can discussing something that’s so personal and intimate present obstacles as we attempt to explain what we believe and why? 

I have seen long lists of tenets critical to the Christian doctrine spanning from the six days of creation to Christ’s second coming.  Those are important, but can we agree our entire faith is based on God’s Word being perfect and without error.  That one tenet, the inerrant Bible, if proven false causes the Christian faith to implode and cease to exist.  A person accepts the Bible (as inerrant, perfect and true) by faith.  I have read the evidence regarding the Bibles vast amount of documentation, but eventually everyone has to take a leap of faith to believe.  Hence, God says we are saved by faith.        

Do Christian businessmen spend more time developing and refining mission statements and sales pitches?  Do Christian young people spend more time memorizing song lyrics or movie lines?  Why can many sports fans recall, without notice, the starting lineup of their favorite team?  Does it surprise anyone that Christians have trouble communicating who they place their faith in and why?   

The real question is can faith be a rationalization to become lazy to understanding why we believe?  Can faith promote apathy in the Christian community? 

Have a good and godly day.

Discipline

There are two broad definitions for discipline: 1) training and 2) punishment.  First, let’s focus on the definition of training:  

1. Training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
2. An activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the keyboard is excellent discipline for a writer.
3. The rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the harsh discipline of poverty.
4. Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army.

My definition is consciously performing a behavior or task consistently.  Structure and self discipline equal freedom.

If I was in a room with one hundred middle and high school students:

1. How many do you think would have a Facebook page?  
2. Of those with a Facebook page, how many would have started a 30 day challenge?
3. Of those 30 day starts, how many do you think finished the challenge correctly? 

Another challenge... more like a goal… a 30 day goal.  The goal is to study an apple for fifteen minutes a day for 30 days.  You can choose any apple, any size, and any color you want.  It can be real or fake.  This simple exercise will provide structure for you to develop new skills.  In time you will come to know that specific apple intimately.  You will eventually develop the skill to recognize your apple from a bin of similar apples.

To benefit from this exercise there are two critical elements. Study the apple in the same place and at the same time every day.  Make sure your study area can remain unchanged during the month.  These two elements are very important because to vary one or both of the elements will sabotage your efforts.

Discipline requires commitment and sacrifice. To be disciplined requires priorities to change.

There is no integrity in easy.  Everybody can do easy.  Easy seems to provide pleasure.  People instinctively avoid pain and descend towards pleasure.  Pleasure always makes you feel better.  Pleasure has the ability to help you forget.  There is good pain and bad pain.  Pleasure is bad pain disguised as fun.  Pleasure tells you it will make you feel better.  Pleasure is temporary.  Pleasure will fade.  Pleasure will always abandon you. 

Discipline might be painful because you are doing things most people don’t do. To pursue what God wants for you… will have to do what most aren’t willing to do.  You are going to have to become uncomfortable.  Future generations of your family will thank you for leading a disciplined life.

Discipline is not convenient.

Discipline is not glamorous.

Discipline will go unnoticed (except by you).

Discipline is lonely.

It’s hard work nobody undertakes but you.
It’s unspectacular work nobody notices but God.
It’s inconvenient work nobody appreciates but God.

Godliness is developed through a series of decisions consistent with biblical principles. 

Have a good and godly day.

Feeding Sheep 2

Tonight, my son, who is in the sixth grade, explained a pastor confessed smoking marijuana while he was in the fifth grade. I get why someone wants to highlight the good things God has done in their life... how far they have come under God's guidance. I get it.  

I have stated previously, I strongly disagree with the forum and audience, not the message. Why not say something like "I did some pretty bad stuff around your age. I am lucky God pulled me out of that mess."

Why not proceed to explain what God is doing for you now as a parent, as a spouse, as an employee, a business owner, or a coach? Speak to how you are attempting to serve your family, to serve God, to honor Jesus by becoming the person others need you to be.   

When I hear adult confessions labeled as testimony in the company of 11-13 year old students... I think this must be what man's wisdom looks like? God has impressed upon me those testimonies are targeted to the wrong audience.

My 2.4949 cents today.

Have a good and godly day.

Think Differently

... 4 videos that aren't necessarily new
... 4 videos you may have seen
....4 videos you might like
... thoughts and comments are a good thing  

This video changes lives.  Even if you already agree with the message, as I do, your life will change.  If you disagree with the message, your life will change.  God is visibly working... changing hearts... changing minds as we watch.  I'm thankful it kept finding its way back into my life.  

I finally finished it last night on my 3rd try.  Before last night, I thought the whole thing seemed like a cliché... interviewing young adults on street... asking questions they are not prepared to answer.  You will need to invest 33 minutes of your time.  It starts with Hitler and the Holocaust.  Eventually a light shines on one of the most controversial issues in America.  To think differently requires effort.  Stick with it, you might know yourself and God a little better in just 33 minutes.

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Most, if not all of you, are too young to even think about being a husband or a father.  The following 17 seconds are from one of my favorite scenes.  Vito Corleone is a murderer, a criminal, and the head of a mafia family.  He's not a nice guy, but that doesn't make the words spoken any less wise.  Family matters to God therefore you matter to God.  Honor your parents.  Serve your family.  Put their interest above your own.

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I have no idea how I ended up on this video.  I watched it with my 15yr old daughter Piper.  I confess I expected something mediocre and memorable for the wrong reasons.  I was surprised, especially at the crowd's reaction.  It worked so well because Taylor Swift didn't stray from who she is.  She stayed true to herself.  She knows herself and what she does well as an artist.  She didn't add dancers, put on a hoodie, or wear a hat cocked to the side... just a guitar, a mic, and her purple dress.  That's it.  If you don't know who you are and what you want, then anything goes and you will sink in the sand.  Otherwise she could have been memorable for the wrong reasons. Two comments per Youtube:

“Taylor Swift, whether you like her or not, is undeniably among the elite artists of all time.”   AGREE.

“Thumbs up if you let out a giggle when she said 'Yo'.”  GUILTY.

 Share your opinion.  Have a good and godly day.

Why do girls

Paul talks about conduct befitting our calling which is why I'm curious where the boundary of discernment stops and judgment begins. 

Last night I was stunned to see pictures, posted online, of a teenage girl I know at a high school football game.She was wearing black volleyball spandex shorts and a camisole that was a little too short. She had painted the school name on the back of the shorts that matched the body paint on her face, arms, legs, and midriff. You couldn't miss her.  Everything about her screamed,"look at me."  The reason I was stunned... I know her father.

The outfit wasn't just a poor decision or a lapse of judgment. No other student, in the student section, came close to such an outfit, or more fittingly, the lack thereof. My question is why she thought attending a football game dressed for a slumber party was a good choice? Where were her friends, who were appropriately dressed, saying whoa, put something on? There is a difference between good attention and bad attention. I will speculate her attire and behavior didn't draw too much honorable attention or respect. I suspect the effect may be a little different than she hoped.

I hope Samantha realizes, as soon as possible, how much more she has to offer than skin. Her intelligence, sense of humor, talent, compassion, and other attributes are far more valuable. It is those qualities that will have a positive impact in this world. It is those attributes that will attract a gentleman. Someone, hopefully her mother or female mentor, explains her physical attributes are to be saved for the one person who will value her as a person first, who will honor and respect her, and who will commit to her.

.

Proverbs says that a reputation is more valuable than silver and gold. The Bible also addresses the almost impossible task of regaining one's reputation once it is lost.

I now pray she will understand God made her, designed her for a specific purpose that ascribes immeasurable worth to her simply because she is a child of God.

Have a good and godly day.

Train for Godliness

1 Timothy 4:7-8 instructs "...train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."

Is it possible for students (middle school, high school, or otherwise) to train to be godly?  Do they have the desire to get serious about God?  What are students taught about God?  What does God look like?  What does Satan look like?  Does God get bumped off the schedule because He can always wait?  Is God as urgent as homework, violin practice, lacrosse practice, friends, television, etc?  I would argue what kids value and how they decide something is worthy of their time, talent, and effort is modeled in the home and the community. 

I listened to a person unequivocally state it takes six people to change a life... six.  I don't know where that number originated.  I always ask myself when statements are boldly presented as the truth... is that man's wisdom or God's wisdom?  I am not sure "six" isn't just the opinion of some author.  May I suggest the number has always been one.  I believe it takes one person to change a life.  One adult... just one godly obedient adult is needed to change a person's life.

How does a godly, obedient adult change a student's life?  Prayer is the vital ingredient because prayer produces a relationship with God.  The adult has to have the discipline to develop and sustain a consistent prayer life.  Nothing happens without discipline.  Nothing.  Not success, not winning, not good grades, and certainly not a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the one who saves children, not adults.  Adults can introduce Jesus to students.  Adults can pass on godly wisdom.  Adults can guide, discuss, encourage, and support the student... but it is always Jesus that saves a student. 

Discipline is an essential character trait of a godly person.  For the student to earn an "A" requires the commitment and the discipline to study.  A student perfectly performing "Il Trillo Di Diavolo" requires hours of disciplined practice.  How many hours of perfect practice were required?  How many people were present during those hours?  I will speculate most of his practice was solitary, with no audience.  The irony is that discipline creates joy.  The quicker the student understands this concept, the better their life.  This, this, and this are a direct result from discipline.  All of those people in the videos were disciplined, they were dedicated, they sacrificed to experience joy.  Discipline produces freedom and freedom produces joy. 

 

Again, without discipline, neither the adult nor the student can develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Without discipline, one can't sustain and strengthen that relationship.  Students have to know the discipline of spending time with God is worthy.  The Bible says nothing is more profitable.  

May God bless you.  Have a good and godly day.

First Post

This is not the topic I thought would become my first post. A Commit Manual originated simply because I wanted to teach my children what I wasn't taught. I am not referring to counting cards in a casino or how to change brake rotors. I am referring to the teachings/lessons found in the Bible with the goal to prepare them to lead a productive life... a life that will honor and please God.

A question arose with our family as we drove home from church today... Can a person be saved and not display the character of Christ in their daily life? That discussion lasted until I pulled in the garage and it continued during dinner. No real conclusion was drawn.  Grace versus God's Law was debated. The death of Jesus was discussed.  Good deeds versus faith was mentioned.  

We discussed examples of people we admired because of their devotion to Jesus and how some believers progress in their faith faster than others. Then there were names, peers of our children, that do not display the character of Jesus. Peers that simply aren't nice, exclusionary, or judgmental. Then there are those peers that do their best to be obedient. Peers that displayed a genuine affection for others and for God. After dinner, my wife and I discussed our parenting, the advice we've given over the years, the discipline and the praise, and if our children put Christ first.  

Does a difference exist between Truth and Judgement? Yes. The character inherent in each (truth or judgment) vastly differs. One will set you free while the other will not. Truth is encouraging and supportive, even if painful to hear or say.  Truth improves. Truth strengthens. Truth fosters confidence and humility.  

Judgement is the opposite. It's a cloak for insecurity. It belittles, demeans, and destroys... it elevates the judge over the one being judged. I agree with Dr. Greg Boyd who says the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil should be called the Tree of Judgement.

All are difficult topics to comprehend for a teenage girl of 15 and her 11yr old brother. It is times like this, discussions like this, I wish the simple stories about Noah, Jonah, Joseph and Mary, and the other Bible stories children learn were still applicable.    

This Commit Manual consists of thoughts, ideas, experiences I have learned mostly through trial and error over the years as I earnestly pursued God.  Some would label that as well earned wisdom.  Maybe... but what I know is not earth shattering.  The insights are not new.  Some may consider them to be boring, even cliche.  The wisdom I now possess would have helped me a great deal as I matured from an adolescent into a young man and as a young husband and father.  It is my sincere hope God will impact lives via what He writes through me.

One final point, I have never led anyone to Jesus... that is the Holy Spirit's responsibility.  It is my responsibility to raise my children to know Jesus Christ and to introduce as many people to the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ... 

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:11

May God bless you.  Have a good and godly day.