Category: Addictions

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Born-Again Pagan

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Our bookstore only has one book in it since we just opened up less than a year ago. That book, is called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, addictions, depression, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects. I am sure you can think of someone who could benefit from a book like this.

Just click on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page to check it out.

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I have a chapter right from the book I have been talking about. See for yourself how it may help people. It is about the attitude of younger people today towards God. The title “Born-Again Pagan,” covers it all.

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Chapter 63

 

Born-Again Pagan

 

But the word of the Lord stands forever.  And this is the word that was preached to you. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.

1 Peter 1:25—2:1

 

I saw this bumper sticker while sitting at a stop light. I stretched my neck for a closer look. Bumper stickers fascinate me and make me think about the person in the car. What a wonderful way to “advertise”—both good thoughts and bad thoughts.

At first I laughed, and then I thought about what is happening in the world. Many people—especially young people—today are heading in the wrong direction. They are getting caught up in New Age religions and cults. People search for thrills, and find them in sinful places. Other bumper sticks promote cults—and even Satan worship.

We read about mass killings at schools, children who kill their parents, date rape, racial beatings, gay bashing, and on and one goes the list.

It is the responsibility of parents and local churches to reach out to these people. Peers who have already found Jesus can also come alongside them. Laughing at their bumper stickers just reinforces their belief in their “religions.”

We need to seek out the young people who are getting sucked into these false religions and wrong ways of becoming “spiritually connected” to let them know the true high they can have by knowing Jesus. Often a church’s ability to relate to young people in this way is measured by the number of teens and young adults in it. My church has a tremendous youth outreach that grows every day. The young people of the church go out and invite their friends to come see what’s going on.

We can model for the young people in our churches how to reach out to others to give them hope and then send our youth out to do the same. Young people are more open to others their own age who can show them the hope we have in Jesus Christ. Once these young men and women find Jesus, their lives will have new meaning. Then they need to feed on the truth and steadily grow as Christians.

 

By this time you ought to be teachers, [but] you need someone to

 teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again.

You need milk, not solid food. Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant,

 is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.

But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have

 trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teaching about Christ and go on to maturity.

Hebrews 5:12—6:1

 

Further Adventures

Have an open house at your church for young people to come by and “test the waters.” You don’t have to have people telling the kids to get down on their knees and confess their sins right there on the spot. Let it be a comfortable time—a time to get acquainted in a relaxed setting. You do not even have to have a formal service. It should be like a real open house. Just let them be in the church with other young people from the church. They will decide if they want to come back for more.

In fact, let the youth group organize the open house and determine the best approach to use. (It may not look like anything you would plan, but that’s OK.) Since they’ve “been there and done that,” they know what other young people—even those “on the streets”—are going through.

If the open house goes well, you’ll not only have newborn Christians, you’ll also have a growing church.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how some misguided sinners think that Satan is their master, but the God of peace will soon crush Satan under His feet?

 

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Be Fishers of Men. You Catch Them; He’ll Clean Them.

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Our bookstore is still carrying the great book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” It is a very timely book that reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, self-doubt, addictions, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

I am sure you can think of someone who could benefit from this book. You could help them change their lives.

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I am sharing a chapter from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.”

This chapter talks to us about our need to reach out to others who may be suffering and show them the way to happiness.

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Chapter 62

 

Be Fishers of Men. You Catch Them; He’ll Clean Them

 

They went out and preached that people should repent.

Mark6:12

 

I loved this catchy bumper sticker when I saw it on the car ahead of me. I almost drove off the road trying to write it down!

I said earlier that fishing is one of my favorite pastimes. Catching fish is fun, but cleaning them has to be one of the most disgusting jobs in the world. The fish are slimy, and you have to clean out their insides—yuck! Kinda’ takes away the desire to eat the fish. But we always do, and the fish is always delicious. It is also good for you.

This is true for Christians today. We spend time going to church, trying to learn more about God so we can live for Him more effectively. We do our own growing and have close encounters with God. Almost as an aside, we want other people to be Christians, but we don’t want to get involved in their messy lives to help them get cleaned up. We’d rather have someone else do that part. It is an unpleasant job that takes courage.

We forget that there are many people outside (and even some inside!) the church who need to know God too. But we, His followers, don’t spend enough time sharing the Word with non-Christians. Our attitude is almost: “I am in this church protected from the outside, and the rest of the world out there can go to hell!”

We are commissioned to help as many people come to God as we can.

The obvious way to start spreading Christianity is in our own homes with our children. If we raise them in the way of the Lord, they will also raise their children the same way. I have been blessed in this way. My three children are all Christians, and their children love the Lord just as much as they do. Bringing them up in a Christian home is what made the difference.

For those who aren’t comfortable witnessing to someone, being a good example is always a proven way to lead others to Christ. If we are consistent in living out our Christian beliefs, others will say, “I want to be like him/her.” I love a quote that has been attributed to St. Francis: “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

Door-to-door or cold-calling, trying to pressure someone into a decision for Christ is not a very effective way of reaching others with Christ’s message. It’s much more natural to witness to others when the opportunity arises. When something happens that causes pain in someone’s life, we can let them know about the Lord and perhaps how He helped us work through a similar situation.

We’re not telling them they need to get down and confess all of their sins right there on the spot, but that they can turn to the Lord for help. The Lord will take it from there. He will clean up the “mess” in their lives while we can stay close, letting them know we’re there for them and are praying for them. They will want to know more about our faith.

We have brought them to Jesus, who will take over from there. We may need to stay on the sidelines to encourage them, but Jesus is the only one who can clean up the mess in their lives.

 

[Jesus said], “In the same way, let your light shine before men,

that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Matthew 5:16

 

Further Adventures

Try calling on someone you know who is under stress for any reason. Just let them know you’re praying for them and how God has helped you through similar problems. You don’t have to try to lead them to the Lord right then. It may happen just because the person is ready to do that. Don’t fear praying with them to accept the Lord if they seem very open to learning more about how to do that.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how someone can be so fired up for Christ on Sunday but be an invisible Christian the rest of the week?

 

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Real Men Love Jesus

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We have been sharing excerpts from my book called, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This book reaches out to those who may suffer from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

This book is on sale right now in our bookstore. Check it out by clicking on the “Bookstore,” tab at the top of this page.

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 Today’s excerpt is about a State Policeman who is 6′ 5″ tall, but loves the LORD, and has been a tremendous leader amongst the young people.

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                                                                               Chapter 61

 

Real Men Love Jesus

 

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

 

I know a guy who was 6 foot, 3 inches and weighed around 230 pounds. He had no fat on him. His job required that he be tough and in good shape. There were days he faced death, and days when he’d be called on to save someone’s life. He was an Oregon State Trooper.

The first time I met him, I was very impressed. He didn’t seem like a guy who wanted to rip your head off. He didn’t even seem like a guy who would get angry.

I was right in both cases. He was a man that loved the Lord, and he let everyone know about it. (When He gave his testimony, you’d better listen!) Andy Olson was my two sons’ Sunday school teacher.

Andy has a way with young people. You’d think some of them would want to stay away from him because of their pasts. Instead they flocked to him at our church. He built close relationships with each of them, and they admired his honesty and caring ways.

Andy is retired from OSP now and serves as a State Representative in the Oregon Legislature. He is liked by his fellow representatives and demonstrates great leadership. He is also still witnessing for the Lord. Since I volunteer as a gallery doorkeeper (the fancy name for a person who makes sure no one takes flash pictures or shouts bad things at the representatives), I got to hear him speak before the whole House about Christian living during one session.

Representative Olson is doing what all real men should be doing—using whatever situations they can to tell others about the Lord.

How about us? Do we witness for the Lord? Are there times we could have witnessed but didn’t because we feared rejection? Are we the kind of guys who think we’re too tough to show someone else that we love the Lord and depend on Him? Too many of us are the macho kind of man who wants everyone to think we’re the kind of guy who can make it on his own without God.

Get ready for a big fall.

Jonah ran away from God by trying to float way from Him in a boat. That didn’t turn out too good. He was swallowed by a big fish, and probably had to bathe for weeks to get the smell off him after God released Him from the fish. But he went on to be a tremendous servant for the Lord.

David didn’t do too well either. He had to act like he was stark raving mad to avoid being killed and then went to live in a cave, making him feel far away from God. But God was with him all the time, and David knew he couldn’t make it on his own, so he prayed for God’s help. David went on to be a man that God loved dearly.

Samson was an extremely strong man who let his guard down. He let wicked Delilah cut off his hair, making him a very weak man. He was then captured, and the Philistines gouged his eyes out. He found that great strength in one area of life does not make up for great weaknesses in other areas. His hair began to grow back, and he asked God to let him die with the Philistines when he pushed on the pillars of the building where thousands were gathered. He killed not only himself, but all of those Philistines as well. In that one final event of his life, he killed more of the enemy than he had previously. Even though Samson had turned away from God and lived in sin, God still loved him and heard his prayer.

These examples show us that every situation can be salvaged if we’re willing to follow God again, like each of these men did.

It’s time to put our pride away in the closet and put on some new clothes made of humbleness, meekness and calmness. We don’t have to look tough. We don’t even have to hide our tears. We need to be good examples for our children and for the other men around us.

 

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our

God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

1 Thessalonians 3:13

 

Further Adventures

I’m sure you have met men who think they are tough. They claim they eat nails for breakfast. They say they can pull a train with their teeth. Pretty macho, right? I don’t think so. I don’t think God is looking for people in heaven who can eat nails or pull a train with their teeth.

God wants real men. The ones that gave up much and received little. The ones that served Him in some capacity. These men may have worked in the secular world, but they put their lives on the line to promote their heavenly Father and did it without shame.

Are you a tough guy? Do you think you need to show your “stuff” to be accepted? The meek will inherit the earth. Those words from a verse in the Bible don’t mean Atlas-type people are the only ones who will inherit the earth. It is you and me—the average everyday little guy.

That is my only hope, because if I tried to eat nails, I would weigh twenty pounds more, and if I tried to pull a train with my teeth, well, you probably know the outcome there. I am not all that tough. I am tame as a purring cat on your lap. I am strong enough to know that I am not very strong. I don’t need to be. God will provide my strength, and He will do it for you, too.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny how tough we can act, and yet hurt on the inside?