When we get this, the rest makes sense

In John Chapter 8, we read about Jesus talking to leader of their time, those who did not know Him and accept Him as Messiah, and we understand Jesus' very point in what is wrong in society today:   Galatians 5:¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy,^[d] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

John 8:42-4

English Standard Version (ESV)

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

Understand this:

• The Devil is a liar
• The Devil is a murderer
• The Devil does not understand truth
• When he lies he is speaking his native tongue
• The Devil is a liar
• The Devil is the father of all lies

No matter what we think, say or do, we have to convince ourselves that Jesus truly means what he says about one of His Angels - the fallen Angel Lucifer - he is a liar.  Therefore, anything that is of God's plan, Satan wants to destroy.  God said to us in Genesis - Be fruitful and multiply!  The devil says divorce, quite, hate (murder) those that you know you should really love.  God says that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, body and strength and the second is like the first:  Love our neighbor as ourselves.  The Devil says that we are to love self and hate others.  He wants us to gossip, slander, malign and be captured by our very lusts and pleasures in life (after all society tells us so greatly how much we need it).

Sometimes we hear people say things like:

• I cannot wait to die and go to hell and be with my friends who love the world
• You Christians are boring, what do you know about pleasure
• Don't be so rigid, live a little
• How can a God of love cast people into Hell and the Lake of Fire?  I don't want to serve a God like that...

Sometimes we hear and see Christians shrink behind God's truth and our freedoms that our forefathers understood what is so important to us in this Country of ours the United States of America:

THE BILL OF RIGHTS

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, or the Bill of Rights, set forth the priceless rights or freedoms that all Americans may enjoy. A brief summary of these great freedoms is given here.

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

The first right, or freedom, guaranteed in the Bill of Rights is freedom of religion. This right is guaranteed in the First Amendment. Freedom of religion guarantees to all Americans the right to practice any religion they choose, or to practice no religion at all.

Congress is forbidden to establish any religion as our nation's official religion. Congress cannot favor any one religion over others or tax citizens in order to support any one religion.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

The right to express your ideas and opinions when you speak is called freedom of speech. Freedom of speech also means the right to listen to the thoughts and opinions of others. This freedom guarantees that Americans are free to express their thoughts and ideas about anything. They may talk freely to their friends and neighbours or speak in public to a group of people. Of course, no one may use his freedom of speech to injure others. If a person knowingly says things that are false about another, he may be sued in court by the person or persons who believe they have been harmed by what he said.

Americans are free to express opinions about their government or anything else. They are free to criticize the actions of the government and of government officials. In a dictatorship, where the nation's government has all the powers, the people have no right to speak like this. They do not dare to criticize the actions of the government. If they do, they may be imprisoned. But all Americans enjoy the freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in the First Amendment.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

The freedom to express your ideas and opinions in writing is known as freedom of the press. This freedom is closely related to freedom of speech and is also guaranteed by the First Amendment.

Freedom of the press gives all Americans the right to express their ideas and thoughts freely in writing. This writing may be in newspapers, books, magazines, or any other printed or written form. Americans are also free to read what others write. They may read any newspaper, book or magazine they want. Because they are free to read a variety of facts and opinions, Americans can become better-informed citizens.

FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY

Another priceless freedom guaranteed by the First Amendment is freedom of assembly, or freedom to hold meetings. Americans are free to meet together to discuss problems and to plan their actions. Of course, such meetings must be carried on in a peaceful way.

FREEDOM OF PETITION

The freedom of petition is the right to ask your government to do something or to refrain from doing something. The First Amendment contains this guarantee, also. The freedom of petition gives you the right to write to your Congressman and request him to work for the passage of laws you favor. You are free to ask him to change laws that you do not like. The right of petition also helps government officials to know what Americans think and what actions they want the government to take.

THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

The Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees Americans the right to bear arms. In the early years of our nation, Americans needed weapons in order to serve in the militia, or volunteer armies, that were established to defend our states. The militia provided protection during emergencies, too. Many Americans also believed that without weapons they would be powerless if the government tried to overstep its powers and rule by force.

"NO-QUARTERING" RIGHT

The Third Amendment states, "No soldier shall, in times of peace, be quartered in any house. . . ." Under British rule, the colonists sometimes had to feed and house British soldiers against their will. As a result, Americans wanted this practice forbidden under the Bill of Rights.

THE RIGHT TO EQUAL JUSTICE

The Bill of Rights contains many rights that are guaranteed to persons accused of a crime. Amendments Five, Six, Seven, and Eight are all concerned with these rights. Our nation places great importance on these rights in order to guarantee equal justice for all Americans.

A person must be indicted, or formally accused of a crime, by a group of citizens called a "grand jury" before he can be brought into court for trial.

A person accused of a crime is guaranteed the right to know what law he is accused of breaking.

A person accused of a crime has a right to a prompt public trial by a jury of his fellow citizens.

An accused person cannot be put into prison and kept there for weeks or months while awaiting a trial. He has the right to leave jail, in most cases, if he can raise a certain sum of money, or bail, as a pledge that he will appear at his trial.

An accused person has a right to a lawyer to represent him in court.

All the testimony and evidence against an accused person must be presented publicly in court.

The accused person has the right to call any witnesses to appear if their testimony will help him.

The accused person cannot be forced to testify or give evidence against himself.

If the accused person is found guilty, he cannot be given cruel or unusual punishment. If the accused person is found not guilty of a serious crime, he cannot be tried a second time for this same crime.

THE RIGHT TO OWN PRIVATE PROPERTY

The Fifth Amendment guarantees Americans the right to own private property. No person may take away anything that we own. Nor can the government seize our land, money, or other forms of property without cause, or without paying for it. The right to own private property is one of America's basic freedoms. Our free economic system is based upon this right.

THE RIGHT TO ENJOY MANY OTHER FREEDOMS

To make doubly sure that Americans should enjoy every right and freedom possible, Amendment Nine was added to the Constitution. This amendment states that the list of rights contained in the Bill of Rights is not complete. There are many other rights that all Americans have and will continue to have even though they are not mentioned in the Bill of Rights. Among them are the following.

Freedom to live or travel anywhere in our nation

Freedom to work at any job for which we can qualify

Freedom to marry and raise a family

Freedom to receive a free education in good public schools

Freedom to join a political party, a union, and other legal groups

As a final guarantee of our rights, the Tenth Amendment set aside many powers of government for the states. This Amendment says that all powers not given to the federal government by the Constitution, nor forbidden to the states, are set aside for the states, or for the people. This provision leaves with the states the power to act in many ways to guarantee the rights of their citizens.

SUMMARY

Government is the authority or power that people establish to help them run their affairs.

Governments serve many important purposes, but the most important one is that government makes it possible for people to live and work together. Government provides us with rules of conduct we can follow. Government makes it possible for people to live by known laws, and helps provide many services that citizens acting alone could not perform themselves.

Our nation's government is based on the American Constitution. This Constitution, together with its Bill of Rights and other amendments, provides us with a workable plan of government. The Constitution also guarantees to all Americans many priceless rights and freedoms.

Our nation's government is based upon the approval, or consent, of the people who are governed. It is a federal system in which certain powers are given to the national government and other powers are left to the states and to the people. Certain powers are shared by both federal and state governments. In both federal and state governments, powers are separated and balanced among three branches of government.

---------

Understand this:  The Devil wants to destroy the very essence of God's will for our lives - to have an abundant life and to be saved by His Son - Jesus Christ.

• Love the Lord
• Let Go and Let God
• Repent, turn and serve God
• Seek first the Kingdom of God
• Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Don't forget, the devil wants to destroy every good and righteous things in your life.

Blessings,

D

Time flies by...

[youtube id="F2bk_9T482g"]As my family and I drove home from a parade in the town next to ours, I was flooded with childhood memories from when my mom and dad took my sister and I to parades in our hometown.  I love how my dad really did the little things that meant so much to me.  As I reflect on these things, my father is 86 years old and lives in assisted living near my sister nine hours away from me.  He is Parkinson's Disease and is slipping daily both literally and figuratively.   My mom went home (to Heaven) in March of 2011 and I cannot believe how time flies by.

I posted this video from the movie UP as my family and I watched the end of this movie right before bedtime for the girls.  I YouTube'd the video and found the beginning of their relationship until the end.  There is a great secular book called, Tuesday's with Maurie, and there is a line from the book that says, "Death ends and life but not a friendship".  That is so true both in the secular world and in the spiritual world.  There is so much of my parents good in me that I cannot even begin to count the blessings.  Of course, there are things that I wished that I could have had throughout my childhood that I didn't and things that I wished that I could have avoided and didn't - the pain that came with it but wasn't prepared spiritually by my dad (he wasn't a Christian at those times).

I think when we treat each day as a gift rather than a burden we can begin to move toward a posture of gratitude and respect for the One who gives it to us each and every day.   Life is a gift and our breaths are numbered by the Creator who knows when each of us have an appointment to die.  There are simple truths in life that no matter what we do cannot be avoided - death and taxes and the Judgement of God.  With all this being said, time flies by.  1 Peter 3:7, "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace."  James 4:14, "Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.  What is your life?  For you are  a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

I remember when I was a boy there was a lady friend who was very affluent and she took kindly to me and my education.  Her nickname was Miss Lee (that is what all the kids called her when she was a teacher).  She was also an antique dealer who was doing work for my parents and she made me promise that I would finish college and also pursue my Masters Degree (which I did) and in turn of this promise she ended up gifting me my room with some collectibles that she gave to me free of charge.  My wife and I to this day use that Clerk's Desk in our family room.  Miss Lee said one thing very provocative to me, "Dante, make the best use of your time, because when you blink, you will be my age."  I always took that comment at a glance, but the older I get, the taller my children become and the gray in my hair are constant reminders of her truth.

What does this mean for our legacy dads?  What is this post saying to you?  For me, it is simple, there are things that have been slapping me upside the head this week that have become almost comical in my life and it is forcing me to practice what I preach on this blog.

For Starters:

I will...

• ...play more with my children
• ...read more with my children
• ...read more with my wife (more devotions and conversations)
• ...be more active in leading both physically and spiritually
• ...make the best use of my time through work, chores, playtime and rest

I will not...

• ...surrender time to my IPAD or Desktop or Computer
• ...waste time for lazy pleasure
• ...settle for mediocrity
• ...turn away from God by wasting my time

When I think of how fast things are moving by me, I can choose to be a reactive parent or a proactive parent, husband and leader of my family.  The only regret that I want on my tombstone is that my loved ones say that they wish more people would have gotten to know the influence I had in their lives.  The more people that could have looked a my life and instead of seeing me - they see the love of Jesus.

For me and my house, we choose to serve the Lord with all of our time, talent and treasure!!!

What is your choice today?

Blessings,

Dante

A time for everything

Ecclesiastes 3New International Version (NIV)

A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:  2     a time to be born and a time to die,  a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3     a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4     a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, 5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,     a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 6     a time to search and a time to give up,  a time to keep and a time to throw away, 7     a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, 8     a time to love and a time to hate,  a time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet[a] no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13 That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.  15 Whatever is has already been,     and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.[b] 16 And I saw something else under the sun:  In the place of judgment—wickedness was there, in the place of justice—wickedness was there.  17 I said to myself,  “God will bring into judgment     both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity,     a time to judge every deed.”

18 I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. 19 Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath[c]; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. 20 All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?

-----

Some things that we can learn from the wisest man that the world has ever seen - Solomon:

• God does not change
• No matter how much we desire, God's plans may differ from our plans (and usually do)
• The world will never make sense until the Lord returns
• We need to find contentment
• His timing is perfect
• Above all, we need to fear the Lord

What are some of your thoughts?

Dante

Stewardship of Time - Managment

My friends would consider me very organized and on the ball.  They would say that I am either very anal retentive and or OC (and not the D - obsessive and compulsive).  The way that people have described me to others are either you will take him (really love him) or you won't -there is no in between.  I can say that God has matured me in many ways, from an aging father and deceased mother to a husband and father of 3 beautiful kids to a flourishing ministry and work life.  He has humbled me in maturity with the responsibility that He has trusted me in.  Sometimes I wake up and take inventory and cannot believe that I get to live this life.One of my biggest stresses are "to-do lists".  Without them, I would be lost, with them I can sometimes be overwhelmed (what about you?).  The problem with these lists is that I sometimes make them an idol (meaning I cannot disconnect my brain from these lists and thereby I sort of let them rule my mind):

Colossians 4:5 (ESV) 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Psalm 90:12 (ESV) 12 So teach us to number our days  that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Why do we worry about what gets done and doesn't get done?  Why do we let that become an idol in my life?  How can we change my thought process into less of my time and making more intentional things in my life be about God's timing?  Proverbs 16:9 (ESV) The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.  It is easy for any of us to get lost in translation and so much harder when we try to cope by worldly standards - our problem (we do not belong to the world for we were bought with a price).  Therefore,

Step 1:  Change our logic?

• We are not our own, we were bought with a price.  Therefore, I am not my own god (small "g") instead I am a child of God.  Therefore my time no longer belongs to me - it's HIS!

Step 2: What matters most?

• Prioritize our lives (God, Family, Work/Church and Friends)

Step 3: Prioritize what matters most:

• Are we building relationship with God or just knowledge of Him?  He wants more for us then to just know Him - He wants our friendship
• Are we serving God with our Time, Talent and Treasure (don't worry about talent and treasure, yet, we have to get the time part going in the right direction)

Step 4:  Don't sweat the big things (Mathew 6 on worry), instead focus a one degree change on tackling the little stuff

• This allows us not to be overwhelmed
• This gives us some value in that you are accomplishing some things
• The Bigger Things that are on our list seem to get small once the little stuff starts getting accomplished

Step 5:  Prayer continually

• This Step should really be wrapped in between and woven throughout all previous steps and steps to come
• This Step should be our guide for God's will and not our own

Step 6:  Find accountability

• Join a men's group
• Join a Bible believing Bible study
• Find brothers who can help
• Confess to our brothers and first and foremost to the Lord

Step 7:  Take inventory on the changes made

• Is it making a difference
• How are others around us reacting
• Is God moving in our life

Colossians 3:15-16

English Standard Version (ESV)

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms

and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Have a blessed day,Dante

Perspective on the Stewardship of Time

 

Psalm 90:12

New International Version (NIV)

¹² Teach us to number our days,that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

For kicks, I took a life expectancy test on the internet and here are the results that I received:

Life Expectancy Results

Life Expectancy: 86.90 yearsLower Quartile: 79.03 years (75% chance you will live longer than this)Median Lifetime: 88.41 years (50% chance you will live longer than this)Upper Quartile: 96.23 years (25% chance you will live longer than this).

That being said,  I am currently age 46, which means according to this, I am over half the age that I have till I die.  According the the calculators, I have 41 years left before I go home.  In other words, I have 14,975 days, or (if I am calculating this right), 21 million 464 thousand minutes before I am gone baby gone.  As I am typing this I have a son who is 10 years old and two daughters (ages 9 and 7, respectively).

Psalm 39:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ “Show me, Lord, my life’s endand the number of my days;let me know how fleeting my life is.⁵ You have made my days a mere handbreadth;the span of my years is as nothing before you.Everyone is but a breath,even those who seem secure.

This past month, I have come to realize how important time is in my life as Prophet, Priest and King of my household.   Scripture clearly tells me as husband and father that I have these roles and that I am to die to self to serve others that I am responsible for.  Thereby, my son and two daughters, my wife and so on - those that I have immediate impact on.

Just thinking about this can be very humbling and intimidating knowing this plate that I have.  All of a sudden, if you are like me, a wave of emotions and thoughts come to mind:

What are my priorities:

• Are my priorities aligned with God's will for my life
• I need to prioritize those things that matter most
• I need to give both quantity and quality to those things that DO MATTER most and let go of the things that do not.
• Do I possess the gifts and attributes to prioritize those things?  If not, who do I know that does
• If I were to look at my IPhone, DayPlanner, Checkbook, would my answers correlate with these three things?  If not, why not

Let's take some inventory:

• How many hours of sleep do you get a night
• How many hours do you work in a day, a week and a year
• How many minutes, hours, days do you give your wife and children
• How much time do you give God
• Are my priorities in line with God's
• Who is my g/God (myself or God)
• Looking at my checkbook, is my stewardship in line with God's plan for stewardship

Let's take a moment to be honest:

• I am not being an effective steward of time:  True or False
• I am wasting more time than I am using the way God wants me to:  True or False
• I need to get sound wisdom on this topic and need to seek a mentor and scripture and God's will for my life:  True or False
• I am not sure where to find this (even in Scripture):  True or False

After reading through this again (for the third time), I find myself lacking in some key areas of my life.  I need to take stock of the "to-do" lists and the demand of time and how quickly it passes.  As I study myself in the mirror I notice a little hint of grey hairs and a hairline that has been receding.  I realize that my kids are almost all halfway out the door and I have so much more work and instruction for them - the beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord.

The next few posts I will be walking through the Stewardship of time and where I am at in making what matters most - the priority of being a good steward with the time that God has given me.

What about you?  Where are you at on this so valuable of a topic?

Let me know,

Dante

Be careful with the "ISM's" in your lives

[youtube id="Oz9fX_HfsXA"]

S P R I N K L E D

Hebrews 10:22 (NIV) 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.1 Thessalonians 4:1-11 (NIV) Living to Please God:  " 4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living.   Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.  3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body[a] in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b] The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.   9 Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you,"

-----

Clearly we all need to be SPRINKLED WITH GOD'S LOVE AND TRUTH AS FOLLOWS:

S - Set your minds on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God

P - Put away the earthly things that turn your love from Him

R - Rid yourselves of those things that turn you away (get rid of the fruitless things)

I - In Christ

N - not what we do, but Christ in us through His Spirit

K - through his knowledge through his word and the kindness that he gives us to do to others as we would have done to us

L - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

E - Every Christian should clothe ourselves with God's Fruit (Read Galatians 5)

D - In whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all for Jesus

Be blessed,

Dante

Why not sex before marriage (nor outside of marriage) part 1

[youtube id="9K1M5mNEe8s"]1 Corinthians 7

New International Version (NIV)

Concerning Married Life

7 Now for the matters you wrote about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. 3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.