I was on an errand to the drugstore yesterday. The item was hard to find so I asked a gal who was stocking shelves. She told me exactly were it was located. Then passing by her on my return, I thanked her and said maybe I could help her find something. With a slightly puzzled expression she questioned, “What?” I asked her if she was to die that night would she go to Heaven. She replied “Absolutely!” I then said, “May I ask why you are so confident?” 

“Sure. Because me and Him are super close. I talk to Him all the time.” I asked her a few more questions and didn’t hear answers that lined up with Scripture. She said she had a Bible but hadn’t read it in a while. I gave her a tract and encouraged her to read the tract and the Bible. I talk with so many who have what seems to be a false confidence. 

“And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26-27).

I’m not aware of any place in Scripture that says by merely talking to God you are saved. However verses like this one are indicative of salvation. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).

Dads, I plead with you. Make sure you don’t have a false hope. Have you repented of your sin? Have you trusted in His death on the cross for total payment for your sin? Read His Word every morning. Believe what you read. Follow Him obediently. If you do, you will grow in sanctification, more like the Son and less like the world. 

Bobby is the picture-perfect definition of a good ole boy with a southern accent to boot. What a great guy. He’s happy, laughs a lot, and I’ve never seen him angry. He is so grateful for his upbringing. It seems like every conversation we have he says, “My daddy told me…..” Then he shares some “word of wisdom” that his dad told him growing up. He is very honoring of his dad.

Oh to remember our past and give proper honor to it. A sad opposite example is a Kansas City hospital which bears the name of a writer of one of the gospels. Their monthly magazine came which promotes health and the medical services they offer. That month they described the creation of the world in mystical, evolutionary terms. I was horrified. Frankly, I can’t imagine how any doctor with his studies of the human body could not be a committed believer. The wisdom that it took to design the body is staggering and simply impossible that it happened by chance.  “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).

“Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?”(Jeremiah 2:5). 

I pray you are in the Word yourself every morning and leading your family in the Word every night. Give God the glory in all you do with your family. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “Our children love watching nature and science documentaries.” They may be entertaining, but I would be confident if it is on TV it is evolutionary. Consider all the damage that it is doing to a child’s mind. 

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7). 

We met a sweet, young family with two cute littles a couple of years ago on our walking route when they were doing yard work. We loved seeing them in their happiness functioning as a family. Then, this spring we noticed there were no cars in the drive, the yard wasn’t being mowed, and there were no signs of life. We suspected the worst and asked their neighbor who was doing yard work, if he knew whether they were okay. He grimaced and shook his head “No.” 

Over time we observed furnishings, miscellaneous items, children’s toys, and books at the end of the drive for the taking. We stopped to look through the books in case we could use them with our grandkids. No way! There were little kiddos story books with dragons, witches, and magic. How sad to be filling the minds of children with such evil. It was an indication that the Lord Jesus likely had no place in that home, which is now up for sale. 

My brothers, we can’t expect the world not to fill their children’s minds with evil. But may it never be that anyone who names the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior would ever allow such evil things in their homes and certainly not around their children. Sadly, I’m confident that many believers consider these harmless children’s books, not putting up any safeguards to protect their children against them. Have they not read the Word? 

“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked” (Psalms 97:10). There is no such thing as innocent evil. I plead with you. Cleanse your homes of anything evil. 

“But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

Also, make no assumptions about your marriage. Nurture it. Love and cherish your wife as a gift from God. She is. 

People have many names for it, but whatever the name, it brings back awful memories. No one likes it except dogs. Even the Lord Jesus used it as an example of great disgust. Vomit. What was so distasteful to our Lord that He used such a horrific metaphor? It was those who are lukewarm in their faith. 

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).

Might the Lord refer to the the current church (in general) as lukewarm? “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

Christianity has been vaporizing in our “post-Christian” era country. How could that be? Life with Jesus Christ is the most precious thing in all the world. Yet like the rich young ruler, other things are more important (Luke 18:18-24).

We love what we fill our minds with, and that is what our heart becomes. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). Oh my brothers, abide in Christ.

“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:44-45).

Eyes, ears => into the mind => into the heart => deeds/fruit

I’m guessing most have experienced something similar to the following scenario. You are out with your child and meet someone. You greet them and desire that your child look at them, smile, and greet them. Instead, your child stares at the ground. Embarrassed, you try to coax your child by offering a few sample words to get them started. Sigh. That doesn’t work either. 

There are few people who aren’t afraid to talk to others, and perhaps even fewer who actually enjoy it. Then there are some who enjoy it, but all they do is talk about themselves. Most aren’t born good communicators. The world desperately needs them. When sharing our faith, it is huge. In almost every vocation the good communicator excels. Between husband and wife and parents with their children, communication is the breath of life. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

Make it a family project to become good communicators. You will be blessed greatly, you’ll bless others, and your children will have a needed skill in being ambassadors. Watch your children’s confidence grow. For help : Making Great Conversationists. 

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

It has been well-documented and accepted that our health is greatly affected by what we eat yielding the expression, “You are what you eat.” Years ago, a similar expression was “Garbage in. Garbage out.” In essence, what you take into a system determines its output. 

We understand this in relation to our bodies, machinery, and electronics, and even what we take to recycling. Then why don’t professing Christians “get it” regarding their souls? I’ve heard it said that Christians aren’t concerned about the negative effects of watching or listening to worldly stuff because they treat it like they eat chicken, “You eat the meat, and spit out the bones.” However, look at how this analogy breaks down. When a person bites the meat from the bone, he isn’t swallowing any of the bone. If someone does swallow some bone, the body attempts to digest it, extracting everything it can from what was consumed before expelling it. In addition, if the meat eaten was chemically treated, or laden with bacteria, it could make him sick.

Maybe that partially explains why many professing Christian adults appear to be more like the world than their Savior. Now consider, if that is the effect of worldly activities and entertainment on professing adults, who think they won’t be negatively affected, what about their children who are consuming it by the hour, with no pretense of discernment. Oh God, have mercy. 

“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

Have you ever heard one of your children say, “But Dad said…” to a sibling? I’m guessing most of us have. It is the automatic “free pass” to whatever the child was demanding. Oh, such power wielded in the name of Dad. The only problem was if they were misrepresenting what you said. 

What about us dads? Have we ever been guilty of misrepresenting our Father’s Word or missed many opportunities to apply it?  

Jesus said in John 15:16, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” Here Jesus, the God of all creation, is saying that whatever we ask of the Father in His name, the Father may give it to us. 

How often is that misapplied to our prayers? Are we guilty of simply tacking on “in Jesus name” thinking we automatically get what we are asking for? But, is our prayer actually in accordance with what Jesus Himself would ask of the Father?

“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).

Teri and I were shocked to see what seemed like two POW’s within 60 seconds of each other. I have seen photos of POW’s in history books, but I’ve never considered someone to be a possible POW. Then to see two of them within a minute was hard to imagine. These men were walking skeletons due to starvation for some reason. Yet, here they were in Walmart. Their arms and legs were just bones without muscle. How these two guys could even walk was hard to imagine. They both had shorts and tee shirts so their physical condition was obvious. Could they both have been cancer victims or have some other illness? Maybe, but the rest of their appearance indicated most likely otherwise. They broke our hearts. They were possibly prisoners of a cruel master. Satan was winning the war in their lives and likely using addictions to kill them. 

What a contrast to having the God of creation as one’s Lord and Master. The One Who cares for and blesses His children. “Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.” (Psalm 128:1). It doesn’t mean we won’t have sickness or problems in life, but we know that everything God allows in our lives will be for good. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

Brothers, Satan is crafty, and cruel and wants your family. He’s happy with just an inch. Give him one bad choice, and he will give you another “opportunity.” It may be alcohol, weed, or a spicy movie. That is the beginning. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17). If it isn’t glorifying to God, don’t do it.