Beware of Watching Mainstream Media

Dear Fellow Christian,

This morning I implore you to beware of mainstream media. It is often a tool of Satan meant to lead people away from the One True God. Satan has blinded the minds of many in America, and the media outlets are one of his strong arms of influence. If a person is watching CNN, MSNBC etc. they are at risk of becoming sheep to the wrong shepherd.  When one drum is beat, day after day, with a message of fear, blame and anger, the mind no longer thinks critically or logically, it merely becomes a parrot of what it is being fed continually. When the Bible is not read day after day, and a believer has isolated themselves from regular discourse with other believers, the influence of God fades and the 'wisdom' of the world takes over. 

As Christians, we are here to represent God. We are to think, respond, love, defend, and act like God as much as we are able. This is a challenge, so God tells us to guard our minds if we are to succeed. The Holy Spirit is within us to help us, but we must not stifle hearing from Him.

The wisdom of this world is proclaimed day and night on mainstream media channels like ABC, CBS, CNN....coupled with other internet sites that distract us, if we are not careful, we can be steadily digesting messages that are not in line with God, His values, or His will for us. God tells us that friendship with the world is enmity with God. (James 4:4) Is this true during a global pandemic? Was it true during Hitler's reign? You better believe it. 

What the Bible calls the world are the world forces, the worldview, the thoughts and actions of the world we live in, which are OPPOSED to God. If we have not read the Bible or been in a Bible preaching church consistently, we may not be aware of this reality, but Scripture is clear that there are opposing forces among us. There is not a middle ground for those who don't wish to be involved. God tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together because we need each other to continue to stay on the right path. (Heb 10:25)

During this global pandemic, far too many have shut themselves away from other believers, and this lack of fellowship, coupled with continual watching of TV has led former believers who walked with God down the wrong path, away from Him. Those who may have thought they were believers, who had deceived themselves, look just like the unsaved after months of digesting mainstream media. I wish this was a speculative commentary being made, but it is not. 

Please read on to see what God says about this world, the ruler of this world, and how those who belong to Him can thrive in today's culture. 

We see the contrast of the 'world' here with God's ways.

1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world nor 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 and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.

1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

We see here that there is a spiritual battle being waged around us and there are things we must do to be able to stand against them. We see that Satan has a dominion here on Earth.

Luke 4:5-8
And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I want. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus replied to him, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

Ephesians 6:11-13
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

God uses strong language to show He is our Father or Satan is. He tells us Satan's character here. We do not fall or slide into belonging to God.

John 8:44-47
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

God tells us here how to withstand the wiles of Satan and clearly tells us there is a spiritual battle being waged.

Ephesians 6:10-17
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

There are promises from God for the believer during these difficult times! See again the contrast of 'the world' and God.

John 14:27
Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.

Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

A Day In the Life

Here is a typical scenario that often happens when homeschooling high schoolers.

One student is loudly speaking Spanish very close by with an open mic; I have numerous pages open on my computer including the scholarship Excel spreadsheet, applying to a college in order to get a dual enrollment transcript through our online high School, my email with long detailed instructions on how to approach this application ; and another student asking me questions about a scholarship that is being filled out that moment.

Before I submit my application, I need the student who is working on a scholarship to look over it to make sure I didn't make any mistakes. I jump up to use the restroom, but not without being asked,  "What would you say my greatest weakness is?"

There is no time to answer that question because I'm on a mission, and at that moment all I could think of was, "Your greatest weakness is that I've had to answer this question several times already this semester!"

College applications and scholarships are a great opportunity to probe one's mind with profound, and sometimes annoying, queries. 

Yard Update...Dying Arborvitaes and Their Sad Journey to the Trash...Oct 2020

Out of the 5 dead or dying arborvitaes, two are no more. One has been moved to a corner of the yard near the juniper, adjacent to another arborvitae. I trimmed the dead spots off of the newly moved one and turned it so it looks pretty good :). 

The removal of one partially living and two dead arborvitaes happened this week after the arborist confirmed the situation was dire. 

We had six weeks of no rain and temperatures in the high 90's and even over 100 degrees this summer. Followed by lots of rain and probably too much watering prior to the rain, there was just too much water. 

Root rot seems to be the general thought and by the smell of the soil and the small size of the root balls, I tend to concur.

Our clay soil is red when healthy and exchanging oxygen. I've amended our soil a lot where these guys were planted, but there is still a high clay content and nothing was reddish down under that hole.

The Replanting Project

This arborvitae on the left starts the long row that we had. To it's right is now a small Rose of Sharon and then a new, heavily discounted, Burkwood Viburnum. We have two of those by our driveway and everyone likes the small white blooms that look like little snowballs. It is very fragrant and grows nice and tall here. 

These two dying arborvitaes to the right of the new Viburnum: the plan is to cut off the 3 stems that are dead (presumably due to the roots feeding them being dead), move the one on the left forward and to the right. Then I'll rotate the one on the right so that together they make one decent looking arborvitae.

This is where one of the dead ones was.

There was hosta here, but in order to hopefully help this soil not be so saturated, I've put this Rose of Sharon in for the time being. It grows freely in my yard and I'm not in the mood to waste more money right now.

This corner now has a new half dead arborvitae in it, but it looks pretty good.

We hope to get another Camilla at some point like this one, but no one has anything decent right now.

A newly planted maple tree that has been nurtured in the bunny area for several years. We're so excited to give this one a try!

Finally, this is where we moved the one struggling arborvitae to. It looks better in person!

Thinking Rightly Requires Parental Guidance

There is a transition that needs to happen in the life of parents if they are to truly help disciple their children in godliness. It is the transition that moves a parent from thinking their child's perspective is right, to seeing when they are being manipulated as parents and when the child has an incorrect way of thinking about something. 

I recall having a child who always loved their teachers; fault was hard to find in any of them! Then another child who always complained about their teachers and would have, what seemed to be, solid examples of why there were problems. 

In time we realized both children had perspective issues. Thinking rightly requires parental guidance. 

Confronting someone does not equate meanness. This is a truth that requires maturity on both the part of the parent and the child. 

The Bible speaks of lovingly turning one's brother from sin as truly loving them. This involves a gentle confrontation. When there are rules that are broken, the standard should be upheld. Should the offender be able to continue in their sin to the detriment of all others? The Bible talks about individuals and individual accountability because we deal singularly with God as people. Enter through the narrow gate---one by one. When a brother is sinning, we carefully help them see their error just as we (should) hope they help us. When swift action to remedy one's errors can be taken, but isn't, it reveals the heart attitude.  

As a body of believers, we do not honor God by ignoring His statutes. Adults are to be in proper authority over children, and when we instead empower children, we will not get His results. We will continue to foster wrong thinking and thus, a wrong way of interacting with those in authority over us. Instead of having true reconciliation, stress will be present in the child who is allowed to essentially, lie. 

The world has influenced the church and believers in more ways than this, unfortunately. We will reap what we sow collectively and individually. 

God Sees--You Can't Be Catholic and Pro-Choice

I've always loved the bumper sticker that rightly says You Can't Be Catholic and Pro-Choice. Historic Catholicism valued life in the womb and recognized that life as a child, as it should. 

Today's Catholics are often liberal, unfortunately, and since they do not rely on the Bible for truth, they have been moved away from conservative values because the church has moved. You can't vote Democrat and be pro-life. Democrats are the party of death to the unborn. To vote with them is to stand with them as they push certain agendas.

God sees and knows mankind's wicked ways. 

It is wicked to support abortion. 

God hates hands that shed innocent blood. 

From Proverbs 6:

16 There are six things which the LORD hates,
            Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

      17Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
            And hands that shed innocent blood,

      18A heart that devises wicked plans,
            Feet that run rapidly to evil

Look this passage up in your Bible to know the 7 things which are an abomination to the God of the universe. 

Do I Understand the Love of God?

A sure indication we are believers is that we demonstrate the love of God to fellow believers. It is supposed to be a sacrificial love. If we are not members of a God-honoring church, how can we regularly be demonstrating this to the family of God? Where can we get the assurance we are genuinely born-again? 

In this sermon series, The Love of God, John MacArthur explains a right understanding of our High Priest. 

It is easy to work in regular listening to good Bible teaching. Take a walk, go for a bike ride, exercise/stretch at home with a podcast on, do dishes and light cleaning while listening, plug your phone or ipod into a little speaker and listen while showering....we all make time for what matters to us.

Girl's Weekend

Celebrating femininity is great fun. We need not let the world define who we are as women. Romance, gentlemanly behavior being appreciated, dresses, long hair...and copious amounts of tea...there is something beautiful about being a woman. 

Planning and Applying to College: Helpful Tips for Homeschoolers Part 1

Recently, while looking for information to satisfy my own curiosity and help a friend, I learned a few things about applying to college as a homeschool parent that make sense upon hearing, but which never occurred to me. I hope this information helps some of you. Most of what I'm sharing applies to state/secular colleges, but you can ask the Christian schools your student is applying to as well just to be sure (mainly about the weighted GPA). Often college websites will say what they want, but it is ok to call if it isn't readily findable or to double check. Websites aren't always updated promptly.

Take heart, we didn't do all of these things and the Lord worked it out wonderfully. My youngest plans to attend a Christian school, but if not, this may come in handy. If nothing else it helps explain some of the extremely high GPA's college websites report. 

Let's get started!!

First things first--keep good records starting at the beginning of 9th grade. Make a binder with dividers, put the course syllabi in, and keep a few samples of course work throughout the year. Track volunteer hours (make sure to do some), music lessons, and if you are ambitious, keep a book list. This is also a great place to keep awards or a list of them (if they take the National Latin Exam, jot it down and have them input their Medal). At the end of the year, add in your grade sheets or those you printed from online schools or co-ops. This is helpful should anyone question what your student really did and for your own peace of mind. It may help them with applying for scholarships. If your student works, keep a record of when they started and how often in that notebook. It is rather silly how much time we spent, more than once, configuring the year/month my girls started working at my friend's farm! Not so for my youngest, he is keeping track sooner!

1. Contact your local high school (s) to find out how they structure their transcripts. You can do this when your student is in 9th grade and work from there, or just keep good records and call in a later year so you can arrange yours the same way. This way your transcript is competitive on the same grounds. Find out what the public school is calling their courses and adjust accordingly so it is clear what your student has taken (ie my kids did English 1 in 9th but some gov't schools call it Eng 9...so call it Eng 9). You can also rearrange the order of the classes so it is easy for colleges to see your student has done all of the same work, or more. 

2. Honors classes---this has come up for many who are suddenly homeschooling because of COVID. People want their kids to continue on the same 'track' they had in public school.... If you have an academically gifted student and they are being challenged with how you are teaching, it is an honors level course most likely. The rigor of the class is what determines if it is honors. There are online schools who designate their classes in that way, which is also helpful. The bottom line is this though, if you've got a 4.0 student who did extremely well on the ACT or SAT, they've been doing honors level work for at least a few things. You are the teacher and make that determination. Just make sure their SAT/ACT reflects what you say. Don't say a student with an 950 SAT did all honors level work. Something won't add up there. 

3. The GPA brings us to the next topic--weighted or unweighted. Talk to the college admissions department of the schools your student is applying to and inquire if they prefer one over the other. What do most of the applicants do? Likewise, check in with your local high schools and see what THEY are doing. If they weight the GPA's, unless a college says not to, you probably want to do that, too.

4. Not only will you want to weigh your student's GPA, but ask the local high school what CLASSES they are using to determine the GPA. Apparently the schools don't necessarily use all of the classes taken, depending on region, so it is worth asking. You want your student evaluated on the same playing field. Create different transcripts to suit what the colleges you are applying to want: weigh the GPA and then don't weigh it. That is fine to do. What can really hurt your student is to not weigh their GPA and the rest of the applicants do...so others have 4.59 and your child has a 4.0...given same SAT score: guess who is getting the bigger money?? I had never heard of this manipulation with GPA. Had I not been told this was a reality by a mom now working professionally, whose 4 kids got full tuition at a state school, I would have a hard time believing it. (college websites often post their scholarships and the average scores previous year's recipients have had. it will change from year to year, but helps give you an idea what your student can obtain.)

5. Apparently The Common Application isn't as clear as it was a few years ago. There seems to be disagreement over how much detail to include with the course descriptions. It used to be uploaded as a detailed document outlining credit hours, a summary of the classes, and where the classes were taken. Each college will access what they want, so give the Admissions Depts a call and ask what they want. Some people are now just giving a list of all the classes, some people are submitting details only for dual-enrolled classes....A larger state school in my state just wants a list of classes, but a smaller state school near that institution wants all that I just listed as well as how many hours were spent on each class. It is worth a few phone calls to ensure you are supplying what they schools want. You can also ask if what they want is different for homeschoolers than public school counterparts. 

**I take note of which colleges are easier to work with and how friendly they are. For each of my students, it has not taken long to see a definitive trend with each of their 'pool' of schools. This doesn't have to reflect on the college, but over time and more than several interactions, it does leave an impression of how organized they are as an institution and the general culture. Is it a friendly place? I don't know that we'd decide against a school that was a pain for me to work with, but it is something that aids in how I feel if I send my kid to that place for 3 or 4 years.**

This is installment one of two on getting your transcript together and filling out The Common Application. Part 2 on Dual enrollment and ensuring transferability is here. 

Homeschool Regulations USA

Planning a move or pondering relocation? As a homeschooler, the information on the laws in each state is invaluable. When we moved from New England years ago, I'm so thankful we landed where we did as opposed to nearby states which are in the same category as ours but far more difficult. Take time to really dig in to what is required before you settle on a lifetime of learning! Over-reaching government officials and our liberal society are no friends of freedom in education. I'm grateful for HSLDA and the protection they afford. Join before you start homeschooling each year!

To see this map up close or learn details about your state, go to HSLDA. 

Little Milestone

Today was a bit momentous. My second-born submitted her final college application. If the school hadn't sent word that unfinished applications would be deleted due to a new system they are installing, we would still be waiting on those essay submissions...but Providence intervened and we're done! Like many events with older kids, what started as a stressful, time-consuming project has suddenly wrapped up. The many essays, proof-reading, and numerous passwords to keep looking up are all a thing of the past....and I'm a little sad about it. Not in a 'I'd like to go back' way, but as a, 'wow, time to move forward yet again toward her leaving' way. 

As with my first-born, all of this happens in a flurry so sadness isn't a part of it. It is just 'get er done'. Now, it is all about scholarship hunting and submitting, praying, and waiting for financial aid packages later this winter. The last thing before deciding...

My job of checking with the colleges to see about courses transferring has also concluded as of today. I did my final, rather offhand inquiry on a bit of a distant possibility this afternoon and added it to our course transfer spreadsheet. When I put the sheet together this school wasn't added as a serious option, so I'm doubtful we'll change course. It was good news though, so between now and Nov 1, if the Lord moves us or our daughter to lean toward the south, next semester might look different. Otherwise we'll look again at Ohio for more dual enrollment. That school makes it more complex than necessary for dual enrollment, so it would be nice to get plenty of bang for that buck!! Of course, applying after that ordeal is easy, so it is a decent trade off ultimately.

I learned a bit today about when home schoolers apply to state colleges that I hope will help if our youngest applies to any. During that conversation I saw again how the Lord works things out as He wills. We do our best and He leads. God, help us to follow! 

Aside from scholarship work, now it is time to capitalize on what I want to work on with my littlest girl before she launches...It will never be like this again and knowing what is to come, I can't even think on that much. How is this soft baby getting ready to leave? Before long it's gonna be me and my Mish during the day...she is pretty fun, but I'd sure love it if the Lord moved us a lot closer to where my youngest will go to college, assuming it will be with his sister 💕.

Homeschool Success: Looking Toward Launching

Step one, and it starts long before they leave...or it should if there are not extenuating circumstances. Work your way out of a job, and you are doing your job well... Letting go at this point feels pretty good though, so enjoy!! You've got tons to do with other kids, working some, or with home management!

Emotionalism? How Much is Too Much?

Emotionalism, there are those who think the more the better. Getting in touch with our feelings is all the rage.

I disagree, and say emotionalism often leads people to not respond wisely, but rather it can lure them into what feels old, familiar, and thus, comfortable. Sadly people who are like this often cannot be trusted as much as someone who will look objectively at a situation while feeling the realities. Emotions have to be balanced with wisdom and logic. We can respond with kindness and grace to situations which stir our heart strings, but we need to be shrewd as well, understanding that feelings come and go.

False religions rely largely on emotionalism. It is a tool the Devil uses to warp the outlook and response of people who easily fall prey to it. This is why families/mothers often 'play the guilt card'. Manipulation takes many forms, and within false religions, you can count on it being a regular attendee. 

I love true Christianity. No games, no mental gymnastics to make pieces fit. The love, mercy and justice of God Almighty there for those who humbly accept the blood payment of Jesus Christ.

Do not be lukewarm, either be all in with Christ and truth, or realize, you are all out. There is no middle ground or walking the line.

Meditation that Honors God

Most Bible believing Christians realize that what the world calls 'meditation' is not something they should engage in. Opening our minds to random spiritual influences is dangerous. We're to guard our minds and be wary of influences that are contrary to God's truth. That said, in today's stressful environment, people are looking for peace. Of course, that is only found in a right relationship with the God through Jesus Christ. 

The Scriptures mention meditating on God's word, and in light of that, here is a 2014 article from Grace to You on Meditation that Honors God. 

Here is another article from Ligonier Ministries on Proper Meditation. 

May you find what you are looking for, which is likely genuine peace and contentment amidst this chaotic and wicked world. ♥

Remembering God's Sovereignty and Availability

Recently, the lecture we watched from R. C. Sproul's 'Foundations' series, coupled with the study we're doing in Isaiah and today's sermons, have served to bring me needed calm and peace. God's word and truth should do that in the life of a believer, right? It is our own fault if we choose to not tap into that.

If the people we're burdened for spiritually have access to truth, as nearly everyone in America does, we can rest in that. If they all have access to Bible teaching churches, all have Bibles or internet, and we've shared the gospel with them to the best of our ability, what more can be done? If your family strives to bring glory to God as a witness beyond your words, you are doing what you can, and can rest in that, prayerfully.

If individuals choose live deceived, that is out of our control. If they reject truth, that is also out of our control. Ultimately, if someone goes to Hell when they die, it is their own doing, not anyone else's. We're all guilty before God, without Christ's blood payment for our sin, and we each need to humble ourselves if we're to be born again. The Bible explicitly says we must be born again in order to be saved from God's wrath.

Those of us in Christ have work to do. Let us not get waylaid with people who continually make excuses for disobeying the Word. Who we hitch our wagon to will either spurn us on to greater righteousness, or will hold us back.

Believer, rejoice in the freedom Christ has freely bestowed! Don't hide the peace and joy you are able to have amid COVID. Keep pressing forward, and beware of those who can distract you from reaching out to those who may get serious about the things of God if they are exposed to Him! 

Good intentions are not enough, right actions are what count. Those are always preceded by good intentions anyway. At some point we may need to take inventory and realize we've done what is required of us, and keep moving forward. 

If We're Going to Press the Irrational Panic Button....

If the new, caring standard is to do whatever is possible to prevent deaths, I think this information speaks for itself. 

Two children under age 14 die every day due to unintentional drowning.  At this point in the year, we're up to more than 50 lives lost.

675 children under 12 yrs old die in car accidents annually. Do children truly need to be in vehicles, especially if they are home schooled?

There were 107 flu deaths last year in kids aged 5-17. We might recall the mass hysteria the media keeps pounding over how outrageously dangerous the flu has gotten. Maybe it is just me, but that number does not warrant locking everyone down....did anyone? Maybe caring parents whose standard is to do WHATEVER can possibly be done should have pulled their kids out of school last year and had them avoid as much human interaction as possible. (Life isn't meant to be lived, right...we've decided that is an optional thing now)

For crying out loud, how much of this will the sheeple ingest before realizing they are continually being manipulated to panic, panic, worry, worry?? This life is not all there is to life. These people that like to report in ways to get everyone in a lather could point you to what will bring calm and peace, but they do not know Him so they cannot...

There were 3, 476 deaths in children aged 5-14 in the USA between 2/1/2020 and 9/26/2020. Of those, 32 involved COVID. Where is the panic and outrage over the 3,444 other causes of death?? Why isn't the media beating the drum over this day in and day out, massaging, manipulating, making people angry and playing the blame game? Why aren't they using those reasons to distract people from what really matters? (I guess COVID is enough for now...but let it die down, liberals, which includes the media, never let a crisis go to waste and never miss an opportunity to make a crisis where there isn't one). 

Please, if we are going to be irrational, let us at least be consistent in our logic. If there is something that can be done to prevent deaths, it must be done. (please do not take time to notice how subjective this approach is and that living life is not a goal...we must view the gift of life that God gave as one to hide and protect at ALL costs---it isn't to be lived to glorify Him or love other people, we must think only of ourselves and do WHATEVER we can to keep ourselves and our loved ones away from harm. all. the. time.)

Intimacy with Others

I'm sure to have written on this in the past, but it is just one of those things I'm bound to revisit. 

Intimacy with people.

Real relationships. 

It is not appropriate for every relationship to be profound. That would be too stressful. Who can maintain a plethora of close relationships if we are to be genuinely caring and attentive friends?

But with some people, like family, doesn't it seem appropriate to actually know each other so family gatherings are fulfilling and not shallow? The rub is when you really don't have things in common or know you fully disagree on things. Then knowing less is advantageous....

But if we never take the risk, then we'll never know, because some people are good at keeping their views on things rather hidden. We talk about work, hobbies, school....that stuff is all well and good, but it is so much more fun when there is talk about Christ, God, the culture in relation to those things. 

I think it was Satan who encouraged people not to discuss religion and politics. The bedrock of society and life rest on these issues, so ignoring them as a point of discussion just means we don't really know people. 

Is there a way to casually brooch these topics without them becoming a point of contention? Probably not, which is why people avoid it. We think, rightly so for some, that we won't be able to gather civilly if this stuff is discussed. 

And this is why being a member of a church is critical for born again Christians. We must gather with like minded people, who become a family to us in many ways, to exhort one another in righteous living and use our gifts to bless each other. Often family is who God puts us with so we can be a light for Him. How many believers are the only one in their family after all? We shouldn't despair, but thank God that He's sent a messenger to the people we love so much, but who really don't know us because they cannot understand the things of God. 

Thank the Lord for giving us the church. A place where we all grow, fail, love, hurt, forgive, serve and press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, together. 

Jesus is coming back for His church, His bride. Let us work together while listening for the call. 

Who is a Fool?

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs 13:20

The issue with people and this verse is, many do not know what God's standard is for a fool. People who are not in Christ will see this and have their own idea of what a fool is, and they surely are not one. But God says that anyone who denies the truth of His word is a fool. A person who justifies his sin, speaks his mind freely, and does not submit to biblical authority is a fool. It is not a mere derogatory turn of a phrase, it is a characteristic that is to be avoided. Proverbs 13:20 reveals a truth that is able to be seen by those who know us. We become like those we spend time around, and when what we desire is something self-serving, we're far more apt to be led in a wrong direction, one based on our emotions and not truth.

With what is going on in the world, battling worldviews are clearly seen. If we see the world through a biblical lens, the issues of race, power, wealth, class, and even COVID-19 tend to land in one place, and if we don't see the world through that lens, we see all of these things another way. Often people who are lukewarm, with one foot in the world and one foot in the church--so to speak--are the most tormented and liable to change positions depending on the day and who they are allowing to influence them. 

Let us ask God for discernment to see the world and these issues as He sees them, and then act accordingly. 

James 1:5-8, note the character of God

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.