Career Location—Where will you live? What company or organization will you work for? Will the job be solid? Will the ministry “stay afloat”? Where will your family grow up? Who will your kids be friends with? What church will you attend? What community will you live in? Who will babysit your kids and influence your family? What school will you send your kids to? These questions have enormous implications on many parts of your future and family. You must get it right. You must believe there is a God-ordained purpose and plan for all that must be discovered.
Living Quarters—What kind of place will you put your family in? How much will you have to pay? When will you purchase a home, if ever? How? What does it take to get into an apartment? How do you know what is best when you’ve never traveled this road before?
Church—Will you go to church since your parents won’t be making you? What kind? Will you serve faithfully? Will you be what God wants you to be in your church family? Will you help to bring others to Christ in that church? Will you find a solid Bible-believing church home or will you choose a compromising, middle-of-the-road, never-leave-your-comfort-zone type of place? Be careful not to follow culture's priorities and make the decision to leave the church of your upbringing too easily and without proper consideration. The Lord blesses faithfulness to His church and you will not be happy if you leave God's will in order to follow your dreams.
Personal Walk with Christ—Will you know Christ personally and stay faithful to Him in your heart? Will your children follow your faith or leave it? Will God be a small part of your big picture, or will He be your big picture? Will God be that part of your life that you run to only when you’re in trouble? These decisions will have much to do with your own personal sanity as well as the spiritual health of your family for generations to come.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Faith Focus for January 2
January: Being Diligent
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
You only believe that which compels you to action.
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
You only believe that which compels you to action.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Faith Focus for December 26
December: Being Meek
Psalm 22:26
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
"The person who bears and suffers evils with meekness and silence, is the sum of a Christian." - John Wesley
Psalm 22:26
The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
"The person who bears and suffers evils with meekness and silence, is the sum of a Christian." - John Wesley
Monday, December 19, 2011
Faith Focus for December 19
December: Being Meek
Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashiona as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
"Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness... to... save us." Andrew Murray
Philippians 2:8
And being found in fashiona as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
"Christ is the humility of God embodied in human nature; the Eternal Love humbling itself, clothing itself in the garb of meekness... to... save us." Andrew Murray
Monday, December 12, 2011
Faith Focus for December 12
December: Being Meek
1 Peter 3:4
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
"The meek man has accepted God's estimate of his own life: in himself, nothing; in God, everything." - A. W. Tozer
1 Peter 3:4
But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
"The meek man has accepted God's estimate of his own life: in himself, nothing; in God, everything." - A. W. Tozer
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Understanding the Early Years of Adulthood - Part Four
Career Field—
What will you spend your life doing? There are many noble things to do with your life. Ministry is good. Faithful Christians in secular fields are vital also. The question is not “what do you want to do?” As we’ll see later, that can be a dangerous way to think. The question is—what is your destiny? What were you made to do? What fulfills your eternal purpose for being on this planet? When you answer that question, you will be truly happy.
Chances are you know what you want. Scary thing is you may or may not be right. I mean, what you think you want may be absolutely wrong for your destiny. In which case, you won’t know it until a few years down the road—probably after you exit the mistake zone. So, you will have to make a choice, but you have no real way of knowing that what you want is what God wants. Sounds too bizarre for reality, but it’s true. The world is full of elderly people who never really found their purpose for being alive. You don’t have to become one of them.
Marriage—
Who will you marry? What kind of person will you marry—I mean, beyond “pretty” or “handsome”? Come on, go a little deeper than that. How will you know this person is emotionally stable? How will you be guaranteed you won’t end up deserted, cheated on, or left hanging out to dry? Thousands of couples every year, who once stood at a wedding altar madly in love, stand in a living room beating each other’s brains out or stand in a courtroom fighting over cars and kids. People who once dreamed of living in love for the rest of their lives now live in hate. How can that happen? What makes you exempt? No one thinks it will happen to them.
Your marriage will not be perfect. At best it will be a solid relationship that forges through trials to become a refined lifetime love. That’s at best. No marriage is easy, and no marriage just falls into perfect place. Happy marriages and lifetime loves are discovered through years of commitment and personal change. But happy marriages are worth fighting for. They are always happier after the forging process than they were before it. The whole relationship gets better over time, but how will you know for sure that you’ve got someone committed to loving that intensely?
How will this person treat your children? How will they respond when you do something stupid? How will they spend money or keep the house? What will it take to really make them “ticked off.” Just what does this person do when he or she is “ticked off”? What will he or she want to do with the rest of your life?
All of these questions are huge, and most of them cannot be answered for certain until after you’re married! Isn’t that great news! You’ll get married, and then you’ll start to really get to know the person you married. About ten years later, if you are one of the few that make it, you’ll feel like you’re starting to get to know your spouse, and you’ll thank God you followed Him—or you’ll wish you had.
Don’t freak out and say something foolish like “I’m never getting married.” In reality, marriage is awesome. It’s just not what pop-culture would lead you to believe. It’s something much different and actually much better.
The great part is God has a plan for making sure you get the right person! I'll deal with that in another post. So for now, don’t sweat it and trust the Lord.
What will you spend your life doing? There are many noble things to do with your life. Ministry is good. Faithful Christians in secular fields are vital also. The question is not “what do you want to do?” As we’ll see later, that can be a dangerous way to think. The question is—what is your destiny? What were you made to do? What fulfills your eternal purpose for being on this planet? When you answer that question, you will be truly happy.
Chances are you know what you want. Scary thing is you may or may not be right. I mean, what you think you want may be absolutely wrong for your destiny. In which case, you won’t know it until a few years down the road—probably after you exit the mistake zone. So, you will have to make a choice, but you have no real way of knowing that what you want is what God wants. Sounds too bizarre for reality, but it’s true. The world is full of elderly people who never really found their purpose for being alive. You don’t have to become one of them.
Marriage—
Who will you marry? What kind of person will you marry—I mean, beyond “pretty” or “handsome”? Come on, go a little deeper than that. How will you know this person is emotionally stable? How will you be guaranteed you won’t end up deserted, cheated on, or left hanging out to dry? Thousands of couples every year, who once stood at a wedding altar madly in love, stand in a living room beating each other’s brains out or stand in a courtroom fighting over cars and kids. People who once dreamed of living in love for the rest of their lives now live in hate. How can that happen? What makes you exempt? No one thinks it will happen to them.
Your marriage will not be perfect. At best it will be a solid relationship that forges through trials to become a refined lifetime love. That’s at best. No marriage is easy, and no marriage just falls into perfect place. Happy marriages and lifetime loves are discovered through years of commitment and personal change. But happy marriages are worth fighting for. They are always happier after the forging process than they were before it. The whole relationship gets better over time, but how will you know for sure that you’ve got someone committed to loving that intensely?
How will this person treat your children? How will they respond when you do something stupid? How will they spend money or keep the house? What will it take to really make them “ticked off.” Just what does this person do when he or she is “ticked off”? What will he or she want to do with the rest of your life?
All of these questions are huge, and most of them cannot be answered for certain until after you’re married! Isn’t that great news! You’ll get married, and then you’ll start to really get to know the person you married. About ten years later, if you are one of the few that make it, you’ll feel like you’re starting to get to know your spouse, and you’ll thank God you followed Him—or you’ll wish you had.
Don’t freak out and say something foolish like “I’m never getting married.” In reality, marriage is awesome. It’s just not what pop-culture would lead you to believe. It’s something much different and actually much better.
The great part is God has a plan for making sure you get the right person! I'll deal with that in another post. So for now, don’t sweat it and trust the Lord.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Faith Focus for December 5
December: Being Meek
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
When God gave Jesus to us, we clothed Him in rags. When Jesus gave us to God, He clothed us in righteousness.
Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
When God gave Jesus to us, we clothed Him in rags. When Jesus gave us to God, He clothed us in righteousness.
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