The Wonder of Being Childlike

March 26, 2012 Leave a comment

My son Ryan will turn fifteen in a couple of months. Naturally, then, he is acting less and less like the little boy I’ve watched grow up. Last Tuesday night, though, he took me back to a simpler time.

He is a freshman on his high-school j.v. baseball team, and they had an away game against Polk that night. So I made the hour-and-a-half drive to watch him play. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. The conference rule is, teams play six innings and then get one extra inning to decide a tie. If the score is still deadlocked after that seventh inning, that’s it, time to load up the buses and go home.

Ryan rode home with me and we stopped at a Burger King to grab a late supper. I ordered my usual Whopper with cheese and he ordered his usual chicken tenders. We sat down at the table and I got back up to fill my drink. When I returned I saw that Ryan was praying. I figured he was offering his typical “fast” prayer over his “fast” food. As I stood there, though, not wanting to interrupt him, I noticed that the prayer seemed a touch more lengthy and intense than usual.

Once the prayer was finished, I took my seat across from Ryan and just had to ask, “What were you praying?” Yes, that was nosy of me, but, hey, that’s how parents roll. Before Ryan answered, he gave a little grin as if he had been caught doing something off limits. Then he said, “I thanked God for the game. I thanked Him for the food. And I asked Him to have you let me get some dessert.”

You’d understand that request better if you knew how passionate the boy is over his desserts. It’s an ongoing issue with us that every time we walk into a restaurant he has to do a second round of ordering so that he can enjoy dessert while the rest of us are still finishing up our meal. There have also been plenty of occasions where I gave him the canned speech, “Son, isn’t it enough that I’ve spent $20 in gas to come to this game and then spent another $10 or $15 for us to eat afterward? Do you have to have another $3 for dessert too?”

By the way, before you label me as a heartless, miserly Scrooge, let me say that I almost always give in and let him have dessert. I have to admit that as I watch him wolf down those sweets I’ve never seen anybody enjoy anything more! And, yes, he got his ice cream-brownie-thing at Burger King that night too. I couldn’t refuse him after he melted my heart with such a sweet, simple, childlike request, one that he wasn’t even going to let me in on if I hadn’t asked.

But here’s the thing, that night, as I sat there eating my Whopper, I couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be if we Christians could master the childlike faith of a boy asking God to lead his daddy to let him buy a dessert. What was it Jesus said?

Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3-4)

The pure, innocent, guileless faith of a child, how much of it do you have? I confess that the longer I walk with the Lord the less I have of it. Things just seem to keep getting more complicated and convoluted between me and the Lord. How I’d love to get back to that simplistic walk I once enjoyed with Him.

Perhaps it will be that the greater toll the aging process takes on me and the less self-sufficient I become, the more my childlike faith will return to me. That’s what I suspect will happen anyway. Let’s face it, when you just can’t do for yourself, somebody else has to do for you, right? This is a concept that we instinctively understand as children, but we unlearn it when we become adults. Unfortunately, that unlearning hurts us in regards to looking to God to meet our needs and expecting Him to grant our requests. Ryan’s little prayer the other night reminded me of all this. Now we’ll see if I can reclaim some of the childlike characteristics I have lost along the way.

Filed under Aging, Children, Desires, faith, Fatherhood, God's Provision, needs, Personal, prayer, Prayer Requests, Trusting In God, Youth Tagged with , , , , ,

Praying In Jesus’ Name (4)

March 16, 2012 Leave a comment

With this post I want to deal with yet another aspect of what it means to pray in Jesus’ name. The new aspect goes like this: To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray with an understanding of the limitless power such praying offers. Christian, I’m not trying to swell your head with this one, but I do want you to realize just exactly what Jesus said in John 14:12-14 concerning praying in His name. Read His words again and let them sink down into your soul:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

Now, before you run off and become a “name it and claim” kind of Christian, let me remind you of my second post from this series. There I explained that to pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in submission to God’s will. This means that words such as “whatever” and “anything” must always be viewed through the lens of God’s will. Not only is this implied in the New Testament, there is even a passage that comes right out and says it. That passage is 1st John 5:14-15, and it’s worth mentioning that it was written by the same John who wrote John 14:12-14. The passage reads:

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

And so, you see, it’s clear that Jesus never intended for His followers to turn God the Father into a wish-granting genie via their prayers. Let’s be clear about that. But, with that fully understood, let’s not water down what Jesus did teach about prayer either. He said, “The one who believes in Me and asks for things in My name will do even greater works than I have done.” What an astounding thought!

Jesus walked on the water. Jesus fed thousands with a boy’s lunch and had food left over. Jesus turned water into wine. Jesus healed the sick. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. How could Christians, even praying Christians, do greater works than these? The answer is: Our works can be greater in extent.

Remember that Jesus, in His earthly body, was confined to one place at one time and spent His entire life in one small part of the world. Furthermore, His public ministry only lasted for three-and-a-half years. Jesus didn’t preach a sermon that led 3,000 people to get saved. But Peter did (Acts 2:14-41). Jesus didn’t take the gospel throughout the entirety of the Roman empire. But Paul did. Jesus didn’t start churches wherever He went or write the books of the New Testament. But His followers did. And these works were greater in extent than even Christ’s earthly works.

Therefore, Christian, never be guilty of underestimating the incredible power of prayer. As James 4:2 says:

…you do not have because you do not ask.

A church got a new pastor, and the first Sunday the man was there he walked to the pulpit and said, “Let us pray.” Then he proceeded to pray for ten minutes. When the service was over, one church member said to another, “Boy, we’ve sure got a good pastor now. He asks God for all kinds of things our other pastors didn’t even know were available.” Christian, don’t you be like those previous pastors. Lay claim to the fact that praying “in Jesus’ name” means praying in POWER. The only requests that lay outside that power are those that lay outside God’s will for your life. Other than those, have at it with your asking! Who knows what “greater works” the Lord might have in mind to pour out in your life?

Filed under Christ's miracles, Desires, God's Omnipotence, God's Provision, God's Will, God's Work, prayer, Prayer Requests Tagged with , , , , ,

Praying In Jesus’ Name (part 2)

March 12, 2012 Leave a comment

In my last post I explained that Christians are the only people who can rightfully close their prayers with the words “in Jesus’ name.” Now with this post I want to offer a second fact about praying in Jesus’ name. That second fact is this: To pray in Jesus’ name is to pray in submission to God’s will.

It is only fitting that praying in Jesus’ name would entail praying in submission to God’s will. After all, Jesus was the very embodiment of one who was submitted to the will of His heavenly Father. Consider the following passages. First, in John 6:38 He says:

For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

Second, Matthew 26:39-44 tells us that Jesus prayed the same prayer three times in the garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest:

O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.

Third, Matthew 6:9-10 says that Jesus taught His followers to pray:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.

Christian, you need to grasp the concept that prayer isn’t you sending God on an errand. It isn’t about you getting your will done in heaven either. It is much more about God getting His will done on earth. You see, your prayer-time is a good time to die. I’m talking about you dying to your wants, wishes, aspirations, plans, and schemes. Don’t spend twenty minutes in prayer telling God what all you want to happen and then have the audacity to close your prayer with the words, “in Jesus’ name.” When Jesus hears such a prayer in heaven, He must say to Himself, “That’s not how I lived my life, and that’s certainly not how I prayed.”

I think each of us would do well to follow the example of the legendary evangelist D.L Moody. He used to pray the following prayer:

Lord, if what I ask for does not please you, neither would it please me. My desires are put into your hands to be corrected. Strike the pen through every petition that I offer that is not right. And put in whatever I have omitted, even though I might not have desired it had I considered it.

Another good role model in this area would be the renowned preacher Phillips Brooks. He wrote:

Every true prayer has its background and its foreground. The foreground of prayer is the intense, immediate desire for a certain blessing which seems to be absolutely necessary for the soul to have; the background of prayer is the quiet, earnest desire that the will of God, whatever it may be, should be done.

And so, Christian, the next time you tack the words “in Jesus’ name” onto the end of your prayer, I hope they will be in line with the requests you’ve made throughout the prayer. If they aren’t, your best move would be to restart the prayer and do a more Christlike job with the requests. Yes, it will take some time. Even more than that, it will take some dying. But the end result will be that you will be able to use the words “in Jesus’ name” and have them be more than just lip-service.

Filed under Desires, Dying To Self, God's Will, prayer, Prayer Requests, submission Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Don’t Try To Wear Someone Else’s Armor

February 8, 2012 Leave a comment

When King Saul heard that a teenage boy named David had volunteered to fight the giant Goliath, he called for David and tried to talk him out of it. He said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth.” David, however, was insistent and full of confidence. He explained to Saul that he had killed lions and bears while tending to his father’s flocks and concluded, “And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” So, finally, Saul reluctantly gave his approval by saying, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”

But before Saul sent David out to fight he let him borrow his personal, kingly armor, which included a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put on the armor and tried walking around in it but found it to be too cumbersome and ill-fitting. Saul was a very tall man, the tallest in all Israel, and young David was much shorter. So David politely declined the offer and chose instead to arm himself with five smooth stones, which he placed in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling. Of course, the rest is history.

I’m 45 years old now, and if I’ve learned nothing else about life I’ve learned one thing: You can’t be successful trying to wear armor that doesn’t fit you. You have to be yourself and strive to keep yourself in situations that suit you. Not every job is a good fit for you, even if the pay is good. Some neighborhoods just aren’t your style. Your relationships with certain people will never be quite right, no matter how hard you work at them. That’s just the way it is. The world has its Sauls, wearing their armor, and its Davids, carrying shepherd’s pouches and slings. People are different.

That’s why it’s so important that you learn to appreciate it when you find yourself in a good circumstance. Don’t be so quick to run off from a spot that is obviously well-suited to you. If you’ve found people with whom you can get along, stay with them. If you’ve got a job that provides you with not only a paycheck but also contentment, stick with it. If you’ve discovered an oasis in a desert of life’s barrenness, sink your roots down into it and enjoy it. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining your individuality and being true to yourself. After all, God is the one who wired you the way you are. So why try to be someone you’re not or force your round peg into a square hole? That won’t work for you any more than wearing Saul’s armor worked for David. And could it be that Goliaths aren’t getting slain in your life simply because you aren’t fighting in a style that suits you? Think about it.

Filed under Change, Choices, contentment, Desires, God's Will, Individuality, spiritual gifts, Talents Tagged with , , , , ,

Making A Decision In Winter

February 6, 2012 Leave a comment

Several years ago Tonya and I were shopping for a house. We had sold the one we had lived in for about ten years and were currently renting. One house we were interested in was not even on the market, but we liked its location and the owner was Tonya’s aunt. Through the family grapevine, we heard that she might be open to selling.

As it turned out, she wasn’t interested in selling at that time, but the reason she gave fascinated me. Very politely she told us, “No, I don’t want to sell right now because from past experience I’ve learned that I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I have to admit that when I heard that answer I thought to myself, “Good for you! There are people who go their entire lives and never recognize such a pattern about themselves.” I actually admired her for being able to figure that out about herself. You see, she is the type of person who is prone to melancholy and depression, and winter weather causes that to bubble up in her all the more. But through much introspection and self-analysis, she had learned that about herself and come up with a way of limiting its damaging effects in her life.

Well, in the end, Tonya and I bought another house, and quite a few years have passed since. Still, though, I remember the line: “I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I think of it when I want to resign from a church during a rough stretch of attendance, spirit, and offerings. I think of it when I want one of the boys to quit a ball team because a coach isn’t doing him right. I think of it when I want to sell our current house because I’ve grown frustrated with all the renovating and repairs it needs.

“I don’t make good decisions in winter” simply means: Always be wary of making a major, life-changing decision during a difficult time. It’s usually better to wait until the sun is warm, the birds are singing, attendance is up, the spirit is good, the money is fine, things are going well for your kid, the repairs are finished, and your overall outlook on life is upbeat. Then, if you can still make the same decision, you know the course of action is right for you.

Filed under Change, Choices, contentment, Desires, God's Will, Impatience, Patience, Personal, weather Tagged with , , , ,

The Building With The Golden Windows

January 18, 2012 3 Comments

Contentment is one of those subjects that is easy to talk about but hard to live out. Let’s say that my neighbor buys himself a brand new Corvette. The car is “please notice me” red. The interior is “please don’t get me dirty” white. The engine is the factory option “you can’t unrun me” high performance. The wheels are “you can’t afford me” aluminum. And to top it all off he starts wearing a shirt that reads: “Real men drive Corvettes.” Well, how long do you think it will take me to become discontented with my “it’s all I’ve got” Subaru? Not very long.

I want you to take a personal survey. No one is paying attention except you and God. Ask yourself this question: Is there anything in my life right now with which I am not content? Perhaps it’s your car. Perhaps it’s your home. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your financial situation.

As I was growing up, my dad would say to me on numerous occasions, “Russell, you can’t be satisfied with anything.” I remember how I always chafed at that accusation because I honestly didn’t believe that it was true. I used to think to myself, “No, he’s wrong. I can be content. I just can’t be content with what I’ve got to work with right now.”

Unfortunately, as I’ve grown older I’ve been forced to learn that my father was right about my contentment level. If it was a thermostat it would be set very, very low. It doesn’t take much to get me to looking over the hills and thinking, “Oh, how much better my life would be if I was over there.” If God had let me move every time I had a whim to do so, my vehicle wouldn’t be a Subaru; it would be a U-HAUL. As for Tonya and the boys, I guess they would feel like a military family that moves from one base to another, never staying anywhere long enough to put down roots and build lasting relationships.

Somewhere years ago I read a silly little line that has always helped me. It goes like this: “If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence it’s because it’s growing over a septic tank.” That line has often come to my mind when God has turned down my latest urge to bolt and run and seek my fortune elsewhere. Have I got problems in my current location? Yes. Would I be problem free if I moved to that latest place that has caught my fancy? Nope. It would just be a new set of problems, perhaps even worse than my current ones.

You can learn some things by watching childrens’ television. I can’t remember if I was babysitting Ryan or Royce, but one of them was watching a kids’ show one day when a thought-provoking cartoon segment came on. It was about a little girl who lived in an apartment building in the big city. Every morning she would look out her window and stare longingly at the building with the golden windows that sat on the other side of the city. Oh how she wanted to live in that beautiful building! So one morning she made up her mind to go and see the building up close. She got herself dressed and headed out to find it. All day long she searched and searched, but she couldn’t find the building with the golden windows. Then, late in the afternoon, just as she was about to lose all hope, she turned around and there it was. But it was way over on the other side of town. So she ran and ran and ran and ran until she finally arrived at the building. Only then did she notice that it was the building in which lived. She thought, “How is this possible?” Suddenly the answer came to her: The sun which cast its light upon the one building in rising in the morning was casting its light upon her building in setting in the evening.

Now why am I telling you all this? I’m doing it to help you realize that where you are right now is a wonderful place if it is where God wants to be. Does He ever relocate people and lead them to make changes in their lives? Certainly, but that’s a whole other post for a whole other time. Right now I’m saying that if He has you living in a certain place, working a certain job, maintaining a certain financial level, and driving a certain car, you need to learn to see the golden windows in those things. They are there. You just have to recognize them.

I’ll leave you now with some words from the apostle Paul. They are words that I know very well because they have haunted me many a time. The haunting stems from the fact that I still can’t truthfully make the statement that Paul makes. In Philippians 4:11, he says:

…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t completely “learned” that yet. Without doubt, my classes are still in session. I’m hoping, though, that I can earn that degree one day. Until then I need to keep looking for those golden windows of where God has me.

Filed under Attitude, contentment, Desires, Disappointment, faithfulness, God's Will, Personal, Problems, Trusting In God Tagged with , , , , , , ,

1,500 Sheep

September 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Not too many years ago the Associated Press ran a story that came out of Gavas, a town in eastern Turkey. According to the story, one sheep from a very large flock walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped to its death. A second sheep soon followed. Then a third. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. The A.P. report read:

“Stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff.”

Incredibly, only 450 of the sheep died. The rest survived because their fall was cushioned by the bodies of the sheep that had jumped before them.

Here’s a typical parent-child conversation:

Jimmy: “Dad, can I take my skateboard and try a triple-spin reverse off the front porch?”

Dad: “No!”

Jimmy: “Why not? Tommy does it.”

Dad: “If Tommy jumped off a cliff, would you follow him?”

That comeback about jumping off a cliff really is the classic reason that parents use to keep a kid from caving in to peer pressure, isn’t it? It reminds me of the old “You’ll shoot your eye out” line from the movie A Christmas Story. Little Ralphie says, “That deadly phrase honored many times by hundreds of mothers was not surmountable by any means known to Kid-dom.”

Truth be told, though, parents have to warn their kids about jumping off cliffs because peer pressure is such a powerful force. In his book There’s A Sheep Born Every Second, David Kirkwood uses that A.P. story about those sheep and writes, “Imagine the peer pressure that last sheep must have felt. Surely 1,499 sheep can’t be wrong, can they?”

Since I’m currently raising a freshman and a 5th-grader myself, I feel that I can speak with some expertise on this subject. And apparently, if all the reports I’ve heard are true, there are some IDIOT parents running around out there. These parents lower the bar on standards, set bad precedents, create dangerous trends, and (in my humble opinion) should have their parenting licenses revoked.

So today’s post is a word of encouragement to all you parents who are still trying to hold the line. Keep up the good work. Don’t make the mistake of giving in to peer-pressure yourself, the pressure other parents put on you to let your kids: watch anything they want to watch, listen to anything they want to listen to, wear anything they want to wear, think anything they want to think, say anything they want to say, go anywhere they want to go, buy anything they want to buy, and do anything they want to do. Can 1,499 sheep be wrong? You’d better believe they can! And that’s why you can’t let your child be number 1,500.

Filed under Children, Choices, Courage, Desires, Dress and Appearance, Fatherhood, Motherhood, Parenting, Youth Tagged with , , , , , , ,

What Two Wrong Clocks Can Teach Us About God’s Will

August 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Did you know that a clock that is five minutes off is more dangerous than one that is five hours off? Think about it. If a clock is five hours off, you will see that it is obviously wrong and not use it to tell the time. But a clock that is just five minutes off will fool you, and the deception can cause you to burn a meal, miss an important appointment, or be late to pick up your child (and, oh, the trouble that a kid can get into in five minutes!).

This same idea also holds true for God’s will for your life. Oftentimes the most dangerous alternative to that will is not the one that is five hours off but the one that is five minutes off. For example, let’s say that it’s God’s will for a newlywed couple to buy a specific house, but the couple insists on looking at two other houses as well. One of those other houses is everything they ever wanted in a home, but it’s price is so far beyond their budget that it’s obvious they can’t afford it. So when they look at the house, there is a lot of oohing and aahing, but that’s as far as things go. They understand the house is a pipe dream for them.

But the second alternative house is one they can afford. It’s about the same size and style as the house that God wants them to buy and the prices are comparable too. Really, the main difference lies in the neighborhoods of the two houses. You see, what the couple doesn’t know is that the house that God wants them to buy sits in a neighborhood that features godly neighbors, solid churches, and schools with teachers that will better reach the two children that God knows is in the couple’s future. While the neighborhood for the other house is respectable enough itself, it simply isn’t as good a fit for the young couple and the plans that God has in mind for them.

But the question is, which of the two alternative houses offers the greatest temptation for the couple to miss God’s will in house-buying? It’s the one that is the most like the house that God wants them to buy. That alternative is just five minutes off while the other one is five hours off. It isn’t hard to discern the problems with a clock that is five hours off, but it is very hard to do so with one that is five minutes off.

Keep this in mind whenever you find yourself trying to discern God’s will regarding multiple opportunities. Very few people step out of God’s will by chasing opportunities that are hopelessly far-fetched, but many people step out of it to chase those that are very doable. It’s the difference between driving a Ford or a Dodge, between attending one in-state school or another, or between working in an office building on 1st Avenue or one on 2nd Avenue. But God knows that just that little bit of difference can make all the difference in the world.

Filed under Choices, Desires, God's Will, Temptation Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

A Job Or A Ministry?

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

A few months ago I ran across an excellent article in my daily paper. The article had the heading “Every Christian is called to the ministry” and was written by Rev. Tim McConnell, the pastor of Peachtree United Methodist Church in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. At the article’s heart was a list that spelled out the differences between having a job and having a ministry. (McConnell did freely admit that the list was written by an unknown author.) The list was as follows:

-If you are doing it because no one else will, it’s a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it’s a ministry.

-If you are doing it just well enough to get by, it’s a job. If you are doing it to the best of your ability, it’s a ministry.

-If you’ll do it as long as it doesn’t interfere with other activities, it’s a job. If you’re committed to staying with it, even if it means letting go of other things, it’s a ministry.

-If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it’s a job. If you do it because you know it needs to be done, it’s a ministry.

-It’s hard to get excited about a job. It is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

-People may say “well done” when you do your job. The Lord will say “well done” when you complete your ministry.

-The average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry.

McConnell ended his article by saying:

If you have a job in the church, give it up and find a ministry! God doesn’t want us feeling stuck with a job, but excited, fulfilled and faithful in a specific ministry.

About all I can say to that is, “Amen!”

Filed under church, Desires, God's Work, Individuality, spiritual gifts, Sunday School Tagged with , , , , ,

A Great Lesson For Your Kids

May 11, 2011 Leave a comment

Toward the end of General Robert E. Lee’s historic life, he attended the christening of a friend’s son. The mother asked the aged leader to offer some words that would help guide the child into true manhood. But Lee’s answer probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He said simply, “Teach him to deny himself.”

Bruce Catton, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Civil War historian, wrote the following about Lee’s words of wisdom:

To deny himself…..Unexpected words, coming from a great soldier? One wonders how the young mother felt, hearing them. Even more, one wonders how this advice would strike the average parent of today.

We don’t emphasize self-denial very much these days, either for our children or for ourselves. Instead, we concentrate on our wants. We seem to have the notion that the world owes us all manner of good things, and we feel abused when we don’t get them. Self-discipline is a bore; and as a result, we are perilously close to winning an unwelcome fame as a land known for its spoiled children and discontented adults.

To learn to get along without, to realize that what the world is going to demand of us may be a good deal more important than what we are entitled to demand of it – this is a hard lesson. We have not been working very hard at it in recent years. Instead, we have developed a moral and intellectual flabbiness that could be fatal to us as individuals and as a nation.

For the world itself is really no easier now than it was in General Lee’s time. It offers rich opportunities; but above everything else, it offers a struggle, a struggle that will never be won by the self-indulgent. More than anything else, we need to relearn General Lee’s lesson.

To deny ourselves…That we may miss a good many of the nice, easy things that it is so pleasant to have. But we end up serving something bigger than ourselves. We can finish by attaining greatness.

If Catton’s words sound like they have a Biblical scent to them, there’s probably a reason for that. His father was a minister. And I can’t help but suspect that Catton knew the words of Jesus:

…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28)

Filed under Attitude, Children, contentment, Desires, Doing Good, giving, Humility, Leadership, Parenting, Sacrifice, seeking advice, Youth Tagged with , , , , ,

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