I like snow skiing. I have fun in the cold and snow. The beauty, the brisk air, the falling snow, the brilliant blue of mountain skies, the vistas of snowcapped mountains; its’ all so wonderful. I see God in these things. His amazing design, the absolute brilliance of his creative imagination, the awe of his power! Truly Awe-some!

But every time I go, someone tells me, “Don’t hit a tree!” For real! I really don’t want to hit one. They are really tough and do not move. Duh! I certainly don’t intend to. When I was learning to ski, the instructor told us the same thing, don’t hit a tree. Someone in the group asked, “how do you avoid hitting trees?” Without hesitation, the Ausie instructor responded, “Don’t look at it!” He explained that you go where you look, so focus upon your intended path and you will keep away from the trees. Brilliant! Out of the mouth of a 20 something Australian comes great wisdom.

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Paul wrote, “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things ahead, I press on toward the mark of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:13-14).

First, Paul’s not saying he forgot the past or stop learning from it. In fact, some nine or ten times he refers back to his time as a persecutor of The Way. He never forgot what he did to those who were Christians. He also never stopped learning from that time in his life when he did those things. Further, there were those who would never let him forget: Judaizers who were all the more fervent to pursue him and put him to death.

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At a camp designed to help strengthen the bond between children and their fathers, there was an exercise where the fathers each took a child of theirs as a group into the woods nearby the camp site. They were instructed to blindfold the children and guide them to the lead them out of the woods.

Each father was told to inform the child of 3 things…

1. I will never leave you
2. You can ask Me anything that you want
3. Only listen to My voice

Repeat them as many times as possible before the exercise begins.

How many times do you feel you’re lost or wandering in the woods?

Who are you listening to on Social Media, or news outlets, or at school, or on the radio/podcasts/music etc…?

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“Open your mouth and eat what I give you …”

There are some truly strange images recorded in the Bible. Between Daniel, Zechariah, Revelation, and Ezekiel; there are some truly weird things. One which catches my imagination is when God commands Ezekiel to “eat this scroll.” Ezekiel 2:8-3:3 records:

“But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat. And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.”

This section of Ezekiel’s record Is God’s commission of the prophet to speak for him to the exiles of Israel in Babylon.

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When your Father dies…

The Irish say: “You lose your umbrella against bad weather.”

The Welsh say: “You sink a foot deeper into the earth.”

The Canadians say: “You run out of excuses.”

The French say: “You become your own father.”

The Indians say: “He comes back as the thunder.”

The Russians say: “He takes your childhood with him.”

The Armenians say: “The sun shifts forever and you walk in his light.”

Have you ever felt that God isn’t close to you? I had a friend whose mom would say, it wasn’t God who moved. So… in the natural order, in life we lose our parents. We lose those who were mentors to us as we grow, those who had the advice, those we gave our trust, those we looked up to because they’d been there and they offered a place to spill it all to them without judgment. Those people leave us. However, we have a Heavenly Father who will never leave us nor forsake us. We have a God that tells us to cast all our care onto Him because He cares for us.

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“Peter answered him and said, ‘Thought they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away’” Matthew 26:33. Peter thought himself to be a “Super Disciple.”

What does it mean to be a disciple?

Today we use the word “disciple” in an exclusively religious manner, one who disseminates another’s doctrine. But that is not the origin of the word. It properly means a pupil, trainee, or apprentice. To be an apprentice one must diligently emulate their mentor, copying every thought and action to become that mentor. Apprenticeship programs last for years with constant oversight and training until the apprentice proves their abilities to their teacher. Such programs exist today in either formal apprenticeship programs or college. College degrees are proof of expertise in specific areas of “discipline.”

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“Finally , brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things” (Phil. 4:8).

When we change our heart and minds, we change our lives. That is what repentance is all about, a change of will. A change of mind about God. It’s coming to that point in our lives in which, in intent and purpose, we are done with Satan. It is the anchor of transformation. In fact, without that crucifixion of the old man there can never be a new man. The new man is a result of the new mind.

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Stop Handing Out Water Guns by Brad Harrub, Ph.D.

I want to say this as respectfully—and as honestly—as I can.

Before anything else, Scripture is clear: parents are commanded to train their children

• Deuteronomy 6:6–7
• Ephesians 6:4

I know that, I preach that, and I practice that. The responsibility for training up my children does not belong to the church. But with that said…

We really must do better.

We are standing at a critical moment in a young person’s life--research indicates that ages 13-24 is the key disengagement window for a young person's faith.

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