‘I have overcome the world’

John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” *********************************** As I sit here, the worldometers.info numbers continue to increase by leaps and bounds. Of the over 8 billion people in the world, at this moment but not precisely as it changes by the millisecond:******************* • 1.7 billion are overweight,********************* • 838 million obese people ***************** • 16 thousand died of hunger********************* • 21 million abortions******************** • $193 billion spent on illicit drugs************************ As far as Christianity goes, it is impossible to determine exact numbers. It is defined differently in various places. You see, you can wear the title and not have understanding of what that should mean. Many identify as such but don’t live it in a way that glorifies God or grows the Kingdom. (Please refer to Andy Stanley’s The Fundamental List series for the essentials that draw us to this conclusion.) ********************* As far as the world goes, we just can’t measure what is really going on out there. Part of that is because people don’t know, or refuse to tell, the truth. I guarantee you that evil is being perpetuated in this world faster than we can save souls. The bible tells us this is temporary. What is your part in it?************************* How many people do you think are teaching someone else to drink, smoke cigarettes or take drugs right now? How many are being inducted into a gang? or prostitution? Forced into the Sex trade? How many children are being taught, indirectly, how not to parent? How many women are becoming victims or rape, abuse, incest? How many boys or girls are subjected to emotional, physical, spiritual abuse, neglect? How many children become victims of sexual assault or incest? How many people are being taught to go along with unethical business practices, to close their eyes to injustice, to lie, cheat or steal to get ahead? How many people, right this moment, are students of this dark world? I was. Were you? ********************** In my work world, my job(s) was everything to me. I was driven by a need for perfection and continuous improvement. I did what I had to do to improve the process and excel at what I was doing. I did not look to the left or right because my path was for me. Very early in my career, I learned that people would lie about me, and to me, to make me look bad. I learned that people would steal my work and claim it as their own, even my own supervisors. Not one job was immune from the dark desires of others, even my own. And this was starting from 40 years ago up until a year ago. Please understand that I have worked in many fields. Fields where protocol, laws and rules should be strictly enforced if for nothing else but its own required level of accountability, liability and visibility…. or in some cases, because of its very nature, that of Christian values and morals.*************************** For example, if a certain business violates the very laws that it is supposed to uphold, what good is it? Corruption leads to destruction…. Shouldn’t it? Use as an example, a tax collector who steals from people and lines his own pockets. (But any job would do.) You don’t throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. You don’t close down the tax office because of what some are doing. We do need taxes to improve our lives. We still need people willing to work in that field. Not all of them are bad. And to be clear, we could discipline and correct them, teaching them the error of their ways. (or let the Lions have them.) Just kidding :-) **************************** How many people in the world are turning away from God because of what other Christians do or don’t do like Christ? I spent almost 40 years in the wilderness due to the actions of one pastor in my early walk with Christ. Think of the lives that I could have helped in that time, had I not been disillusioned by another human being! We, the people, make the assumption that if a Christian violates the essential beliefs of our faith, then there is a flaw in our faith, not just in us. I mean, how could our faith allow this to happen in the first place? And to a supposed Christian? Well, again, we ALL are human. How could we NOT stumble? Reality and experience tells me that there may be many misguided people in the world, including in Christianity, but that does not remove the essentials of our faith.*********************** But here’s the thing. Are we, as Christians, if we are truly followers, sharing the good news with those that are out in the world? Consider the millions that are out in the dark world learning all the wrong things and believing there is no hope? If someone is on fire, do we throw stones at them or do we throw living water? If someone stumbles in a way that brings them shame, do we call them out or do we offer them a blanket to cover their shame and lead them to forgiveness? If someone injures us in any way, do we wield our sword or do we, in time, granted, lovingly ask to be reconciled with them? Have we not ever sinned? Have we no memory of the wrongs that we have committed in the name of success, progress, vanity, selfishness? *************************** How many have we lost to the darkness in the time that I have been writing this? How many could we have saved but we turned our eyes away? ******************** James 2:14: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?” ************************ What better example of Christianity than to love those LIKE OURSELVES. And in that way, we can slowly bring others to the realization that there is a God and although we stumble, we error, we do wrong, we sin… we are human and we plead with God to continue to have mercy for our souls. God LOVES us, all of us. EVERY SINGLE one of us. Especially the lost. ************************************ Isaiah 58:10: “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” *************************** Whose life have you impacted today? Has it been for the kingdom or for yourself? The world is an ongoing study in humanity people. But God… we CAN overcome with God. We can win souls. ********************************

The Fundamental List- Part 7- Southside Church- Andy Stanley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzAe2eRJssk

The End Game

So here I will expose the truth of it in hopes that in writing this, I can find my way back. Back to what, I don’t know. Maybe ‘back’ isn’t where I am supposed to be. Maybe this is God’s way of refining me. Maybe I am supposed to be here to avoid impacting someone else’s life in a negative way before I am fully whole? Maybe my usefulness is over and I am best only at soaking up His truth and trying to control the humanness in my mind.********************* COVID pushed forth an era of isolation and dependency on technology that we had not seen in the past. It changed how we live and interacted for years out of necessity for our own survival. And yet, in that, it had a profound affect on our physical beings as well. Then we learned that COVID also had long term affects that some never recovered from. For me, my mental acuity took a major hit. I was no longer able to recall how to do integral parts of my job. I wrote the instructions for it and yet, I could not remember how to do the most basic task. I made errors that caused me to re-evaluate my usefulness. Besides my physical weakness and deterioration, my mental strength was weakened to the nth degree. ********************** Imagine spending your life being a ‘goal getter’ who thrives on challenging tasks and success, to feeling totally insecure and unsure of every move? But worse than I, we watched some of our friends lose that ability in ways that they cannot come back from. Long term COVID caused dementia and Alzheimers to come on and take over. Others lost their lives.**************************** Now, I am an untethered balloon floating about this life disconnected from the world around me and finding myself becoming even more isolated on purpose. I am fighting, inside myself, the tendency to stay in seclusion, in quietness, in safety, except for my immediate family. It is made easier by technology. I can email, chat, text and call, if absolutely necessary, but typically choose not to. I can attend church online, do bible study, worship in the safety of my own home without judgment, criticism, expectation, obligation and in anonymity. Oddly enough, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to judgment and negativity. ******************* I have slowly recovered mentally from whatever had attacked my mind… but I am still learning to be present. ********************** I receive revelations about what God wants me to say or do and if I don’t act on them right away, I lose them. This is one of those times. I have wonderful compelling subjects to discuss but they dissolve in midair as if they were never meant to be. Like mercury… like my floating balloon. ********************** I think I am not alone in my situation. Especially since 2020 when it was quite normal to separate and protect. In our separation, we found safety. Or so we thought. But I think we may have been like children in that, without guidance and oversight or accountability, it was easy to fall short in pursuit of empty goals and past-times. *********************** I think that we have been deceived. The end game wasn’t just physical or mental infirmity. It was spiritual as well. While we focused on our physical protection from disease, we failed to recognize our vulnerability. You see, we have become comfortably lazy in our connections with others. But more than that, we have been alone with our own human thoughts. Correction… we have NOT been alone with our own human thoughts. Without the input of a Christian community, friends, family and the like… the enemy enjoyed free reign in the playground of our minds. ********************* I don’t know what that looks like in your life, especially your thought life, but I know how it has affected mine. I just told you. There are many that felt that the church was the glue that held them together, kept them from falling back into their sin, whatever that was for them. Like a safety net taken away, a barrier to the things that once kept them in bondage, the evil one starts whispering to them, calling them back saying, ‘no one will see. No one cares. You are alone. You do you.’ ************************** Prov 18:1 “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” ********************* It is a lie from the pit of Hell so if that is you, drop that right now and get back to who God expects you to be! ********************** 1 Cor 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” ************************* Lack of connection with others in the church, or world, prevents us from receiving encouragement, accountability and a sense of community but it also prevents us from being a light for others in a way that we never knew we were. The lives that we affect, in any daily transaction of humankind, just by the way we look, behave or speak, can have a profound affect on so many others. The ripple affect. ************************** Ecc 4:9-10: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” ******************************* But there are those much worse off than I. Young adults seem to suffer worse than anyone because their minds, socialization, sense of community, friendships and physical health have been redefined. Many are broken, afraid, isolated and have forgotten how to communicate, even more so than they already had. Technology has been bad enough in stunting our ability to communicate but covid has amped that up ten fold. ************************** Emotional dependency, insecurity, physical deterioration, laziness, poor eating habits, social anxiety…. Young adults and teens whose mind is learning from society and their emotional intelligence is being formed based on interactions are being obliterated. *************************** Now… each of us has a way with people that works. Some are blunt, some are nurturing, some are slow and patient, some are funny…. What is your way? I guarantee you that someone out there, adult or not, needs that one touch of your hand on their shoulder and to hear your voice saying something positive, even if it is just “How are you today?” Waiting long enough to hear the answer and showing interest. How can we do that from the quiet solitude in our rooms. **************************** Mat 5:16: “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” ********************************* Maybe its you. Maybe you need to hear something encouraging to get you on track. How can you hear it if you aren't’ there? We need to coax each other out. Invite each other to places that used to be normal to go to. Be in church with others to feel connected. Find common ground. Be the light to the one on the corner or in the dark. Maybe that is you… ******************************* I am sorry that I have been self-absorbed. I will try to do better. Will you? ************************** Much love people

The Fundamental List part 6-Joel Thomas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS4s95BXNOM

The Fundamental List part 5-Southside church-Andy Stanley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cl2KcBMr7QU

The Fundamental List part 4-Southside Church

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80cQavZxNeM&t=1135s

Anyways (8/20/2020)

In the midst of pain and turmoil when MY hope can’t see me through I realize it isn’t mine I give it all to You Disease and death and worldly things are part of what we bare but I am not a slave to sin My hope in You, I share We were not meant to bare the weight You died so we could live Your love and mercy covers us Our sins You have forgiven So if I suffer slight with age or face my dying day I pray that I will pass with grace You own me anyway Keep the faith going, people.

Nomophobia and other addictions-Parenting 101

Do you wonder why your child/teen doesn’t listen to what you say? Do you get angry because they roll their eyes or completely disregard what you tell them to do? Do they spend all of their time on gaming, internet, smart phones? Do you just not have the time or patience to deal with them when they are like that? Are you equipping them for real life or just too frustrated to deal with it?************************************ So, I have witnessed this crisis in real life as well as researched it some. Let’s be clear from the get go. We, as stupid humans, have taken what was meant to be helpful (initially) and twisted it, like we did medications, television and computer use, into something debilitating. A disease if you will. We now have “Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous” for such things! ************************************************* 1 Cor 6:12: “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.” ******************************************************* (And people say the bible doesn’t have help for today’s world. Maybe read it and you will know that is a lie.)******************************* According to Exploding topics: • 47% of Americans admit that they are addicted to their phones. • 71% spend more time on their phones than with their romantic partner. • 2/3 of children spend 4 hours or more a day on their smartphones. • Cell phone use causes 20% of car accidents *************************************** Even Verizon has a page dedicated to cell-phone-addiction where they discuss the risk factors for teens: • Anxiety • Depression • Low self-esteem • Introverted • Lack of self-control • issues with impulse control ******************************************** Not to mention their inability to focus on the important issues in life like relationships, chores, homework, mental health and physical activity. School shootings, hazing, bullying, sexting, suicide, self-harming….. ********************************************** According to Gitnux: • 73% of teens ages 13-17 are addicted tot he internet • 71% for ages 18-24 • 59% for ages 25-34 • 54% for 35-44 • 40% for 45-54 • 39% for 55-64 • 44% for ages 64 and up ************************************************** Maybe you have a problem too. (Parental phubbing-ignore kids to be on phone) If you: • Can’t put your cell phone away when you are at home with your family, • If your house looks like you never clean it • If your laundry is piling up around your ears • If it is easier to buy new than take care of what you have • If you ignore the kids when they are asking you questions • If you are spending more time looking at social media than interacting with your family ****************************************** We, as a society, have a general ability to overindulge and abuse the things created that were, initially, meant to help us be entertained, to connect, to cure… Don’t get me wrong, the creators themselves realized what they had and used the platforms to entice people to use them more, even to the point of ignoring risk factors, burying findings, adding chemicals (cigarettes), creating rabbit holes, monitoring your clicks. ****************** But I want to talk about a major factor that few studies seem to be talking about. Let’s ask those same questions that I first asked in the opening: Do you wonder why your child/teen doesn’t listen to what you say? Do you get angry because they roll their eyes or completely disregard what you tell them to do? Do you just not have the time or patience to deal with them when they are like that? ******************************* Somewhere along the way, in your life, you decided that you wanted children. Like it or not, by giving birth, you signed an unwritten contract. You essentially promised to love, cherish, guide and shape those little ones to grow into God fearing, independent, loving creatures who are able to lead a productive life in society. ************************************************** Psa127:3: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” ************************************* We have a failure to parent AGAIN. Look. We can’t keep blaming other things for our failure to parent. I mean, this new phobia and addiction is real…. But how was it ALLOWED to get that way? We used TV as a built in babysitter, but now it is social media. And parents love to quote, ‘do as I say, not as I do, I’m the adult.’ But be real. You are the problem. You are the parent. You do have the ability to control the outcome but it is easier not to. *************************************************************************** What does that say about your priorities? We have a bigger problem here when parents fall into this addiction because who among us is able to be a consistent and strong role model if they can’t discipline themselves to be present in their own homes? If you lack the will power to put down your phones, how can you expect your kids to? Yes. You are the adult, but if your home is falling down around your ears and your kids are demanding their internet or phone time, yet not pulling their weight… are you a good example, or the cause? Are you interacting with them, keeping them busy, following through with their homework from school, checking on their chores, asking about their day, their friends, checking what they are doing? ****************************************************************** Listen, if your house is falling down around your ears, your kids are failing to do what they are supposed to be doing and have an attitude, your patience is wearing thin because you keep getting interrupted on your phone…. You need to understand that this is what you singed up for. YOU are the parent and it is YOUR job to control the negative influences in your child’s life. YOU are supposed to be a positive role model…. Not a negative one. If that is the case, never say, ‘Don’t do as I do, but do what I say.’ ******************************************************** You may be strong in some areas but as I said, do a full evaluation here. Be honest. Are you doing YOUR best or are you distracted too? I will ask again, are you equipping your children for real life or just too frustrated to deal with it? ************************************************ Prov 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ************************* Role model: Do you SHOW your children: • How they should behave • How to communicate properly in every setting • How to properly and consistently do their chores, not surface clean • How to help clear dishes after dinner • How to care for each other and their animals • How to greet and interact properly with guests • How to take pride in their home, academics, physical and mental health • How to be discerning about other people • How to have emotional intelligence • How to resist temptation and flee from bad company • How to have self control • How to find motivation when your are struggling • How to overcome trials • How to find peace • How to enjoy reading • How to find your self-worth, not in your looks but in your heart for others • Are you sharing the bible in your home or just ‘churching’ it? *********************************************** Deu 6: 6-7: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” *********************** Prov 13:24: “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” ******************************* 2 Tim 3:14-15: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” **************************************************** We all want your children to become productive citizens, helpful spouses, gifted parents, loving Christians, emotionally equipped adults. But that lies in your hands not societies. ************************************ I am compelled to address this because it is becoming common place to blame factors outside of ourselves for (the lack of) parenting our children. Dig deep. Fix it. For their sake and ours. ***************************************

The Weight of Your Words-part 1-3 Andy Stanley

Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE0WiMC6uxY Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjB1A_qDUg4 Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VRDRXJrUEs In part 1: 'No one traces the root of their problems back to tooo much encouragement.'