Raising Boys To Become Men p.7 Building Culturally Wise Children p.18 Leaving A Legacy
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Salem Media Group
760RadioLuz.com
1380TheBiz.com
Barb Yoder
General Manager
barb@salemtampa.com
ph - 813-349-8232 f - 813 639-1272 5211 W Laurel St. Tampa, FL 33607
Greetings FaithTalk Friends! Would you like to listen to your favorite ministries on FM? This year FaithTalk 570 WTBN & 910 WTWD has added a new station to our Tampa Bay cluster – FaithTalk FM102.1 in Lakeland! Now our friends in Lakeland and surrounding areas can tune in to FM102.1 to hear your favorite local and national ministries. As always, download our FaithTalk app or log on the web at www.LetsTalkFaith.com. This issue of FaithTalk is devoted to building strong families. Ephesians 6:4 tells us to bring children up “in the training and instruction of the Lord.” For a Christian parent there is no greater joy than to see a son or daughter embrace a faith in Christ. But navigating the challenges of parenting, through the stages of toddler through teenager and beyond, can be overwhelming. It reminds me of instructions from the airline stewards when you’re preparing for take-off…they tell you in the case of loss of cabin air pressure to put on your oxygen mask first and then put one on your child. Similarly, we can’t make Christ known to our children if we don’t daily spend time with Jesus ourselves. We need to be intentional with our personal prayer life, Bible study and church life. In addition to listening to the inspirational radio ministries on FaithTalk, I’d recommend a book by Terence Chatmon “Do Your Children Believe”. In it you’ll find practical and realistic Biblical principles to train and instruct your children in the Lord to create a family spiritual legacy through the generations. To partner with you in your children’s legacy of faith, FaithTalk is making your child’s first year of Christian education more affordable. If you or someone you know wants their student to be educated in a loving Christian school but financial resources are limited, we offer Half Price Tuitions at www.ChristianTuitions.com. Go to the website today for the Half Price opportunities with our participating area Christian schools. Thanks for listening to FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 and FM 102.1 and for reading FaithTalk magazine… Many Blessings,
BARBARA J. YODER GENERAL MANAGER FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 and FM 102.1 SPRING 2017
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7 Raising Boys To Become Men
by Jim Daly
14 To Know Is To Love
by Charles F. Stanley
18 Building Culturally Wise Children
by Bill Bunkley
21 Hope Beyond Failure
by Charles R. Swindoll
24 Creator Confident “He’s Got This”
by David Jeremiah
28 40 Lessons We Sought To Teach Our Children
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
30 Leaving A Legacy
by Philip De Courcy
33 A Life Changing Lesson In Missing The Point
by John MacArthur
36 You Won’t Be A Perfect Parent And That’s Okay by Chris Brown
Inspiration behind the theme for this edition of FaithTalk Magazine By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; though knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beutiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4 (NIV) 4
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SALEM MEDIA GROUP TAMPA-SARASOTA
www.letstalkfaith.com www.salemtampa.com www.salemmedia.com
BARBARA YODER barb@salemtampa.com
KENNETH BONNETT kenneth@salemtampa.com
ZULIMAR RODRIGUEZ zuli@salemtampa.com
General Manager BARBARA YODER barb@salemtampa.com
Production Director/Morning Host BILL CARL bcarl@salemtampa.com
General Sales Manager STEVE BALTIMORE steveb@salemtampa.com
Afternoon Host CASEY MYRICK cmyrick@salemtampa.com
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The Bill Bunkley Show Host BILL BUNKLEY afternoons@letstalkfaith.com
Operations Manager JOE WEAVER jweaver@salemtampa.com
The Bill Bunkley Show Producer On-Air Studio Engineer MICHAEL MIRACLE michaelm@salemtampa.com
Director of Engineering ROBERT HAILEY robert.hailey@salemtampa.com Business/Traffic Director KIMO GRAY kimo@salemtampa.com Office Manager/Human Resources TAMMY BANCROFT tammyb@salemtampa.com Executive Sales Director MERRY BROCKET merryb@salemtampa.com
Email letters to Barb Yoder barb@salemtampa.com *Any comments sent to us shall be subject to and governed by Salem Media Group for any use at its discretion. Comments may be edited for length and clarity.
Please contact Zuli Rodriguez via email zuli@salemtampa.com to be added to the mailing list, report a change of address or to request a bundle of magazines. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Account Executive LYNN EWONAITIS lynn@salemtampa.com
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by Jim Daly I was in junior high school when I found out my dad had died. The details of that moment are burned into my memory, but not because the news caused me such great pain. I remember it so clearly because I hardly felt anything at all. My dad left my mother when I was a small boy and was barely a part of my life for years afterward. By the time I entered junior high school, my mother had passed away, and I was living with my older brother. When I got the news that my dad had died, my world should have slipped off its axis. Instead, I pulled the footrest up on the chair and went back to the “I Love Lucy” episode I’d been watching. I felt I barely knew my dad when he was alive, so I didn’t feel much after he died. My biological dad wasn’t the only father figure to let me down. I also had terrible struggles with my stepfather, a man so tough we called him “Hank the Tank.” His influence ended almost before it started. He walked out on all of us kids the day of my mother’s funeral. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Then there was Mr. Reil, my foster father for one very long year. He didn’t show any more love to me than Hank did. He rarely spoke to me or acknowledged my existence.
taught his boys how to work hard, how to love and care for a family, and how to live with character and integrity. That transfer of skills and values happened through relationship as father and son spent time together As a young boy, I never quite patching fences and working the appreciated just what a tragedy land. it was that each of the men who should have been my strongest Most of us probably aren’t and most positive influence had working a farm with our abandoned me instead. In the children, but manhood is years since, especially as a father instilled into boys in a very to my own two boys, I’ve realized similar way today. Something what I missed. profound happens when a dad helps a boy with his tie, or teaches Sadly, my story is not unique. him to throw a ball, to drive a car, Millions of boys in our country or to look another man in the grow up fatherless. In some cases, eye when he shakes his hand. there isn’t a father in the home. In Boys inherit far more in those others, the father is present, but moments than just the skill itself. he’s not engaged in his son’s life. They witness positive examples of As a result, a startling number of masculinity in action and absorb boys are growing up alone, left to something of who their father is. figure out for themselves what it means to be a man. But what if a boy’s father has passed away or isn’t involved? The The trouble is, manhood boy still needs to be surrounded doesn’t suddenly manifest itself by men who will cast a greater when the calendar flips to a vision for all that he can be. The boy’s eighteenth or twenty-first mere presence of other men can birthday. Manhood is bestowed. make a boy puff out his chest and Boys learn to become men in the stand just a little taller. company of other men as they walk through life’s challenges That’s what happened to my together. son, Trent, when I took him and his younger brother on their first That journey was designed hunting trip. We were hunkered to take place through a boy’s in our blind waiting for a deer relationship with his father. In to come wandering through the previous generations, Dad was trees. When Trent finally got a boy’s primary role model. He his chance, he took steady aim
and employed every lesson he’d learned about properly firing a rifle. Except for one thing: His eye was a little too close to the scope. When he pulled the trigger, the recoil popped him a good one. He was okay, but it took seven stitches to patch him up, and he had a shiner you wouldn’t believe. The next day, as we walked through the airport, a transformation took place in Trent. Several of the men we passed treated his wound like a badge of honor. Hunting is popular in that area, and even though the men didn’t know us, they knew exactly what had happened. They all nodded approvingly at Trent or patted him on the back. It was like a rite of passage. By the time we got to our plane, he felt like he’d been initiated into a brotherhood – a brotherhood of men. I’m not a Roman Catholic, but I agree wholeheartedly with Pope John Paul II, who said, “As the family goes, so goes the nation, and so goes the whole world in which we live.” Today, more than ever, we need strong husbands and fathers who raise their boys to become true men. Not just boys in a male’s body, but men with integrity, strength, and the courage to do what’s right for their families and what’s right for the culture.
Jim Daly is the president and host of the National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast, Focus on the Family. Focus on the Family airs weekdays starting at 2:30, 7:00 am and 7:00 pm on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1. 8
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LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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By: Dr. Rick Scarborough & John Graves Dr. Rick Scarborough
D
r. Rick Scarborough, founder and director of Vision America and director of pastor and church relations, modeled how pastors should promote church involvement during legislative incursions. He mobilized enough of his congregation until church members occupied a majority of the local school board and the city council to effect change through Christian leadership. Pastor Rick joined many other pastors to help bring in numerous Christian office holders across their city. Perhaps more impactful, Pastor Rick continued to serve as a Pastor and several of his congregation have served in State and Federal congress. He continues to speak in churches across America and to men and women who serve as ministers in government offices.
Pastors to “Keep watch over yourselves and all the congregation of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers… Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with His own blood.”. We realize pastors have demanding schedules. Thus, by monitoring legislative rulings and elections, 20:28 Pastors assists church leaders to encourage their flock to be salt and light at the voting booth. Below is a graph that shows the impact that Vision America and 20:28 Pastors made in the last election. In a Constitutional Republic, there can be no doubt that mobilizing congregations to vote is one of the most effective ways to spiritually and
John Graves founded 20:28 Pastors and is the new president of Vision America. 20:28 Pastors mission is to give pastors free tools such as voting guides, media materials and voting percentages of their congregation. When churches partner with the 20:28 Pastor ministry, voter percentages increase by 30%! Ultimately, only spiritual revival will bring God’s desired change to our country. Yet, Acts 20:28 exhorts 10
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John Graves
morally impact the culture. Evidence shows that pastoral influence serves as the greatest motivation to help the church increase their voting participation and get involved in representing our nation. 20:28 Pastors has taken the cumbersome, costly and complicated nature out of finding the relevant public information that helps pastors. They provide free data showing the percentages of people within a church that are registered and voting (not individual names). This tool compares names and addresses to public information records. Pastors agree to a strict privacy policy acknowledging that 20:28 Pastors will never sell the
church information or contact any member for any reason. Only the pastor or approved church leader will receive the comprehensive statistical report showing the voting statistics of their church from the last four elections.
The churches utilizing this free tool range in size from less than 100 members to over 30,000 adult members representing all denominational backgrounds. 20:28 Pastors was recently endorsed by Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church and Pastor “What we do is empower pastors Jack Graham of Prestonwood with good information because we Baptist Church. know pastors will lead. Pastors are called by God to lead, and John Graves encourages pastors when they get good information with vision - “too many people of the state of their congregation, attempt to fix the moral decline we’ve seen them go into action. in our nation with one election, We’ve seen churches increase their one candidate or one party. Our involvement in civic ministry to be hope is in Christ alone – not civil salt and light by up to 30% once a government. But we are called pastor engages. We ask Pastors to to influence our government do more than mobilize Christians to and bring God’s wisdom to all vote. We ask them to pastor their government. Our strategy is long city and community and raise up term. Over the next 12 years, the next leaders in government at we want to register 1 million every level.” John Graves Christians per year and mobilize 2 million previously non-voting “We underestimate the impact we Christians per year. That would can have if we take our Christianity impact 3 presidential elections; 2 beyond the walls of our church. I’ve cycles of all 100 Senators and 6 heard far too many say, ‘Well, I’m just cycles of all 435 Representatives. not going to vote’… I don’t believe With God’s provision and grace, that’s an option for us.” – “We this could be a part of a spiritual cannot endorse candidates…We awakening in our nation.” Please do endorse the whole enterprise of see Visual 2. citizenship. We encourage pastors to lead their churches to vote their Vision America and 20:28 values.” Dr. Rick Scarborough Pastors are honored to partner with and serve Watchmen on Every 20:28 Pastor receives a the Wall, Family Policy Alliance, free copy of the books U-Turn by United In Purpose, National George Barna and David Barton Black Robe Regiment and and Well Versed by Pastor Jim churches across the country. You Garlow. They will also receive can learn more about this free training, media materials, voter report and see a sample report registration cards and voter and training video, by visiting guides to achieve these results www.2028Pastors.com. which impact the culture.
LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Visual 2
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WEEKDAYS MORNINGS WITH BILL CARL 12:00 am 1:00 am 2:00 am 2:30 am 3:00 am 3:30 am 4:00 am 4:30 am 5:00 am 5:30 am 5:45 am 6:00 am 6:30 am 7:00 am 7:30 am 8:00 am 8:30 am 9:00 am 9:30 am 10:00 am 10:30 am 11:00 am 11:30 am 12:00 pm 12:30 pm
Hope In The Night with June Hunt (Tuesday - Friday) iWork4Him with Jim & Martha Brangenberg Jay Sekulow Live Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Verse By Verse with Pastor Steve Kreloff In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Family Life Today with Dennis Rainey Joni And Friends with Joni Eareckson Tada Just Thinking with Ravi Zacharias Verse By Verse with Pastor Steve Kreloff Grace To You with John MacArthur Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Pathway To Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress Moving Forward with Dr. Stephen Rummage Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Living Truth with Pastor Ken Whitten Know The Truth with Pastor Philip De Courcy Bibleline with Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold Just Thinking with Ravi Zacharias In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Jay Sekulow Live Faith In Practice with Dr. A.R. Bernard
MID-DAYS WITH CASEY BELL 1:00 pm 1:30 pm 2:00 pm 2:30 pm 3:00 pm
Grace To You with John MacArthur Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Know The Truth with Pastor Philip De Courcy Verse By Verse with Pastor Steve Kreloff iWork4Him with Jim & Martha Brangenberg
WEEKDAY EVENINGS
4:00 pm 6:00 pm 6:30 pm 7:00 pm
7:30 pm 8:00 pm 8:30 pm 9:00 pm 9:15 pm 10:00 pm 10:30 pm 11:00 pm 11:30 pm 12
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The Bill Bunkley Show Living Truth with Pastor Ken Whitten Pathway To Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Adventures In Odyssey with Whit & the Gang Bibleline with Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold Faith In Practice with Dr. A.R. Bernard Sound Of Faith with R.G. Hardy The Eric Metaxas Show Moving Forward with Dr. Stephen Rummage Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Family Life Today with Dennis Rainey Grace To You with John MacArthur
WEEKENDS SATURDAYS
SUNDAYS
12:00 am 1:00 am 2:00 am 2:30 am 3:00 am 3:30 am 4:00 am 4:30 am 5:00 am 5:30 am 7:00 am 7:30 am 8:00 am 9:00 am
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9:30 am 10:00 am 11:30 am 12:00 pm 1:00 pm 1:30 pm 4:00 pm 4:30 pm 5:00 pm 5:30 am 6:00 pm 9:00 pm 11:00 pm
Hope In The Night with June Hunt iWork4Him with Jim & Martha Brangenberg Jay Sekulow Live Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Verse By Verse with Pastor Steve Kreloff In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Paws & Tales Grace To You with John MacArthur Jay Sekulow Live Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Ask An Attorney with Joe Pippen Planning In Advance, Necessary Conversations with Glenn Jones Jene’s Tropicals Health From Within with Dr. Raul Serrano & Dr. Suzanne Foley Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Faith Answers with Pastor Gary Roy Grace To You with John MacArthur Love First Christian Center with Dr. Jomo Cousins Gaining Ground with Pastor Evan Burrows This Day In The Word with Pastor Jon Couch The Universe Next Door with Dr. Tom Woodward Jene’s Tropicals Higher Praise with Pastor Stephen Nunn Baldwin McCullough Live with Kevin McCullough & Steven Baldwin Steve Brown Etc.
6:00 am 7:00 am 7:30 am 8:00 am 8:30 am 9:00 am 9:30 am 10:00 am 10:30 am 11:00 am 12:00 pm 1:00 pm 1:30 pm 2:00 pm 5:00 pm 6:00 pm
6:30 pm 7:00 pm 8:00 pm
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In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Jay Sekulow Live Moving Forward with Dr. Stephen Rummage Keep The Faith with Keith Stevens & Donn a Cruz Townhall Weekend Journal Family Life This Week with Dennis Rainey The Crucified Message with Dr. Tony B. Young Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef Road To Reality with K.P. Yohannan Heart Of Messiah with Rabbi Steven Weiler Moving Forward with Dr. Stephen Rummage Bibleline with Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold Grace To You with John MacArthur Faith Answers with Pastor Gary Roy Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller Ministry Spotlight with Bill Carl Gaining Ground with Pastor Evan Burrows The Eric Metaxas Show Best Of Ask An Attorney with Joe Pippen Planning In Advance, Necessary Conversations with Glenn Jones Grace To You with John MacArthur The Bill Bunkley Show Weekend Edition Focus On The Family with Jim Daly, Juli Slattery, & John Fuller The Christian Outlook with Don Crowe Townhall Weekend Journal Late Night with Pastor Al Davis
The FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1 Program Schedule is subject to change at any time. Please visit
www.LetsTalkFaith.com
for our most up-to-date programming information. L E T SLTEATLSKTFAALIKT FHA. C I TOHM. C O M
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To Know is to
Love
by Charles F. Stanley
I
n an achievement-oriented society such as ours, there is a tendency to equate our significance or importance with our ability to perform certain tasks. Even as Christians, we tend to evaluate our worth on the basis of what we have done rather than on the basis of who we are in Christ. As we mature in our faith, however, the Holy Spirit is constantly at work within us, helping us realize where our true identity is really found: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God� (1 Cor. 2:12).
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The tragedy is that when we put ourselves on a performance scale to measure our worth and significance, we sometimes put those around us on one as well. Thus, we accept others on the same erroneous and artificial basis that we accept ourselves. Unfortunately, children often bear the brunt of our insecurities. Our personal struggles with self-esteem overflow in the expectations we put on them. Since we are never quite satisfied with our own performance or looks or whatever, we likewise find it difficult to be satisfied with theirs. The result is that we push. We expect better grades, better batting averages, better manners, better friends, better goals, and so on. Things are never as good as they could be. So children grow up under pressure to achieve an impossible standard. They work to earn something that should be given freely—acceptance. Children in this situation tend to become workaholics or to give up altogether and quit trying to measure up. In both cases, the parents have failed because the children have come to believe on an emotional level that acceptance is based upon ability to perform certain tasks or to look a certain way. Unrealistic and ever-changing expectations are actually a form of rejection, communicating that you’re concerned with your children’s behavior as it reflects on you as a parent more than you’re concerned with them as individuals. You may not think about it in those terms, but why else would you keep pushing them? Your sons and daughters may not recognize what has happened as rejection, but their deep feelings of alienation and hostility are characteristic of children who have been openly rejected. Family Member or Employee? Time and time again, I’ve seen a pattern in teenagers from families in which the parents are professionals of some kind. Doctors, lawyers, dentists, accountants, and pastors: All of these professions are exacting and performance-oriented by their very nature. It is so very easy for adults in these careers to bring the expectations and value system of the office home with them. At work, men and women are employed and promoted according to their ability to do assigned tasks. The office is often a high-energy, high-productivity environment, and performance is the name of the game. Things run efficiently and on time. Employees who fail in any of these areas are considered less desirable than those who succeed, and they’re usually treated accordingly. After parents spend eight or more hours in an environment like that, it is easy to understand why they may be performance-oriented at home, too. All too often expressions of love become linked to how well children meet their parents’ high expectations. Even with all that working against you, Mom and Dad, you must change gears on your way home from work every day. Your children are not employees and were not given to you to be treated as such. They are to be accepted and loved on the basis of who they are, not what they have or do not have, not what they can or cannot do. This is a truth you must remember daily. In his excellent book How to Really Love Your Child, Ross Campbell gives a definition of unconditional love that bears repeating: “Unconditional love is loving a child no matter what. No matter what the child looks like. No matter what his assets, liabilities, handicaps. No matter what we expect him to be and most difficult, no matter how he acts. This does not mean, of course, that we always like his behavior. Unconditional love means we love the child even at times we may detest his behaviour.” Striking a Balance “But,” you say, “am I not to motivate my children to excellence? Am I not responsible to help them develop to the fullest of their potential? Are there not times when I need to push a little?” Absolutely! In fact, motivating your children to excellence and improvement is in itself a part of expressing unconditional love and acceptance. To allow LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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children simply to get by in life is another from of rejection. It is as if you are saying, “I don’t care if you amount to anything in life.” For you to motivate your children to excellence without expressing an attitude of conditional acceptance, two things must be true. First, all your prodding and motivating must be preceded by demonstrations of your unconditional love for your children. There must be memorials, so to speak, to their worthiness in your eyes. By memorials, I mean events or conversations that have clearly expressed your love. Memorials such as these are beneficial because they give you and your children something to recall for reassurance when you apply properly motivated pressure to perform. Not only that, but they also provide a comfortable context for failure. After all, sometimes you’ll expect too much from your children, and they will fail. These reminders of your unconditional acceptance make it easier for them to face you when they fall short. The second thing that must be true if you’re to properly motivate your children to excellence is that the standard by which you measure them must be their own ability, not somebody else’s. In other words, they must be motivated on the basis of whether or not they are doing their best. Comparing one child’s performance to that of another eventually destroys his or her self-esteem, and along with self-esteem go expressions of individuality and creativity. Unique Creations The real key here is to view each of your children as a unique individual. The assumption must be that every child is gifted in some particular area. Your goal as a parent is to recognize and emphasize it as your child develops, for in these areas of strength lies a child’s greatest potential for excellence. And by cultivating them, you will do great things for your child’s self-esteem as well. Often, your child’s area of interest or strength will be something you are not familiar with or interested in. Do not make the mistake of downplaying an interest simply because it holds no personal attraction for you. For your child’s sake, you must go the extra mile to become interested. But keep in mind that your interest must be genuine; a child can tell if you are not being sincere. The apostle John knew the importance of demonstrating unconditional love. In his first epistle, he wrote, “Little children, let us not love with word or tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:18). That is my point exactly. Unconditional love and acceptance are communicated by what we do and how we do it rather than simply by what we say. When I need assurance that God really does love and accept me unconditionally, I don’t look for verses that say those words per se. My comfort comes from Christ’s work on the cross. His death for me leaves no room for doubt, since He has loved us “in deed and truth.” In the same way, our children must have a backlog of memories to sustain their belief that we truly love and accept them unconditionally. This article is reprinted with permission from In Touch Magazine, the bimonthly publication of In Touch Ministries. To receive a free subscription, please visit intouch.org/magazine. Tune in weekdays at 3:30 and 11:00 am to hear the teachings of Charles Stanley on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1. 16
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by Bill Bunkley
B
uilding strong families based upon a holistic Biblical worldview is a considerable challenge given the politically correct culture that engulfs us every day. The sin of cultural compromise and its ever-present temptation stands ready to derail followers of Christ at our every turn. Training up your children to be culturally wise to the deceptions of compromise is an important but often neglected activity in many Christian homes. We all know that “raising up our children in the wisdom and admonition of the Lord� is a basic Christian precept. But how many parents when teaching their children
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this principle apply it in light of the next logical level, that is, real life application of those principles in a hostile, politically correct culture that is attacking and demeaning everything their child is learning about God? I think some have forgotten the admonition in Ephesians that we are all called to be purposeful in putting on the full armor of God before we venture out daily into the world full of values contrary to the word of God. Every child in a Christian family should learn how to be purposefully engaged each and every day by being ready and on guard to recognize the attacks and temptations of an adverse, politically correct culture.
Moral relativism, gender and the redefinition of marriage are probably the three biggest challenges facing Christian parenting today. A parent’s first reaction to these culturally contrary foundational values is to put a 20 foot wall around the children and cut off all contact with the outside world. Obviously, that is not a viable option. But it is appropriate and wise to be constantly vigilant in monitoring the various platforms of technology that are ever-present in your home. Always maintain a close, personal dialogue with your children with regard to the content they are bringing into the home from various sources. A second response might be to ignore the obvious, that children are no doubt receiving daily input into their developing internal value system from these outside sources. Before addressing this issue, I want to make it clear that I have been very displeased, for years, with a culture that forces parents to have adult conversations with children at a much earlier age than is appropriate to their natural maturity levels. With that being said, our younger children are especially being exposed to unimaginable images, topics and sexually oriented topics nonexistent at their young levels of maturity just a few short years ago. Ignoring the obvious is not an option. Saying nothing about these issues and burying one’s head in the sand is only a recipe for future disaster.
Parents must be prepared to engage their children on these important and sensitive topics the moment their children are exposed to culture’s view on an important value. Children will begin to develop their worldview from the moment they are born. The question is will they develop that worldview solely from the politically correct culture surrounding them, or from a Biblical worldview both lovingly revealed to them and modeled to them by their parents. It is up to parents to do this equipping; not the child’s teacher, athletic coach or Sunday School teacher. It happens in the home. If you wait for the teenage years to disciple children about issues they have already been exposed to in school, on television, on the internet or by their friends, you have probably already missed this very important window of opportunity. I cannot underestimate the peer pressure to fit in and to be accepted that children face today. Only their reliance on a Biblical worldview can guard them at that moment when kids tend to do, say, and agree to just about anything, when faced with the fear of rejection by others.
sin so often provides; only later rises up like a snake to bite them with the twin poisons of guilt and remorse. Let them know that if they walk with Christ, they will always be swimming against the currents of the culture. But also let them know that there is nothing that this fallen world can provide that can ever surpass the supernatural love, comfort, and security available to them every moment of the day by our Lord and Savior. He is with them in the midst of the cultural storm around them. I’ve learned already that my young son is learning, retrieving and modeling far more from what he sees me do, rather than from what I say. The very best equipping you can teach through your children’s formative years is to model Jesus to them personally. Nothing will ever match their remembrance of you reacting to the culture around with a Christlike response, even through the most trying of circumstances.
Children need to know that their Lord loves them beyond measure and that their parents will always be there when times are the toughest. They need to understand the shortterm, immediate pleasure that
Bill Bunkley comments on local, state, national and international issues of the day from the lens of a Christian worldview perspective. Tune in to The Bill Bunkley Show weekdays at 4:00 pm on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1, AM 860 and 930 The Answer. His commentary “Something to Think About” can also be heard daily on these stations. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Hope
Beyond Failure
by Charles R. Swindoll Rarely will one of God’s heroes show up in the Scriptures having lived a life free of failure. Take Peter, for example. As soon as you read the name, you remember his story. Peter experienced the extreme highs and lows of life—from days spent in blessed fellowship with Christ... to the heart-wrenching erosion of loyalty when he denied the Lord. Not once. Not twice. Three times. Once he realized his failure, the Bible says, “he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:62). Can you remember a failure that was so dramatic and so tearful for you that you hardly need to be reminded of the feelings? I remember Betsie ten Boom’s words, “There is no pit so deep but that He is not deeper still.” As dark and as deep and as tragic as your failure may be, LETSTALKFAITH.COM
He is willing to go to the depths of for him that he would not remain it with you. fallen. Jesus loved Peter—even at his point of deepest weakness. This was true of Peter too. Look back at Luke 22. After the surprising How did He prove that love? Mark warning of Satan’s attack, Jesus gave 16:6-7 answers that question. After Peter a statement of fact: “I have the Resurrection, while the women prayed for you, that your faith may were standing at the tomb, an angel not fail.” Then there was a veiled told them: reassurance: “And you, when once you have turned again...” Then a “Do not be amazed; you are final command: “Strengthen your looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who brothers” (22:32). has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place What does that suggest? It suggests where they laid him. But go, tell His that Peter was going to fall. “Once disciples AND PETER.” (emphasis you have turned again.” “Retraced added) Isn’t that great? “Don’t forget your steps” is another way someone Peter. He’s the last one who thinks else has put it. “Once you have that I’ll ever want to talk to him turned again,” Jesus said, “then use again. TELL PETER!” What grace! it to strengthen your brothers.” Jesus knew Peter to the core. He knew Somewhere between the Peter would fall, but He prayed time Peter fell and this angelic SPRING 2017
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announcement there was a process during which Peter wallowed in remorse, wishing he could, if possible, correct his error . . . but he couldn’t. And somewhere in the midst of it he heard the Lord say to him, “Peter, I forgive you. I understand. Use it to strengthen your brothers.”
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope THROUGH THE RESURRECTION. (1 Peter 1:2-3, emphasis added)
Why did this mean so much to Peter? Because it was at the Resurrection Peter’s name was That’s why Peter later was able to called, and the Lord in tender write the following words to early mercy said, “Tell him I’ve come Christians: back.” May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
First Peter is a letter of great hope written by a man who experienced it! By the time he wrote this letter, Blessed be the God a nd Father Peter had come to the place where
he was not only back on the scene, he was aggressively engaged in the formation of the early church. It can happen to you too. Just like fallen and forgiven Peter, you can find new hope despite your failures. If you are a believer, you are born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). What tender mercy! What triumphant grace! Failure is not forever. God specializes in forgiveness and hope. He can use even your worst failures in a mighty way.
Chuck Swindoll is an senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, author of many books, educator and chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, and radio preacher with his ministry Insight for Living. Taken from Charles R. Swindoll, “Hope beyond Failure,” Insights (August 2002): 1-2. Copyright © 2002 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
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by David Jeremiah
“Civilization,” said German movie producer Werner Herzog, “is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.” If so, it feels like the ice is cracking all around us. Global conditions are increasingly chaotic and dark. When we look around to see who’s in charge, all we see is a frozen landscape with intersecting fault lines. Our politicians aren’t in charge, or our generals, economists, or diplomats. I wonder how they sleep at night, knowing what they know and being as powerless as they are. I can’t remember a more dangerous period in my lifetime. Unless it was 1958.
Richard Nixon was trying to manage the Cold War. Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union in 1958, and Castro was taking over Cuba. Communism was expanding throughout the world, and people were building bomb shelters in their backyards. On March 11, 1958, a U.S. B-47 bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Mars Bluff, South Carolina. It was an accident, and it obviously didn’t explode, but it added to the Cold War jitters. The year 1958 was also when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered American public schools to integrate. It was long overdue, but it led to riots and resistance. The combined stress felt like the whole wide world was having a nervous breakdown.
What was happening in 1958? Let’s see. President Dwight Eisenhower But 1958 was also the year when— was battling heart disease in the for the first and only time in recorded White House, and Vice President history—a Gospel song flew to the top 24
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and became #1 on the U.S. pop singles chart. It was the old African-American spiritual that said: He’s got the whole wide world in His hands… He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands… He’s got you and me brother in His hands… He’s got everybody here in His hands… He’s got the whole world in His hands.
What a message for troubled times! Well, we’re no longer living in 1958— this is 2017, and things seem worse than ever. But God is strong as ever and I want you to know: He’s got this. He’s got the whole world in His hands. The state of the world might cause us to doubt whether God is in control, but our peace and happiness—and our confidence as Christians—rest in believing He is. If you don’t have confidence in the Creator of the world, you cannot have confidence in the
condition of the world, and you’re left with nothing but chaos.
He Is Controller of the Universe
teaching about biblical prophecy. One of the reasons is that there’s so much of It’s logical to assume the Creator is it. According to Dr. J. Barton Payne, out Christians shouldn’t be chaotic in also the Controller. We can tackle life of the Bible’s more than 31,000 verses, their spirits. We can live with confident with confidence because the same God 8,000 were predictive at the time they assurance because our Jesus is Lord of who originated the universe oversees it. were written. That’s 27 percent. The all. On four different occasions in the book breakdown: In the Old Testament, of Daniel we read, “The Most High rules there are 6,641 predictive verses out of He Is Creator of the World in the kingdom of men” (4:17; 4:25; 4:32; 23,210 (28.5 percent); and in the New 5:21). In Daniel 4:26, it’s boiled down to Testament, there are 1,711 verses out of Let’s remember the first words of the two words: “Heaven rules.” 7,914 (21.5 percent). Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis Clearly things are in process right Some of these prophecies have already 1:1); and John says of Christ, “All now. We’re on war footing. It’s a battle been fulfilled in the first advent of the things were made through Him” (John being waged on two fronts. On the Messiah and the unfolding events in 1:3). Without a Creator/God, there’s visible front, we read the headlines, cope Jewish and world history. But many nothing but chaos and ultimate despair. with crime, encounter hardship, and still point toward tomorrow. The Bible Without a Creator/God, there’s no one fight off fear and worry. On an invisible devotes thousands of its verses to in charge—there never has been and front, the conflict of the ages is raging reassuring us about the ultimate future. there never will be. Everything is an in the unseen realms. Anything that so occupies the mind and accident, including the existence of the the Word of God should be of special universe, the condition of the world, But God is God, and He is the interest to us. the trajectory of history, and you and Supreme Commander of Heaven and me. This is a terrible philosophy, but Earth. Nothing comes close to the power We become caught up in election it’s the lie perpetrated on us and on our of Him who raised Christ from the cycles, geopolitical politics, the arms children. dead. His is an inevitable, indomitable, race, and the international chess games unconquerable power. that occupy our times. Well, we should John Morris spoke up for Bible pay attention to those things, but we creationism when he wrote, “We must The Bible suggests we pray for our should look at them backwards, as get away from thinking of evolution as eyes to be opened so we can better it were. Start your thinking with the a science. Evolutionary naturalism is understand “what is the exceeding reality of the Second Coming of Christ, a philosophical world view about the greatness of His power toward us who and then evaluate the times in light of past, loaded with religious implications, believe, according to the working of His His return. which historically and presently exists in mighty power which He worked in Christ a frantic attempt to explain the fact that when He raised Him from the dead and That’s the best way—really, the only we are here without accountability to a seated Him at His right hand in the way—to live every day with confidence, Creator/God. It results in bad science, a heavenly places, far above all principality come what may. Jesus told His followers, denial of true history, and much misery and power and might and dominion, and “Now when these things begin to happen, to people and nations who have adopted every name that is named, not only in look up and lift up your heads, because it.” this age but also in that which is to come. your redemption draws near” (Luke And He put all things under His feet, and 21:28). The psalmist said, “My help comes gave Him to be head over all things…” from the LORD, who made heaven and (Ephesians 1:19-22). When we have this kind of confidence earth” (Psalm 121:2). We can be “Creator in our Creator, it shows up in every zone Confident” because we have a Creator He Is Commander of the Future of life. We have peace in the face of who is competent in all things. “For by danger, faith in the face of the unknown, Him all things were created that are in And there is an age to come. The purpose in the face of chaos, love in the heaven and that are on earth, visible and Creator of the world and Controller of face of our enemies, and joy in the face invisible, whether thrones or dominions the universe is also the Commander of sorrow. We can rest in Him and say or principalities or powers. All things of the future. As you may know, I love with the psalmist: were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).
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The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life…. Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life.
Psalm 27:1-4
You can be confident in life. Your God—the God of Scripture—is the Creator of the world, the Controller of the Universe, and the Commander of the Future. He’s got this. He’s got you and me, brother. He’s got the whole wide world in His hands. Dr. Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God, and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California. For more information about Turning Point, go to www.DavidJeremiah.org. Turning Point Radio Show, airs on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1 weekdays at 4:30, 8:30 am and 1:30 pm.
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Know The Truth with Philip De Courcy | Weekdays at 9:30 AM & 2:00 PM Philip De Courcy is the senior pastor of Kindred Community Church in Anaheim Hills, California, and speaker on the daily radio program, Know The Truth. Philip preaches with clarity, courage and conviction. His expositional delivery comes with a charming Celtic flare and with a direct and disarming style you would expect from a northern Ireland street cop.
Sound Of Faith with R. G. Hardy and Sharon Hardy Knotts Weeknights at 9:00 PM If you are drawn to inspirational preaching, informative, indepth teaching, with a biblical perspective on current events, Sound Of Faith is perfect for you! We know “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Tune in every day Monday-Friday.
Health From Within with Dr. Raul Serrano & Dr. Suzanne Foley Sundays at 7:30 AM We are passionate about helping people go from fighting disease to building health. On our show we teach the truth about health and healing; allowing you to unlock the great physician within.
The Crucified Message with Dr. Tony Young Jr. | Sundays at 7:30 AM A ministry supported program of Christ Gospel Church of St. Petersburg Florida where Bishop Preston Leonard is the Senior Pastor. This program seeks to encourage, educate and empower our community through God’s love, compassion, and mercy. During The Crucified Message listeners receive Biblical answers to real problems that we all face in today’s troubled world. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Lessons
We Sought to Teach Our Children Here’s a list of values and character traits that helped us focus on biblical priorities in our parenting.
by Dennis and Barbara Rainey We will never forget that incredible moment when our daughter Ashley was born. The doctor cleaned her up and handed her to us. Dennis recalls that he wanted to blurt out, “Thanks for the gift, but where are the instructions?”
and raise children. Two years later we added a son and we realized that we had better become intentional about what we wanted to do as parents and teach our children.
As a result we began a list of 25 things we wanted to teach our When we started out, we had a few children. Then it became 40, 50, ideas of what it meant to be a parent and even more. (For your sake
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we’ve shortened the list back to the top 40.) Some of these lessons began during the first year for each of our six children, while others were emphasized later during childhood or adolescence. Today our children are adults and our role in their lives has changed. We have moved from being teachers to being cheerleaders and advisors, when asked.
Raising children requires huge chunks of time, prayer, discipline, involvement, and relationship-building. This list of values and traits has helped us focus on biblical priorities in raising children to become mature adults of faith and godly character. 1. 2. 3. 4.
Above all, fear God. Respect authority—trust and obey your parents. The importance of friendships. Be in love with Christ and focus on your relationship with Him, not just on doctrine or on biblical principles. 5. Have compassion for the poor and orphans. 6. Believe God for too much rather than too little. 7. Real strength is found in serving, not in being served. 8. The power of moral purity and a clean conscience. 9. How to motivate people without manipulating them. 10. How to handle failure. 11. Keep your promises. 12. The power of the tongue for good or evil. 13. Give too much rather than too little. 14. The importance of manners and common courtesies. 15. View life through God’s agenda—the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-38). 16. Give thanks to God in all things. 17. The importance of prayer. 18. The art of asking good questions, carrying on good conversation. 19. How to grow as a Christian.
20. How to handle temptation. 21. By faith, trust Christ as your Savior and Lord, and share with others how to become a Christian. 22. Seeking wisdom—skill in everyday living. Knowing how to make good decisions. 23. Gaining a sense of God’s direction and destiny for your life. 24. Stay teachable and do not become cynical. 25. Obtain godly counsel. 26. The importance of flexibility and adaptability to cope in life. 27. Truth is best passed on through relationships. 28. Leave a legacy of holiness. 29. Keep life manageable. Prioritize decisions. 30. Tame selfishness—you can’t always get your way. 31. Choices are yours to make and results are yours to experience. 32. Respect the dignity of other people—all people. 33. Be faithful in the little things. 34. Character is the basis of all leadership. 35. Life isn’t fair—don’t compare with or be jealous of others. 36. Live by commitments, not by feelings. 37. Express grace and forgiveness. 38. A strong work ethic. 39. Surrender to the authority of Christ. 40. How to handle your finances.
We should mention that, after number one, the items on this list are not presented in any order or priority. We realize the list may appear long and daunting. But we suspect that if you began a list of your own, you’ll quickly find that it’s just as lengthy. That’s because parenting is a long and challenging task. Fortunately we have a God who gives us the strength to accomplish the tasks He lays before us (Philippians 4:13). We encourage you to lean on Him. No, we didn’t perfectly teach each and every one of these 40 things, but it was a guide to remind us of what was important. We never stopped training, teaching, and cheering on our children. As Galatians 6:9 tells us, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Dennis Rainey is President, CEO and Co-founder of FamilyLife, lead teacher on the Family Life Today Radio program, airing on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1 weekdays at 5:00 am & 11:00 pm. Copyright © 2013 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved. Reprinted with Permissions.
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by Philip De Courcy
I
n winning the 2015 British Open at St Andrews, Scotland, PGA golf player Zach Johnson said this, “I feel like God gave me the ability to play a game. I try to take it seriously. I realize it’s just a game . . . this [win] isn’t going to define me or my career, at least I hope it doesn’t. It’s not my legacy. Granted, as a professional athlete and as a golfer I’m going to relish this. I’m going to savor this. I’m humbled by this. But my legacy should be my kids and family.”
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That for me is a hole in one comment! Zach Johnson reminds us that when it comes to life there is no real success without succession. What matters most in life is that we pass on to the next generation what matters most. A legacy of faith in Christ, obedience to Scripture, love for the local church, and a concern for the lost and the least is what we urgently need to hand down to our children and our children’s children. The Bible says in Proverbs, “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him” (Prov. 20:7). While the Bible encourages us to leave a financial legacy to our children, more importantly, it encourages us to leave a spiritual legacy of faith in Christ and the riches of His grace (Prov. 13:22; 19:14; 2 Tim 1:3-5). Therefore, there is no spiritual success without spiritual succession.
in Genesis five not only points to the fact that Genesis is real history, but that we are all links in a family chain and need to live with the idea of leaving a legacy of faith behind us. What does legacy look like? In making an acrostic out of the word legacy I would say this! Legacy involves:
The reality of this is aptly illustrated in the life of the Old Testament character Enoch. In Genesis, Moses tells us that the birth of Enoch’s faith in God was triggered by the birth of his son Methuselah (Gen. 5:21-22). Notice that Enoch’s walk with God starts with the arrival of his son. It has been well said that God uses both the grave and the cradle to awaken people spiritually. Enoch would not be the last father to sense the nearness and reality of God upon entering fatherhood. Every walk begins with a step and when Enoch stepped into the role of a parent it was transformative, in that he gave his life to the God who gives life. I think I am right in saying that the ripple effect of this man’s faith-walk lasted more than 300 years. Consequently, we read that his great grandson Noah, also walked with God (Gen. 5:22, 24; 6:9), and became a preacher like his great grandfather Our children and family need to see that we (2 Peter 2:5; Jude 14-15). Enoch did not carve his are godly in behavior, biblical in thought, real, name on marble, but on the hearts of his children committed to them, and eternal in our perspective. and his children’s children. Enoch’s walk with God was a wonderful example to his family. The Money alone is a poor legacy; the real legacy is fact that we find Enoch mentioned in a genealogy the treasured memory of faith in God!
Philip De Courcy is the senior pastor of Kindred Community Church, and speaker on the daily radio program, Know The Truth. Know The Truth airs weekdays starting at 9:30 am on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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by John MacArthur
Dr. Charles Feinberg, dean of the seminary I attended, was one of the most brilliant and respected men I have ever known. God saved him after he had studied for fourteen years to become a rabbi. Dr. Feinberg loved the Scriptures and read through the Bible four times every year. He knew more than thirty languages, including Dutch, which he taught himself just so he could read Dutch Reformed theology! We were all rightfully in awe of him, and I loved him at the same time. In those days, every seminary student had to preach in chapel. When my turn came, I was assigned to preach on 2 Samuel 7, LETSTALKFAITH.COM
the Davidic Covenant. My sermon was a fine example of structural craftsmanship—a zinger for a beginning, a zapper at the end. It was the lack of biblical content in the middle section that did me in. I preached a “practical” message, superficially related to the biblical text, on not presuming on God.
eager to see if he was impressed with my sermon.
I expected some constructive criticism, but I was completely unprepared for the few bold, red words that stared back at me. Ignoring all the preprinted categories and scoring helps, he wrote a one-line critique across the When I finished, I felt pretty page: You missed the whole point of good. The chapel audience seemed the passage. interested and approving. But I cared most about the opinion of That’s the worst possible mistake my mentor, Dr. Feinberg. I sensed any preacher could make. Like his presence while I preached—he many young preachers, I had was sitting behind me, along with naively concerned myself with just the whole faculty, filling out legal- about everything except getting sized criticism sheets. At my first the meaning of the text right. I opportunity, I got out his paper, had focused on delivery, gestures, SPRING 2017
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anecdotes, humor and illustrations, and alliterating my main points. The biblical passage itself was almost an afterthought.
like a sledgehammer. Honestly, it was the deepest single impression I ever received in seminary. Never miss the point of the passage.
Later that day, I received a message instructing me to go to Dr. Feinberg’s office. When I got there, he was sitting at his desk, shaking his head in disappointment. “How could you? How could you? You missed the entire point of the passage, one of the greatest of all Old Testament passages. Don’t ever do that again.”
To this day, when I come to the biblical text each week to study its richness and depth, I can still hear Dr. Feinberg’s heartfelt admonition ringing in my ears. If you don’t have the meaning of Scripture, you do not have the Word of God at all. If you miss the true sense of what God has said, you are not actually preaching God’s Word! That reality has compelled me for more than He never said another word about forty-five years of preaching. it to me, but that incident hit me John MacArthur is founder and featured teacher of Grace to You. You can hear him daily on “Grace to You,” half-hour radio program dedicated to Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Bible, airing on FaithTalk 570 WTBN, AM 910 & FM 102.1 weekdays at 6:30 am, 1:00 pm and 11:30 pm.
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s t a h
By Chris Brown
t d an
Okay
Have you ever had a day when the toddler won’t nap, the kids declare war on each other, or the principal calls to say he needs to talk with you about your teen—again? You wonder when parenting got so hard—and why every other parent seems to have it all together.
Here’s the truth: This whole parenting thing is tough— for everyone. Every parent since Adam and Eve has felt like they were failing at one time or another. And let’s be honest: You’re raising wild little creatures into kind, smart, productive adults who love the Lord. That’s the toughest job you’ll ever have! 36
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But failure is okay, because enough failure often brings success. The key is keeping God—the one truly perfect Father—at the center. If your parenting decisions honor Him and display the same firm, loving kindness that He shows to us, then you’ve done what He’s asked of you. And He’ll honor your efforts, even if you mess up every now and then.
2. GOD KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING WHEN HE GAVE YOU YOUR CHILD.
The adolescent drama that stresses you out might be that other parent’s strength. But they also need their own time-out to recover from the toddler meltdowns that don’t even faze you. So celebrate your own parenting wins, because those victories will carry you through the valleys. And don’t beat yourself up over your weaknesses!
Sometimes, if your child is especially strong-willed or just completely unlike you, you might wonder what God was thinking when He brought them to you. Well, only He knows for sure, but you The next time you start to feel the As you’re leaning into your Father should know this much: It wasn’t a pull toward perfection—or guilt with your parenting challenges, mistake. You’re the best parent your when you’ve failed to achieve it—try keep these three things in mind too: child has. this: Find a place you can go that’s quiet. Clear your mind so you can 1. TRUST GOD TO TEACH God chose you for your child for focus on God. Then say this prayer: YOUR KIDS FROM a reason—to teach you patience, or YOUR MISTAKES. perseverance, or trust. Or maybe it’s Father, You are perfect, and You are because you can teach your child good. Sometimes I struggle with not like no one else can. Whatever the feeling like a perfect parent, but my reason, try to look at the bigger standards are not Yours. Your grace Your mistakes are actually picture when parenting feels really covers me, and You love me as I am. teachable moments. Not only do hard. What could God be trying to I am made perfect in You. Free me, you know what not to do next time, show you here? Father, from the desire for perfection. but something bigger is happening. You are the only perfect parent there Your kids are learning forgiveness 3. COMPARE YOURSELF is. Give me the wisdom to lean into and humility. ONLY TO WHAT Your strength and Your Word when GOD ASKS OF YOU, I’m struggling. Allow my failings to Sincerely apologize to them when NOT TO YOUR be used for Your glory. And remind you mess up. They’ll forgive you, PERCEPTION OF me to look upward to You to know and it’ll blow their minds that you OTHER PARENTS. how to parent my children when I’m humbled yourself before them. That tempted to compare myself to others. teaches them to ask for forgiveness In Jesus’ name, amen. when they wrong someone else. It also shows them that everyone Don’t be fooled by the families who And remember, you’re not alone. makes mistakes—even you. And look perfect in public. In private, You’re surrounded by parents that’s okay! It takes the pressure off those parents are sometimes nailing who’ve walked this road before you of them to be perfect, and they’ll it—but other times they’re failing or are there with you right now! You actually trust and respect you and too. So don’t be tempted to compare may not be the perfect parent, but your authority more. That’s great yourself to them. God made them you’re probably a pretty great one. news as they get older and the stakes very different from you! get higher. Chris Brown is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, pastor and dynamic speaker carrying the message of stewardship and intentional living nationwide as a Ramsey Personality. LETSTALKFAITH.COM
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Pastors Appreciation Day October 13 - Tampa We celebrated our annual Pastors Luncheon with Keynote Speaker Bob Lepine.
CALIBRATE Worship Leaders Event January 23 - Clearwater A one-day conference designed to educate, encourage and equip worship teams to serve their community.
Under Our Skin Forum February 16 - Brandon Bill Bunkley was on location at The Crossing Church for the special event Under Our Skin: A Forum on Race and Faith. 38
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Ladies Night Out March 23 - Brandon A night of Food, Fun and Faith at BellShoals Baptist Church that featured Christian Comedian Amberly Neese.
Pastors Masters Golf Tournament
April 14 - Tampa We celebrated our third Annual Golf Tournament at Westchase Golf Club.
National Day Of Prayer Luncheon and Rally May 5 - Tampa & Clearwater We united with thousands of believers as we prayed for our city, our nation and pastors.
For more event information check out
LetsTalkFaith.com SPRING 2017
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