October 7

This will be my last blog for the next 11 days. I will be praying for you as you pray for me. Stay faithful to connecting with God everyday. Invite someone to do the New Testament journey with us. We begin the next part of our journey October 19. Your invitation can make an eternal difference in someone’s life.

Ezra 9

Make sure about Mr. or Mrs. Right

The two most important decisions one makes in life are:
1. Who will be the King of our lives?
2. Who will we marry?

The result of those two questions determines the future of the nation. A nation whose God is not the Lord will surely fall. The same with marriage, a nation that does not honor the Lord and his design for marriage will also fall. There will be divorce, abuse, neglected children, poverty, wounded children and eventually people will simply live with each other and avoid marriage at all. Generational sins will only grow in their magnitude and eventually wipe out the social fabric. Welcome to the United States 2009. We have tried to build this nation without looking at the directions given to us by God. What a mess we have made.

When people ask me what do Christ followers stand for I say the following...

We stand for strong marriages, stable families, loving fathers and mothers who care for each other and their children, the protection of unborn and vulnerable children, dinner hours, family fun, family vacations, game nights, going to Little League games and soccer games as a family, ice cream on a hot summer night, a cup of hot chocolate after shoveling the snow together, mission projects as a family, Christmas giving to the needy, sitting in church together, singing together, playing the letter game in the car, crying together, talking about the birds and bees with the children, reading together, praying together, weekly date night for mom and dad, dancing in the living room, Thanksgiving dinner with the entire family, exercising together, popping pop corn, and reading God’s Word at dinner.

Ezra saw that this dream was not going to happen if his nation continued on their present course. Here is his reaction to the compromise..

Ezra 9:3-4 When I heard this, (marrying unbelievers) I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.

Live the dream.... follow God’s instructions.