Faith to Cast

This week in Good News Club, we looked at the life of Moses. Exodus 1-2:10 tells the story of his birth and the very beginnings of what would eventually become freedom for the Hebrew people. At first glance, it appears to be just one of these simple Bible stories that we often teach to kids in Sunday School, because it focuses on a recognizable character. It's a story that kids are usually familiar with and makes for a great Veggie Tales DVD. But when we really meditate on the story, we see that there is something much deeper here that is vital for kids to grasp in this day and age.

With the birth of Moses we see a snapshot of the great amount of faith that the Hebrew people had in God. Even in the darkest times of their slavery and oppression, they trusted that God would eventually deliver them. At the time of Moses' birth, Pharaoh had ordered that all Hebrew baby boys were to be killed, for fear of their numbers growing out of control. With great faith in God, Moses' mother hid him for 3 months, in hopes that his life would be spared. Finally, realizing that she could no longer keep him hidden, she placed him in a papyrus basket, and sent him afloat in the Nile river. Because of God's divine protection, Moses lived and would eventually grow up to lead his people out of Egypt.

But just for a moment, imagine being in Moses' mother's place. Imagine the amount of faith she must have had in order to hide her baby for 3 months, and then having to let him go into the Nile river. Imagine the fear. Imagine the heartbreaking choice that she had to make in realizing that she could no longer control the circumstances that surrounded her family. And yet despite the emotions that must have been running wild, she trusted in God and His promises to those who had faith in Him.

1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." This is a verse that many people will quote to others going through difficult times. I remember hearing this from a friend of mine many years ago when I was struggling through a particularly dark period of life. "OK. That sound good, but easier said than done.", I remember thinking to myself. It's one thing to know something in your head, but quite another to know it in your heart.

But over the years since then, I've realized something very significant in my life. It is easier said than done, simply because it requires more of us than just saying the words. Letting go of the anxieties of life does not mean that our circumstance are necessarily going to change. And it doesn't mean that the road will be easy. Moses' mother still had to let go of her son. She still had to face the circumstances that were not going to be changed at that time. But as she cast her son into the Nile, she symbolically cast her fears on God as well. Because her faith was greater than her fear, she was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

When you are called to "cast all your anxiety on Him," there is a certain amount of faith that is required. Kids need to learn this at an early age, and they need to learn it from us. As moms and dads, teachers and leaders, we need to model this, not by just mouthing the words to them, but by showing them in our actions. They need to see adults that have a faith and trust in God despite the circumstances around them.

Most likely, you'll face something this week that will make you a little anxious. I challenge you to not react to your circumstances. Regardless of what you might be feeling inwardly, don't express it outwardly. Show your children, and others around you, a person that has a trust in God that rises above what might be seen, and reveals a faith that casts fear into the river of uncertainty.

Child Like Faith

Well, we kicked off another year of Good News at Hyde Elementary last Wednesday. Each year, there is always some anticipation as to how many kids will come, who will return from last year and if all of the pieces will come together as expected. There is also anticipation as to what God is going to do and how he is going to work in the lives of the kids. I've been part of leadership in Good News Club for almost 10 years now, and I have to say that I have never seen God work in such a powerful way as He did last week. Of course, he does amazing things every year, which is one of the cool things about being a part of Good News Club. But at this first meeting, for some reason there was a feeling that God is up to something BIG. There was a feeling of His Spirit moving in our midst despite anything we were doing as leaders. I could see Him in the eyes of each child as they sang, laughed and listened to the message of Jesus Christ. Man, I'm excited to be along for the ride!

To give you a little perspective, last year we started club with about 15 kids. This year we began with a total of 46. I'll admit, I've never been a big "numbers" person. Whether it's in Good News Club or church, the number of people who show up should never be the driving factor of what we do. If one child showed up on Wednesday, we would have gone about things with the same excitement and passion as if there were 100. But the numbers do show us something very significant. God is touching more and more lives through this ministry, and for that we have to give Him thanks!

When I got home on Wednesday evening, I spent some time praying and thanking God for such an awesome club. As I prayed and listened to God, I was compelled to open up my Bible to Matthew 18, where it says, "And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me," It never ceases to amazes me how much I learn about God from spending time with children. And it reminds me of how simple our faith really is. As adults, we constantly try to make faith a complex system of in-depth knowledge and facts that somehow bring us closer to God. But is it possible that just the opposite is true?

When I look into the eyes of these beautiful children, and see them worshipping God with complete focus, innocence, humility and simplicity, I see God. I see Him moving in an unhindered way that is very rare these days. I see the kind of worship that I think God really wants. And I see how I want to become in my relationship with God. Like a little child. Imagine what our churches would be like if we all worshipped God like this. Imagine the excitement. Imagine the expectation. Imagine the power. And imagine the fun we would have!

Perfect Imperfection

I don't know about you, but I've become exhausted with what seems to be an endless onslaught of "experts" giving me advice on every aspect of my life. From ministry to finances, there seems to always be someone who has the "answer", and by implementing their program and philosophy, you too will become an enlightened expert: at least until the next "expert" steps up. Especially in the area of parenting, I have become especially frustrated. I've read countless books and attended seminars on how to be a better parent and help others to be better parents. But rather than feeling encouraged, I usually feel guilty and somewhat inadequate at what I have failed to do right or could have done better. My question is, who decides what is right when it comes to parenting my kids? If I follow a certain program or method, am I going to be transformed into "Superdad"? Obviously not! I think it's going to take a lot more in my case, because guess what? I make mistakes! A lot of them! I'm an imperfect person, living as an imperfect dad and husband, married to an imperfect wife, who is an imperfect mom. And you know what else? I'm OK with that!

Don't get me wrong; I do my best to be a parent. When you get right down to it, most of us with kids would give anything to have all the right answers. It's only natural for us to seek help anywhere we can get it. The problem is that a lot of well meaning experts create unrealistic standards and goals that are too high for even the best of parents to obtain. We get discouraged, depressed, feel guilty and many times we just give up. I see this happen time and time again in ministry. And when these high standards are set by the Church, people lose faith in the one organization that should encourage them the most and support them unconditionally; failures and all.

Reggie Joiner puts it this way, "God is at work telling the story of restoration and redemption through you family. Never buy into the myth that you need to become the "right" kind of parent before God can use you in your children's lives. Instead, learn to cooperate with whatever God desires to do in your heart today so your children will have a front-row seat to the grace and goodness of God."

Think about those words for a moment. Let them sink in. Resolve yourself to the fact the we are imperfect people. We are going to make mistakes over and over again. But sometimes those mistakes are what builds healthier, deeper and more spiritual relationships within our families. Kids need to see that mom and dad are not perfect, because they need to learn that they are imperfect as well. Most of all, if you're struggling with feeling like an inadequate parent, give yourself a break; at least for this weekend. Realize that within our imperfections and screw-ups, we are being used in the hands of a perfect God. How can we go wrong by being part of His continuing genealogy of imperfect people? The Bible is full of them. You may have lost your temper a few times, but Adam and Eve screwed up their entire family; forever. But despite all the bumps in the road, all the do overs, all the screw-ups and failures, in some mysterious and supernatural way, within our imperfections, we are actually being made perfect.

Words

In Psalm 19:14 David cries out to God in prayer, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." Today I found myself asking, "When was the last time I prayed something like this? When have I taken the time to ask God to guide every word that comes from my mouth? Every thought that drifts through my mind? Every action that transpires from those thoughts?"

Those of us with kids, and those of us that teach kids, constantly find ourselves telling them to watch what they say, right? "Don't say that!", "Don't talk to your brother that way?", or my personal favorite, "Watch that mouth, Mister!" We are obviously aware of the need to guide children in what is appropriate to say, and what's not. Overall, it's vital for kids to have a concept of the proper way to communicate and treat others.

But I find myself wondering what our examples teach them. You've heard the expression, "Actions speak louder than words"? So often, we focus more on what we teach them by words and forget what we teach them by actions. I don't know about you, but sometimes my actions don't match my words. Isn't it ironic when you lose your temper while telling your 13 year old to watch his temper?

Whether we like it or not, we are "walking lessons" for kids. Especially as parents, everything we do and every word we say are being filed away in their little file cabinet minds. If we attempt to teach them one thing, but do or say another, they become confused, frustrated and eventually see us as hypocrites. The significance of matching our actions, words and teaching is vital. It's more important than what they are learning at school, and also more important than what they are learning at church.

In Deuteronomy 6:7-9, God stresses the importance of following His words and teaching them to our children. He says, "Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
This means ALL the time. This means EVERYTHING. Easier said than done, right?

Our faith is a holistic aspect of our lives. It's not just something that we do on Sunday or maybe once more during the week. Teaching our kids about faith is not just something they learn in Sunday school or Good News Club. Faith is an all encompassing part of our lives and kids need to see this lived out in the lives of mom and dad.

This week, may the words of your teaching match your actions. And may the words of your mouth and the meditation of your heart be acceptable in God's sight.

Faith

What do you think faith means to children? I began asking myself asking this question over and over this morning. This week in Good News Club, we asked the kids what they thought it meant to "have faith". And as always, we got a lot of different answers. Of course, there was the typical Sunday school response: "Believe in God!" "Yeah, that's definitly part of it, but what else?" Then we started to get some responses that were closer to what we were looking for. "Believing in something you can't see!" "Trusting in something even though you don't know everything!" OK, now we're getting somewhere. Basically, kids seem to be able to verbally articulate what it means to have faith, but do they really know what it means to have faith in terms of a relationship with God?

We used the analogy of going to a doctor when you're sick or hurt. Most of us have faith that when the doctor gives is a remedy for something, we're going to probably feel better because we trust the doctor. We have enough evidence and proof that they know what they're talking about, right? Kids also have faith and trust in what their parents tell them to do; at least until they become teenagers. So is this kind of faith the same as faith in God?

A person can define what faith means, but their understanding of faith has nothing to do with whether or not they actually have faith. I can tell you that I have faith in a parachute opening when needed, but you'll never catch me skydiving. Does that mean I don't really have faith in the technology of parachutes? I can tell you that I have faith in mind over matter, but I'm not so willing to walk over a pile of hot coals. Do I have less faith than someone who will?

I ask these questions because I think kids just might have a better handle on faith than adults do. Jesus said in the gospel of Mark that "anyone who will not recieve the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." (Mark 10:15) Basically, Jesus was saying that unless you have a simple faith in me, you don't really follow me. Think about that for a minute. Jesus isn't pressing us to have more faith. He is pressing us to have simple faith. It's not a question of the amount of our faith, it's the simplicity of it.

When you get right down to it, kids just believe. We tell them stories about God, who God is and what life is all about, and they take it for what it is. They don't try to reason their way through faith, or attempt to be better because they have stronger faith than another child. They just beleive. What can we learn from this?

Let's face it, we're never going to have all the answers. We're never going to be good ebough. We're always going to have questions, and you know what? Sometimes we're going to find it hard to have faith. But just like my parachute analogy, there is going to be time when we just have to jump out of the plane. We need to say to ourselves, "I may not understand my circumstance. I may not have all the answers. I may not have dotted all the "i"s and crosesd all the "t"s, but there's enough evidence to prove that what I believe is real. There is enough childlike innocence in me to have faith. When we can do this, especially in front of our children, we might find ourselves learning more from them than they learn from us.

True Love

Well, we just celebrated Valentine's Day, so love is in the air, right? And that got me thinking about love and how kids perceive love. So, before you read any further, stop for just a few seconds and think about how much you love your children. Meditate on the depth of your love for them. Remember the events and milestones in their lives that have built the elaborate construct of your memories. Allow yourself to be bathed in these thoughts just for a few seconds. This love is powerful. It's real. It's deep. And it is part of who you are, and who you have become as a parent.

I ask you to do this, because I found myself doing this very thing. This morning, I found myself diving into the depth of my love for my two boys. As I focused on my love for them, I began to realize how incredibly deep it is. In many ways, it is infinite and causes you to wonder how it could possibly have had a beginning and how it could ever end. There is absolutely nothing that could cause me to love me children any less or any more than I do at this very moment. And I am quite sure that if you joined me in this exercise, you would feel very much the same.

In John 3:12-21, Jesus is having a late night conversation with a man named Nicodemus; a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin. Nicodemus came to talk with Jesus under the cover of darkness because he didn't want others to know that he was one of His followers. He knew that Jesus had come from God, but had no idea how shallow his understanding was.

For the most part, Nicodemus was a good guy. He was one of Israel's teacher of teachers and an expert of the Law. He followed the teachings of the Law exactly, and encouraged others to follow his example of religious excellence. So, imagine his surprise when Jesus basically tells him that his wisdom, position and good works will not help him make it to Heaven. In this passage, we see Jesus revealing the essence of why He came to earth: love.

In John 3:16, Jesus tells Nicodemus,"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The Greek word used for "love" in this verse is agape. This is the highest form of love that is described in the Bible. When we look at this love in context of what Jesus is saying here, we get a glimpse of the incomprehensible love that God has for us. To imagine that God, the creator, sustainer and owner of this universe, giving up His Son for a sinful and rebellious people, it seems unimaginable.

As I said in the beginning, my love for my children seems to be infinite, and that causes me to think of something else that John said in one of his later letters. "God is love" Think about that. So much of what we know of true love is tied into God's very character. As God is infinite, the love that radiates from Him is infinite and encompasses all that He is.

Children need to know the depth of God's love. They need to see it lived out in an unconditional way, so that they have a healthy context of love. Many of them have heard John 3:16 many times, but do they truly understand how much God loves them? I think that the best way we can communicate this to our children, is by loving them. When they begin to realize how much Mom and Dad love them, they begin to get a glimpse at God infinite love in a practical way.

Tonight on Nightline: Man Turns Water into Wine at Local Wedding

I don't read the newspaper much anymore. I used to love reading the paper. The feel of print as I read through the news of the day. A lot of people say that print is dead, but I still like to flip through the Chronicle from time to time. Either way, I usually find some time to keep up with what's happening in the world around us. This morning I found myself wondering if kids still imagine being newspaper reporters when they grow up?

This week in Good News Club, we talked about the story of Jesus turning water into wine from John 2:1-11. I imagined what it would be like to take the Bible story and and re-write it as if I were reading an article in the local paper. Imagine reading an article from the "Daily Galilean" or "The Jerusalem Times." The headline reads:

"Wedding Guest Turns Water into Wine"

"On Tuesday of this week, a local woman known only as Mary, was in the town of Cana, attending a wedding. A large number of guests, including her son Jesus, were also present as festivities began. Guests at the wedding were reported having a good time until the host ran out of wine. At that point, it seemed that the peaceful celebration might turn into a disaster.

For reasons unknown, some wedding guests approached Jesus, who was from the town of Nazareth, thinking he might have a solution to the problem. When told about the problem, Jesus at first seemed unwilling to do anything, but after some encouragement from his mother, he finally agreed to help.

Eye witnesses at the wedding reported that Jesus instructed some servants to fill several large water jars nearby with water. He then instructed them to dip some of the water out of the jars and take it to the man who was in charge of serving the wine. To the amazement of all, when the wine steward tasted the water, he discovered that the water had, in fact, been turned into wine.

Wedding guests were amazed at the turn of events and said that the wine was the best that they had ever tasted. As a result of this miraculous event, many people began following Jesus everywhere he went, and many believe that he might even be the long-awaited Messiah.

We will continue to follow this story and update you as details become available."

Well, as you can probably tell, writing news articles is not my forte, but it was fun to play around with. It also makes you think a little: what would have been considered the most important aspect of this story? A potential miracle, right? That would be all people would be talking about. Some would believe it as truth, and some would dismiss what happened as coincidence or "unexplained". The funny thing is, just as Jesus performed a miracle by changing the water into wine at the wedding celebration two thousand years ago, he is still working miracles in the hearts and lives of people today, including our kids. Let us remind them of that this weekend as we witness God's miracles all around us.