“Getting old ain’t for sissies,” an older man told me when I asked how he was doing. “Retirement is awesome,” another one said, “I have nothing to do and no money to do it with.” My late father-in-law would often tell me that he was “growing old gracefully.” How in the world do you…
When our emotions take over and damage has been done, the best way to respond is to humble ourselves and deal with it immediately
Worse times lead us to “I” times – I am, I will, I should. Vows, however, remind us to focus on the “we” and provide a reason to stay and fight, not each other, but for each other! Those times determine whether or not we will remain faithful and loyal and together.
While emotions are a blessing if we are resting in truth and standing firm with God’s favor and care, they are dangerous if we are living by them rather than truth.
Few things will rally (and sometimes rile) good brothers on every side as quickly as a new post about the King James Version. This week, I was reminded of that with the release of the article “Pleading for the Plowboy.” If you haven’t read it, you can do so here. Would you consider my thoughts regarding the article and the varied responses?
At one time men wore ties to play golf. That is not at all the sort of thing to which I am referring. At one time ladies wore lace gloves just to go to a department store. I am not referring to that either. I am simply writing about the culture we now have.
Although our tongues can certainly be sharp, it is only the Word of God that should be sharp in our preaching.
Some would ask, “Fine, but what do you believe about music?” That is a good question and my answer is actually pretty simple: I believe music matters.
I believe in magic! Do you? I don’t mean the dark and evil sense of magic as used by our secular and sin-cursed world. I mean the beautiful and mysterious kind that brings the kind of awe and wonder and joy that affects us the rest of our lives. Do you know what I mean?
While I am not necessarily opposed to younger people helping in youth ministry, I do believe that we are missing the influence of wisdom, experience, and spiritual maturity. And we need those influences.
Several years ago I was spending an evening with a really great friend when he asked me, “So what do you want to do tonight?” I said, “I guess we could go get a tattoo!”
It is my experience that younger people really do want someone in their lives to whom they can look for conversations, wisdom, encouragement, and answers.
What do we want from this generation? We want them to know our God and love Him. We want to influence our generation to love God’s Word, know it thoroughly, and apply it to the way they live their lives. We want them to be “all-in” for God and willing to follow Christ and live for His sake and the gospels. We want them to join the great cloud of witnesses who lived by faith and “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, [and] obtained promises” (Hebrews 11:33). Those are what makes Christianity successful! Let’s stay focused on those things.
Let’s determine that this will never happen to us. Let’s determine that we will not close our lives by just being comfortable and casual in our Christianity. Let’s never get to the place where we refuse to acknowledge and repent when we are wrong. Let’s choose to live faithfully rather than pragmatically. We should be more than just tradition-defenders. We should also be team-players in the Lord’s work. Let’s never forget to seek God in our older years.
Remember this: Jesus loves the church and gave Himself for it! We believe that, don’t we? Rest in that as you seek a pastor.
Pastor/Evangelist Dave Young 