My wife and I were talking at lunch and discussing why it is that we are the way we are in our lives when it comes down to "Paying for your raising!"
If you have never heard that term, the meaning of it is that as you raise your children you are "paid back" for the things you did that you never got caught doing wrong as a child. In other words, your children are going to "drive you insane" with some of the things that they do and it is "because of what you didn't get caught doing when you were young and living at home."
I really don't believe that to be the case. We all do things we shouldn't and we give Satan a foothold every time we decide to give in to temptation and do something we shouldn't do. We know we are doing something wrong but it is just hard to give it up because our minds are telling us "how much fun it would be" and our hearts are telling us "watch out there is danger up ahead."
It is difficult to raise your children to always do what is right because they suffer from the same thing that we do. It is called "Lack of will power."
Some of us can deal with it and grow our will power into great walls of protection while others of us cave in and allow Satan to run all over us.
I am thankful that I have been adopted by an understanding God who knows what it is like to be tempted because of the temptation His Son Jesus went through here on earth. I have not always been the wall I would like to have been and yes, having godly parents would have been great as a young child while I was growing up. However, the things that were instilled in my subconsciousness because of the lack of God in my life till I was in my teens was a difficult part of overcoming the temptations I have face throughout the years. Not an excuse, just an observation on my part.
I am responsible for the way I choose to live my life and many times I have failed to be what I needed to be. I have paid for my raising but not as badly as it could have been. My children are wonderful and I am certainly proud of them, even though they make mistakes just like I did. But, it doesn't change how I feel about being God's child, adopted and taught a better way.
I guess the best part of all of this is the fact that when I look back and see the horrible mistakes that I have made, and some of you know what they are, I can honestly say, "I may have to pay for my raising, but Jesus paid for my mistakes."
We all make those wrong choices. It's time we just admit it, move on and allow forgiveness to flow. I am not a good person by accident. Jesus died to free me of my wrongs and my bad decisions. That doesn't make me good but it does make me forgiven. He paid for my mistakes. He loves me anyway. He will be at my right hand when ever I am in need.
Wow, what a payment!
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Just a Thought!
Not too long ago I came across a quote from A.W. Tozer that made the statement that "A church that can't worship must be entertained. And leaders who can't lead the church to worship must provide the entertainment."
The sad part of that is most believe ministers who preach on Sunday are the reason we come together on Sunday. After all, we pay him to preach to us. We want to feel something when we leave and if the preacher doesn't do it for us we feel left out and untouched.
That is disturbing when we think about the real reason we come together. The apostles and early Christians were found on the first day of the week spending time with each other and remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. However, I don't think we spend enough time considering the words that we sing or the needs poured out before God during our prayers. The words of the songs that we sing and the words and statements in our prayers are what goes to God, not the preaching. The preaching goes to us for our edification. Prayers and songs do that as well, in most instances, but it is time we stopped and thought a little more about what we are thinking as we sing some of those older and really good songs as much as what we are singing when we sing any song or read any of our favorite scriptures.
Take time to think about what we are doing when we come together each Sunday in "worship" to God.
I'll see you later,
Britt Farmer
The sad part of that is most believe ministers who preach on Sunday are the reason we come together on Sunday. After all, we pay him to preach to us. We want to feel something when we leave and if the preacher doesn't do it for us we feel left out and untouched.
That is disturbing when we think about the real reason we come together. The apostles and early Christians were found on the first day of the week spending time with each other and remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. However, I don't think we spend enough time considering the words that we sing or the needs poured out before God during our prayers. The words of the songs that we sing and the words and statements in our prayers are what goes to God, not the preaching. The preaching goes to us for our edification. Prayers and songs do that as well, in most instances, but it is time we stopped and thought a little more about what we are thinking as we sing some of those older and really good songs as much as what we are singing when we sing any song or read any of our favorite scriptures.
Take time to think about what we are doing when we come together each Sunday in "worship" to God.
I'll see you later,
Britt Farmer
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Remember When?
I remember when I was more fit, lets say! Younger, of course, and able
to do things that would beat my body down if I tried to do 1/4 of the
things I did when I was, uh, younger. I remember one day biking 22
miles on Stingray bike I had, (with a banana seat...ouch). Then a
friend of mine and I swam and floated over two miles to the city park in
Lone Star, TX. Then there was the time I got up and hitch hiked to
Fort Worth on Friday morning to see Lisa...mowed their yard on
Saturday (hour of work) and her mom buying me a bus ticket back that
got me to Longview at 5 a.m. on Monday and then went to school.
Now, I just feel blessed to put both feet on the floor. Memory is still good and that is a blessing. However, the body may go before the mind. Think it is time to work on that a little to see if I can start working my way back to doing a little more physically.
Just sayin'!
I'll see you later!
Now, I just feel blessed to put both feet on the floor. Memory is still good and that is a blessing. However, the body may go before the mind. Think it is time to work on that a little to see if I can start working my way back to doing a little more physically.
Just sayin'!
I'll see you later!
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Spiritually Obese
I am over weight! I know it and those who know me realize that I am aware of this point. I need to exercise because my being over weight has and will continue to affect my health. I have sleep apnea and have to rely on a machine to help me continue to breath at night while I sleep. I have weighed more than I do now, but I still need to lose a lot more of my body fat to be healthy.
This is not a revelation, but did get me to thinking about what I need to do to remedy this situation. I need to lose weight, shed it, work it off to become healthy again.
I use to blame it on my inability to exercise because of a car wreck back in the early 80's that left me unable to be mobile and my inability to be mobile put me into a state of "I can't because..." when it came to being active. I started gaining weight. I became a couch and easy chair man. It happened slowly. The weight didn't just appear one day and I was obese. It happened slowly.
I need to begin eating better and exercising more. That is it. I will not lose weight sitting in my chair at home continuing to eat more than I need. I have to make some changes in my life.
A couple of years ago I was working for Schwan's Home Food Service out of Longview, TX. My boss, Clint, made a statement that got me to thinking. He made the statement that what actually made Schwan's good for people who are dieting or wanting to eat right is that the food is proportioned out to healthy amounts. That was a standard company statement that he was parroting, but it got me to thinking.
There are people who are spiritually obese Christians.
We have sat in the pew, feasting on great spiritual food. We have gobbled it up to the point where we have become so full of good things that our spiritual bodies have become "fat" from the spiritual food that we have been digesting for years. That would seem to be a good thing. Spiritually fat on good spiritual food.
However, understanding the word of God to the point where we have allowed ourselves to just become so obese on the word of God that we are proud to sit in our easy chairs laid back and thankful for all the good we have been given to feast upon is spiritual gluttony. We have been eating and feasting on good spiritual food that we have become fat and satisfied to the point we have a hard time when it comes time to exercise our spiritual bodies.
We are so obese because we have failed to exercise the spiritual muscle we had to the point we have become spiritually anemic. We are failing to use the knowledge we have except to point out that our food is the best food because "Look at us, we are 'spiritually fat'.
We will die from the lack of using our spiritual bodies that God has blessed us with. It is time we got off the pew (easy chair) and exercised our spiritual bodies into shape by using what God has blessed us with and share with those who are spiritually starving and don't even know it. We need to exercise our spiritual bodies by sharing with those who are starving spiritually. The food we have been feasting on needs to be used to feed others.
It is sin for us to hold back the exercising of our spiritual bodies while others who are so desperately needing spiritual nourishment.
There are a lot of people who have set up spiritual bakeries or candy stores who make it look and taste good but do nothing more spiritually than a steady diet of donuts and candy bars would do.
It is time we started exercising our spiritual bodies into chiseled spiritually healthy Christian bodies. We need to get out of the easy life and begin moving into the right life.
It will never happen over night. It will never happen unless we are willing to admit we have become spiritually fat, non-involved, spoiled to the easy life Christians, comfortable with where we have come to in our spiritual walk.
It is time we begin being the spiritually fit, chiseled Christians God wants us to be in the face of this world. It is time that we used our spiritual bodies to share Jesus with those who are spiritually starving.
Are you spiritually obese?
More to come on this! I love you all.
Britt
This is not a revelation, but did get me to thinking about what I need to do to remedy this situation. I need to lose weight, shed it, work it off to become healthy again.
I use to blame it on my inability to exercise because of a car wreck back in the early 80's that left me unable to be mobile and my inability to be mobile put me into a state of "I can't because..." when it came to being active. I started gaining weight. I became a couch and easy chair man. It happened slowly. The weight didn't just appear one day and I was obese. It happened slowly.
I need to begin eating better and exercising more. That is it. I will not lose weight sitting in my chair at home continuing to eat more than I need. I have to make some changes in my life.
A couple of years ago I was working for Schwan's Home Food Service out of Longview, TX. My boss, Clint, made a statement that got me to thinking. He made the statement that what actually made Schwan's good for people who are dieting or wanting to eat right is that the food is proportioned out to healthy amounts. That was a standard company statement that he was parroting, but it got me to thinking.
There are people who are spiritually obese Christians.
We have sat in the pew, feasting on great spiritual food. We have gobbled it up to the point where we have become so full of good things that our spiritual bodies have become "fat" from the spiritual food that we have been digesting for years. That would seem to be a good thing. Spiritually fat on good spiritual food.
However, understanding the word of God to the point where we have allowed ourselves to just become so obese on the word of God that we are proud to sit in our easy chairs laid back and thankful for all the good we have been given to feast upon is spiritual gluttony. We have been eating and feasting on good spiritual food that we have become fat and satisfied to the point we have a hard time when it comes time to exercise our spiritual bodies.
We are so obese because we have failed to exercise the spiritual muscle we had to the point we have become spiritually anemic. We are failing to use the knowledge we have except to point out that our food is the best food because "Look at us, we are 'spiritually fat'.
We will die from the lack of using our spiritual bodies that God has blessed us with. It is time we got off the pew (easy chair) and exercised our spiritual bodies into shape by using what God has blessed us with and share with those who are spiritually starving and don't even know it. We need to exercise our spiritual bodies by sharing with those who are starving spiritually. The food we have been feasting on needs to be used to feed others.
It is sin for us to hold back the exercising of our spiritual bodies while others who are so desperately needing spiritual nourishment.
There are a lot of people who have set up spiritual bakeries or candy stores who make it look and taste good but do nothing more spiritually than a steady diet of donuts and candy bars would do.
It is time we started exercising our spiritual bodies into chiseled spiritually healthy Christian bodies. We need to get out of the easy life and begin moving into the right life.
It will never happen over night. It will never happen unless we are willing to admit we have become spiritually fat, non-involved, spoiled to the easy life Christians, comfortable with where we have come to in our spiritual walk.
It is time we begin being the spiritually fit, chiseled Christians God wants us to be in the face of this world. It is time that we used our spiritual bodies to share Jesus with those who are spiritually starving.
Are you spiritually obese?
More to come on this! I love you all.
Britt
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Holidays or Holy Days?
In our society today we are hit with many holiday seasons. There of course is Christmas, one of my favorites, Easter, Fourth of July, New Years, Thanksgiving, Halloween, President's Day, Columbus Day, Flag Day, should I go on? I think not. You get the picture.
Now, I have something to say about holidays today. Many of us have been celebrating these, well the "Big Ones" anyway, from childhood all the way to adulthood. I still get excited when I see a Santa Clause sharing gifts and listening to list of things the children would like to have at Christmas. Yes, it is a fantasy and I realize that, but one that we can use to teach our children. Just like the true story of Easter Sunday is not about a rabbit and eggs, but a much more important and deeper reality to the child of God, Santa and gift giving can be used to teach our children the value of giving to those we love and to those we don't know who are in need.
There are always those who want to put down celebrating holidays and use the thought process that they are not "Done by the Authority of God" and are not to be religious celebrations at all.
Let me share a verse that Paul stated in Romans 14 that, to me at least, sums up the way God looks at celebrating holidays as Holy days.
" 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." (NIV)
I believe the authority of God has spoken, if you consider Paul an authority.
I'll see you later!
Now, I have something to say about holidays today. Many of us have been celebrating these, well the "Big Ones" anyway, from childhood all the way to adulthood. I still get excited when I see a Santa Clause sharing gifts and listening to list of things the children would like to have at Christmas. Yes, it is a fantasy and I realize that, but one that we can use to teach our children. Just like the true story of Easter Sunday is not about a rabbit and eggs, but a much more important and deeper reality to the child of God, Santa and gift giving can be used to teach our children the value of giving to those we love and to those we don't know who are in need.
There are always those who want to put down celebrating holidays and use the thought process that they are not "Done by the Authority of God" and are not to be religious celebrations at all.
Let me share a verse that Paul stated in Romans 14 that, to me at least, sums up the way God looks at celebrating holidays as Holy days.
" 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." (NIV)
I believe the authority of God has spoken, if you consider Paul an authority.
I'll see you later!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
It's All About Love!
I don't understand how it is so difficult or why it is so difficult for many of my brothers and sisters in the church have such a hard time realizing the simplicity of the Christian life.
Living the Christian life is not a matter of getting everything right. It is the right of a Christian to be the best he can be, forgiven! God did not make imperfect beings to live perfect lives. God created imperfect beings to rely on a perfect Savior.
You and I, being imperfect, are going to make mistakes and some of them horrific at times. We need to feel bad and carry the guilt of that mistake, sin, or mess up to our Father and truly seek forgiveness. However, we spend so much time worrying about the negative thoughts of Matthew 10:38-40, "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me".
Why is it that we only see the negative aspects of this verse? God is not expecting an "unnatural" response to this verse. It is true that we need to be concerned when we don't mentally and spiritually carry the cross of Jesus in our lives, but we need also to be just as concerned about the positive aspects of this verse that we many times fail to see.
What is the positive?
We, as the children of God, are asked to carry a message that is life saving to a world that only sees the bad coming out of their lives and out of many of the religions of today.
What man, or woman, gets up in the morning and decides that "today I am going out in my car and I am going to have a wreck." Yet, we talk about how difficult it is to live the Christian life. It is almost like we wake up and say, "Today, I know I am going to sin so here I go."
We leave our church buildings and homes thinking about the death sentence we carry in us because we know we are going to mess up in our lives and hurt God with our sins. We just can't see the beauty of living the Christian life because we dwell on the negative life, the sinful side of our spiritual lives so much so that it consumes our thinking.
Just like you don't think about going out and wrecking your car, you shouldn't think about going out and worrying about messing up your spiritual lives because of the temptations you face. Don't give up striving to live a good life, just know we aren't perfect and we are going to sin.
God promised us forgiveness if we lay our burdens down and ask for help.
I believe it is possible that we have overstepped and forgotten to look at the opportunity we have to live the positive side of this passage. We get to be the children of God and carry the cross of Jesus to share with the whole world. We can only do that with the love that has been given to us to choose instead of the negative aspect of "what I have to do to be right." Just do what Jesus would do.
What would Jesus do?
Love, pray, share and give! Change our attitude about having to live a good life for God to wanting to live a good life for God. It is time to focus on the opportunity we have to take a different look at how we view living our lives.
"God, please bless my brethren and me to live lives looking forward to loving, caring and giving. Let us carry the cross, not as a burden, but as a privilege."
I'll see you later!
Living the Christian life is not a matter of getting everything right. It is the right of a Christian to be the best he can be, forgiven! God did not make imperfect beings to live perfect lives. God created imperfect beings to rely on a perfect Savior.
You and I, being imperfect, are going to make mistakes and some of them horrific at times. We need to feel bad and carry the guilt of that mistake, sin, or mess up to our Father and truly seek forgiveness. However, we spend so much time worrying about the negative thoughts of Matthew 10:38-40, "He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me".
Why is it that we only see the negative aspects of this verse? God is not expecting an "unnatural" response to this verse. It is true that we need to be concerned when we don't mentally and spiritually carry the cross of Jesus in our lives, but we need also to be just as concerned about the positive aspects of this verse that we many times fail to see.
What is the positive?
We, as the children of God, are asked to carry a message that is life saving to a world that only sees the bad coming out of their lives and out of many of the religions of today.
What man, or woman, gets up in the morning and decides that "today I am going out in my car and I am going to have a wreck." Yet, we talk about how difficult it is to live the Christian life. It is almost like we wake up and say, "Today, I know I am going to sin so here I go."
We leave our church buildings and homes thinking about the death sentence we carry in us because we know we are going to mess up in our lives and hurt God with our sins. We just can't see the beauty of living the Christian life because we dwell on the negative life, the sinful side of our spiritual lives so much so that it consumes our thinking.
Just like you don't think about going out and wrecking your car, you shouldn't think about going out and worrying about messing up your spiritual lives because of the temptations you face. Don't give up striving to live a good life, just know we aren't perfect and we are going to sin.
God promised us forgiveness if we lay our burdens down and ask for help.
I believe it is possible that we have overstepped and forgotten to look at the opportunity we have to live the positive side of this passage. We get to be the children of God and carry the cross of Jesus to share with the whole world. We can only do that with the love that has been given to us to choose instead of the negative aspect of "what I have to do to be right." Just do what Jesus would do.
What would Jesus do?
Love, pray, share and give! Change our attitude about having to live a good life for God to wanting to live a good life for God. It is time to focus on the opportunity we have to take a different look at how we view living our lives.
"God, please bless my brethren and me to live lives looking forward to loving, caring and giving. Let us carry the cross, not as a burden, but as a privilege."
I'll see you later!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Celebration to Come!
When I was 11 years old, my baseball team won the City League championship in Longview, TX. We were the Colonels and my brother Andy was the bat boy and was so excited about the win that he did a flip on the pitcher's mound. The celebration for a group of 11 year old boys and their parents was so exciting that I have considered that year to be one of my favorites memories and my favorite age.
That one championship became one of my accomplishments that I cherished in my heart. One of my teammates passed away as a result of a car wreck he suffered later in his teens. Bruce Fisher was a friend and I have been thinking about him and the rest of the team who I wish I could see again. We grew up, and now as men we have our own lives that were all shaped by the events of that summer.
However, several years later, I became a Christian by being immersed for the forgiveness of my sins and there are several people who were there as a part of that are no longer living in this world. I have lost my mother, several of my close friends who became a part of the team that I knew at that time as a result of my decision, and the preacher who immersed me, J.D. Lancaster and many who encouraged me to become who I now am in life.
Today, I live and work with a team of Christians who are living to win the championship of life. Heaven is our goal, the celebration will be sweet, and I know that my brother Andy will do a flip for me at the thrown of God as a celebration of being home. (Well, maybe!) My Christian team was and is my favorite team and many memories have surpassed those baseball memories some 40 years ago. I have lost many of my friends and church family to death, but I know that they are waiting for the final celebration to come in eternity. I too, with my physical and spiritual family, can't wait to celebrate with Jesus who "pitched a perfect game" in this life and is waiting for us to come home.
I hope you are ready for that celebration. I would love to see you Sunday at the West Freeway church so that we can worship and praise Him who was perfect in this life so that we would have the chance to join Him for that celebration. He lived the perfect life to be the perfect sacrifice for us. "Come, now is the time to worship."
God bless you. See you Sunday so that I will be to possibly see you in heaven.
That one championship became one of my accomplishments that I cherished in my heart. One of my teammates passed away as a result of a car wreck he suffered later in his teens. Bruce Fisher was a friend and I have been thinking about him and the rest of the team who I wish I could see again. We grew up, and now as men we have our own lives that were all shaped by the events of that summer.
However, several years later, I became a Christian by being immersed for the forgiveness of my sins and there are several people who were there as a part of that are no longer living in this world. I have lost my mother, several of my close friends who became a part of the team that I knew at that time as a result of my decision, and the preacher who immersed me, J.D. Lancaster and many who encouraged me to become who I now am in life.
Today, I live and work with a team of Christians who are living to win the championship of life. Heaven is our goal, the celebration will be sweet, and I know that my brother Andy will do a flip for me at the thrown of God as a celebration of being home. (Well, maybe!) My Christian team was and is my favorite team and many memories have surpassed those baseball memories some 40 years ago. I have lost many of my friends and church family to death, but I know that they are waiting for the final celebration to come in eternity. I too, with my physical and spiritual family, can't wait to celebrate with Jesus who "pitched a perfect game" in this life and is waiting for us to come home.
I hope you are ready for that celebration. I would love to see you Sunday at the West Freeway church so that we can worship and praise Him who was perfect in this life so that we would have the chance to join Him for that celebration. He lived the perfect life to be the perfect sacrifice for us. "Come, now is the time to worship."
God bless you. See you Sunday so that I will be to possibly see you in heaven.
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