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What a tremendous song. This reminds me that not just daily do I need to remember my Lord and Savior, but every hour. The enemy lurks around waiting for that one weak moment that he can set his trap for us with bait...it could be that very hour we did not remember our heavenly Father and suddenly we have sinned. King David experienced such an hour in his life I am sure he wished he could do over when he looked upon Bathsheba with lustful eyes and committed sin with her that lead to another sin of murder on her hsuband. Now, this is not saying we should walk around like a monk always in prayer, but just remember Him whether in the midst of joy or pain. This is a conscious effort to walk close to the savior every hour, so that He will meet our every need at the moment it is needed. As the song tells us that temptations loose their power when we are waking closer to Him. This morning in church we heard of the aweful sin that one of our beloved church leaders had committed, adultry with another church member! This is the very thing that can happen to any one of us in that hour we let our guard down...it is only by the grace of God that it was not me or anyone else within the church. In that very moment that we entertain a thought of sin can move us closer to that edge if we do not keep ourselves close to Him. God will continually draw us closer to Him as we are obedient to His word. This was a huge blow to the church, but we will come through it. It is truth that our church stands upon and the biblical commands of dealing with such actions by one of our very own. It is in this very hour like this that I need Him. When our hearts sink, we need Him. In the joyful times when our children are born, we need Him. When success seems to just be a distant vision, we need Him. When that success actually arrives in our lives, we need Him all the more! One of the blessings of a victorious life in Christ is knowing this closeness, this oneness of our Lord in each and every circumstance in our life. As Psalm 86:7 tells us, "In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me." Whenever your new day begins think about this wonderful hymn written around 1872 by Annie Hawks, "I Need Thee Every Hour" and try to stay closer to Him throughout the day...see if the day does not go by in a more God glorifying way.
Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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"It is well with my soul" comes from a man that has lost his precious children in a ship wreck way out in the sea. He was not there to help save them. Only his wife and one daughter survive as the other four perish in the violent waves of the deep sea and their bodies have been there for over 100 years. How could a person think of saying "It is well with my soul"?
This comes from the heart of a person that knows God very well. He is intimate with his Lord. Can we say that we are that intimate with our Lord? This is a deep personal relationship that comes to know that no matter what happens in life, from loosing your children, to loosing a home, to loosing a job, or even a parent or friend that God's hand is in it. His hand never leaves us or lets us go. From time to time in my own life I have struggled with the pain of not enough cash flow sometimes, to bankruptcy, to loosing my grand-father, to nearly loosing my homestead, and so on! The other day I had to stop and just sing that song to my Lord, "It is well with my soul". Nothing else could say it like those words. For once, I truly felt that deep sense that my Lord was right there in my prescence with His arms around me wiping away each tear that fell. Although, I had not lost my children and only by the grace of God do any of us ever get to keep our children and/or spouses, things in our life was just about as traumatic. I will not go into the events that are taking place in our lives, but I cannot in words tell you how far the Lord has brought my wife and I the past several years. Trials are always around the corner for someone who goes against the mainstream of the world each day. We as Christians are not immune from the pain that can sometimes come our way. A few years ago I would have been angry, depressed deeply, emotionally drained...today I am not angry, possibly alittle depressed, and emotionally hanging in there. Knowing that my Lord's hands are in every event and that He is moving us ever closer to exactly where He desires for us to be. There is absolutely nothing that gets by my God. He is not surprised by the events of the day and as a matter of fact, nothing happens in our life good or bad that He is not in full control of it. Proverbs 16:9 tells us that "We plan our ways, but God directs the outcome." So, I say all this to pose the question for anyone who would read and look deep into their hearts to ask when the storms of life get above our heads, "Is it well with your soul?"
Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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Charles Weigle wrote a wonderful old hymn called ‘No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus” years ago. From a broken heart came the wonderful words of Jesus as a friend in deed. As I was reading this it made me stop and think of how we as Christians treat each other. Do we treat each other with dignity? Do we really care for each like a friend by Jesus’ example? Is our treatment like a real friend? In the song it speaks of how Jesus is a friend “strong and true.” What does that mean? When we are weak and down, is it that He is strong for us? When everyone else leaves us by ourselves and forgets us, is it that He is our only true friend? For us to be real friends as we should, then why are we so quick to judge each others words and actions without looking deep into the persons soul? Why are we so quick to disagree? People go through so many trial in life and it just may be possible that our friends are going through a tough time and lashing out at anyone anyway they can. Our goal should be quicker to forgive than we are to judge or hold a grudge! As the words of Charles ring so true, he writes that “All my life was full of sin when Jesus found me; all my heart was full of misery and woe; Jesus placed His strong and loving arms around me, and He led me in the way I ought to go.” I could not have said that any better. It is in His strong and loving arms that we should run. Whenever a friend near us is in need or hurting, keep this in mind that we can be Jesus’ strong and loving arms for them. When someone may be in the wrong…rather than judging their actions and condemning them, go to them with understanding and be by their side. It is in our actions of love and kindness that will win them over from a strayed life, not the words of scorn or so called “tough love”. People are in real need of true love from a true friend. I hope anyone that will read this will strive each day to make a loving impact on those around them and let them see a different side of Christianity that most of the world does not see these days. Is it any wonder why the church has no impact on the world today…Jesus showed us how to treat each…so why have we changed this? Stop and think....are we letting people see Jesus in us? Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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I have a series of questions that I want to put out there for home-schooling moms. We are starting a ministry her in our area for the dads. What we are experiencing is dads that do not support their wife in home-schooling, do not have anything to do with home-schooling, are not believers, want to put the kids back in public school, do not understand what their role in the home-school family is, and so on. So, in preparation for ministering to these men we are asking a series of questions to help us with that if anyone has any thoughts or comments we would appreciate it. Please, only serious contributers.
You may answer each of these anonymously…we have no need to know who you are. Our hearts are being pulled in this direction and we feel deeply that there is a huge need out there for this type of ministry and want to see what the heartbeat is out there concerning this. This may seem totally off the wall to you, but believe me there are many home schooling families out there that are hurting because the dad is not taking any part of it or feels he is totally left out of that part of the family. Thanks to all who participate. Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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You know, the Lord is wonderful? This is obvious to the Christian or maybe not, but for those that are not believers, this may not be so obvious. A struggle for me has been trusting God to be a providential father in my life and the life of my family. He will sustain us no matter what. He is always at work in our lives even if we cannot see or feel Him there. No one goes through any kind of turmoil or trial without His approval. God is never surprised by what is happening, because He is control of the entire thing. Many people think that when they go through something like a sudden death, job lose, ailment, etc., that God was asleep on 9-11-01. Well, scripture tells us that God does not sleep and he is not surprised by anything. On September 11, 2001 God was in control of everything that happened. Each of those rebels that flew the planes thought they were in control, but in reality God controlled them. That is hard to swallow, but He controls all things. Realize that no matter what trail man may travel or what road we go down in life that sooner or later we will discover that God has already been there. He knows every hair that is on our heads. He knows our thoughts and words before we think them or speak them. So, how could we ever doubt His plan for us? If we can look back in time, we will see the providence of God on Joseph’s life. Joseph is the 11th son born to Jacob, but the first born the Rachel. Rachel was the real love of Jacob’s life, so he treated Joseph as though he was the first-born son. This would explain the reason for the coat of many colors Jacob gave to Joseph and caused jealousy among the other brothers. Joseph is to be great someday and his brothers will bow before him as God spoke to Joseph through a couple of dreams. Of course, Joseph did not have to tell his brothers this, but he did. So, this put Joseph in an empty well out of the anger of his brothers. As his brothers contemplated killing him, some travelers were going by and his brothers decided to sell him as a slave. Now Joseph is a slave just because his brothers were jealous. You know most of the story, but remember that God is in control and he needs to prepare Joseph to become the most powerful man in the world. He goes from slave to running Potiphar’s household. Now, we can remember the story, which landed Joseph in the dungeon jail for two years, because he actually ran from Potiphar’s lustful wife. The providence of God is all over this story. Joseph was innocent, but is in jail. Remember what happens? He ends up in charge of the entire jail. Now, while in jail he had asked the cup barer not to forget him while in Pharaoh’s household. But of course the guy forgot Joseph. At this point I can only imagine that Joseph feels like God has forgotten him. Stuck in jail for a crime he did not commit and people have just forgotten him, until one day, as God would have it, Pharaoh had a dream that no one could translate. The cup barer remembered Joseph at that point. Do you think just by chance or dumb luck he then remembered Joseph after about two year? I don’t think so. It was Joseph’s time. In a time frame of about 45 minutes Joseph went from jail to second most powerful man in the world. When it is in God’s time and He is ready things can move rapidly. As you really dig into this we find out that Joseph was like a father figure to Pharaoh, which would actually make him the most powerful man in the world. The story continues on to the point that the dreams Joseph told his brothers came about as well. All to say that the providence of God was in full control over Joseph’s life even the turmoil times. God’s providence is still on us as well. Nothing happens to you that is out of God’s control. Not one hair on your head will be touched unless the Lord authorizes it. No person has ever died before his appointed time by God. So, to conclude, the Lord is wonderful, because we can sleep at night knowing He is in charge of the entire universe and our little universe, too. Something to remember, before God promotes us, He test us! In the words of A.W. Tozer, “Before God can use us greatly, He must hurt us deeply.” Think about that while going through difficult trials. It will be a better life for you at the end of that time, trust Him on that! Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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Who do you know that is magnanimous? This would be a person that is generous to a fault. This would be a person who is big-hearted. This would be a person that is noble minded and benevolent. Becoming a magnanimous person does not come naturally for most people it seems. In the words of Winston Churchill in 1930: “I was once asked to devise an inscription for a monument in France. I wrote, ‘”In war, Resolution. In defeat, Defiance. In victory, Magnanimity. In peace, Goodwill.”’ Magnanimity can be a powerful factor for a leader. People respond to a person that wears this well. Now, along with this comes some dangers that many great leaders have and that is loyalty to a fault. They will keep someone in a position longer than they should. However, this is in great contrast to many employers or leaders of today. The great leaders know when they need to take this action, but it does take them longer to let a person go. We need more Magnanimous leaders today. This can be accomplished by training our children in this way by living it out in our lives each day. Magnanimity breeds trust and loyalty with others around us daily and our partners. Remember, seeking revenge harms the person in victory as well as the person that is in defeat. Have a meal with your opponents to help reach understanding and keep anger at bay. This is not for all enemies, but those that you discern can be tranformed. Many times former opponents will become your friend and ally when we are magnanimous towards them. Finally, compromise and conciliation are urgent when a resolution for a crisis is threatened. In the end, it is the magnanimous, goodhearted, compassionate leaders that have the prevision to accomplish a successful settlement with the most bitter of enemies we encounter. Be magnanimous! Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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Men, you have something worth fighting for! On a sloping hill at Mount Milboa, the Philistine army is routing Saul and his son, Jonathon, David and his mighty warriors are on their way back to Ziklag where their wives, children, and families are. Now, David has the right hand of God on him. He is to be the future King and is closer than he realizes. As David and his six hundred mighty warriors arrive at their hometown of Ziklag they realize that the Amalekites have raided Negev and burned Ziklag to the ground. Not only that, the Amalekites have taken their wives, children, families, and possessions. Visualize this for a moment, you have returned home from a long trip. A trip you had not planned to take, because you wanted to stay and fight with the Philistines and King Achish against Saul and his army. However, they would not allow it, because of David's former loyalty to the Israelite army. When David and his men saw this they cried until they could cry no more. Guys, this is one place in the bible that shows us it is ok to cry as a man. David’s two wives (an entirely different story) were taken. At this point, David finds himself in terrible danger from the men. They wanted to stone David because of this. As scripture tells us, “David found strength in the Lord his God.” 1 Samuel 30:6 NLT. Beyond this point is where we find out by David’s example that we too have something worth fighting for. After David goes before God and the Lord tells him to go after the thieves and He will deliver them into David’s hands, I can just hear David say, “Men, get your swords!” I can only imagine David and the men’s pace as they set out across the countryside to find their women and children. Two hundred of the men were so exhausted when they got to the Besor Brook they could not go further and fight. So, David and four hundred men go on. After this point I challenge anyone to feminize the remainder of the story. An Egyptian man led David and his warriors to the Amalekites. He finds them having a huge party. Celebrating their plunder. Now, from this point on I will let the Word of God tell the story. After discovering the Amalekites celebrating, here are the events that took place: “David and his men rushed in among them and slaughtered them throughout that night and the entire next day until evening. None of the Amalekites escaped except four hundred young (cowards) men who fled on camels. David got back everything the Amalekites had taken, and he rescued his two wives. Nothing was missing, small or great, son or daughter, nor anything else that had been taken.” 1 Samuel 30:17-19 NLT Men, I told you that story to let you know that it is ok to fight for your women and children. As a matter of fact your wife wants a knight in shining armor to rescue her, fight for her, and support her. The children are looking for a hero that will fight for them, protect them, battle any evil that comes close to them. As a man, throughout many of the evangelical churches across America today a man is expected to a “good boy”. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t say any bad words…just live a straightened up, boring life. God did not create man to be indoors all day. He did not create men to set around looking at their watches with hands folded all day. He put in the heart of a man the desire to conqueror all evils, provide for his family, protect his family from anyone or anything that threatens them, be outdoors, fish, hunt, spit, and play with knives, light fires, burn things, smell a little bit fowl at times, drive fast, enjoy his wife’s seduction of him, and so on! Whenever David’s wives were taken and the men’s families were taken, they did not set around making excuses for why this happened, excuses for why they could not go after the punks that did this, nor did David put the blame on someone else. David took this situation head on. He wept like any other man would do, but after that upon the Lord’s approval, he went after the enemy with everything he had. I can only imagine the fierceness in David’s voice and face as they came upon the Amalekites in that field. We as the husbands and fathers of our families need to approach life with that same fierceness and drive as David. When the church does not teach the right messages to the family then take them somewhere else. If someone attacks your wife for home schooling make sure you as her husband take that head on no matter the outcome or the fight. Fight for your family, men! Don't let the lies of the world setup in your family life. Don't allow the pressure to be like everyone else determine how you will run your family. Don't let the school system fill your childrens minds with the filth that homosexuality is normal and good. Don't let a former president set the values that your family goes by and say that it all depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is! This one person in history has ruined an entire generation with the thinking that "oral sex" is not really sex. Gods word says it is. We are hearing of teenagers having parties using this particular technique because they think it is just a game and the parents are looking the other way as if that will cover them before God someday. Gentlemen, sometimes the fight may cost you your job, cost you so called friends, keep fighting the good fight, God will bless you and care for you. What God creates, he sustains! This is the providence of God! Allow your manhood to come alive again. If you need to go into the woods somewhere to find your heart, then I say go. If you need to go to the mountains as I do at times, so you may come alive, then I say go. Mountains are home for a man. The ruggedness of the great outdoors is where a man can find his heart again...discovering the deep desires of your heart. God gave us a heart that is undomesticated!. What a good thing, men! One of the biggest things that has happen to men is that legalism has taken over our churches and lives. You have someone in the pulpit beating you down every week, telling you that you are not a man, but just a worm. They tell you how they think you should live, what you should wear, what you should eat, how you should talk, how often you should pray or read your bible, and will use the scriptures out of context to support their position so they can rule over you. If you are in that kind of church, GET YOUR FAMILY OUT! Men are so beat down these days. Then you get to the music and that is an entirely different subject all together. The feminization of our worship services and churches has become so ridiculous. I have witnessed this in a big way over the past 10 years. Guys, I got my family OUT of that as fast as I could once it was obvious that the legalism and feminism had taken over. Once out of that situation and away from such, it is so obvious to us now. We did not realize how far we had fallen into this type of judgemental thinking and wimpy worship. I, as a man, thought I was just a horrible man even though I was just trying to be such a “good boy”, I wnated to get along, keep the peace no matter what. Until I realized how God had created me and I was actually suppose to be a little rough around the edges. I am not telling you to go get drunk or beat your wife or stop reading God's Holy Word. That is clearly against the word of God. We are living under His grace! His grace has freed you to live a holy life and not love under the bondages of sin and legalism. Reading the bible is exactly what we should be doing, but don't just take what some preachers tell you from a pulpit as being the sole truth. The Lord has given you and I the ability to discern His Word, too. So, guys I don’t know how much more I can stress to you that you are allowed to come alive, be adventurous and be a “man”. If you want to see and read about how a man should be, you need look no further than our Lord Jesus Christ. He was very mild most of the time, but when the women and children were threatened he did not look around to see who was going to do something, He acted on it Himself. When the Pharisee’s were using the temple corruptly he did not go to anyone to take care of the problem…He went in and handled it His way! How many of you have watched the movie “Braveheart”? This is a good example of a man that lived the adventure, fought the good fight for his countrymen, fought for the heart of his wife; he fought against the enemy that threatened all the families. Why did men follow him so passionately? How come men joined in this fight and fought to the death many times? Was he royalty that was to be followed? In the words of William Wallace, “Men don’t follow titles, they follow courage!” Guys, regain your courage, find your soul again and fight for what is right, true and good! Be a hero in your families eyes! Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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Men, are you feeling overwhelmed by the demands on your life these days? I have felt it for a long time. Understanding my role in the family as a homeschooling dad was important. I asked my wife what she wanted from me in the way of homeschooling. To start off with, she wanted my undivided support. She wanted me to be firm in my convictions to homeschool and no matter how tough it got at times, to make sure I keep the family on the road to homeschooling all the way through. Believe me guys, homeschooling is no breeze for those of you that are beginners. She wanted my input on the studies and materials that are purchased each year and taught to the kids. She wanted me to be as involved as I could, but yet the actual teaching was not my role. I could live with that and so could my wife. I am in both real estate and mortgage lending, so that takes me out a good bit of the day Monday thru Friday. I have always strived to make the effort to not schedule appointments on the weekends or late in the evenings and God has honored my desire to be with my family whenever possible. Guys, I fully understand the constant pull on you from the world and also the pull from the family. All I can say is, take a step back and try to see where your loyalty is. Take inventory of what you are doing each day that is both productive and meaningful to your family and most importantly of all what are you doing daily that brings honor and glory to our Lord. Take each step towards your family one day at a time until they see dad is fully involved in the homeschooling family to the capacity that God intended you to be. I want to be an encourager to any dad that is struggling to stay in this fight every day. My wife and I get emails and comments from people all over our area about how the husband and dad is struggling to stay with homeschooling or how they just don't get it to the point where the wife and mother does not feel she has his support at all. I understand this too well. People are always trying to make you question the decision to homeschool. Let me tell you guys, it is worth the fight. It is worth working hard for. It is worth all the ridicule the world can dish out, as long it glorifies Christ and will make your children the best adult christian people on the face of this earth someday. So, stay in there. Claw and scratch your way to find that grace that God has for you in this world we know as homeschooling. Philipians 2:16 "Holding out [to it] and offering [to all men] the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have something of which exultantly to rejoice and glory in that I did not run my race in vain or spend my labor to no purpose." -AMP Remember guys, this race will not be in vain if we will follow the Lord on the trail of this life he has already traveled before us rather than trying to blaze a new trail...look to His WORD!
Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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If you are a christian man these days, times can be tough for you. I started to title these comments, "Tough Times Are Not For The Weak", but then realized that really tough times are for the weak as long as we are allowing Christ to make us strong. So, I changed the title all the way around. Look at the life of David. As a young boy Samuel is told by God to annoint a king and David is the one He chooses. Then later on he fills the call to fight the Philistine giant, Goliath, defeats him and kills him for all to see. After a parade through one of the cities the crowds overwhelming response to David over King Saul causes a tremendous amount of jealousy in Saul and Saul begins the journey to try and kill David. However, Gods right hand of favor is on David even though he begins running for his life. David narrowly escaped several attempts by Saul to kill him with a spear, has to act insane to escape another king, hides out on the run in several caves to escape the anger and rage of Saul, forms an army from the most unusual band of men you could imagine, and after Sauls death and times were good, David takes some much deserved rest, but those idle hands got him in trouble with Bathsheba. Then this lead to David basically murdering her husband who was in the line of duty to the king. Life and its choices were tough as they are today. We have no excuses. We have the Word of God. We have His promises to sustain us, rescue us in times of trouble, to be our place of refuge and strength. What God creates, He sustains...this is the providence of God! Can we trust what our Lord tells us from His Word? Gods word tells us so! So, men, when our jobs, co-workers, churches, or any other outside force tries to pull us away from our families we need to stand on the strength of Gods promises to take care of us and meet our families needs. As scripture tells us, where we are weak, He will make us strong! Let us come back to the dinner table with our families and reject the social schedule of the world. Isaiah 55:8 "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.
Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006 |
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"Mommy, where is daddy? Is he going to be home in time to eat dinner with us tonight?" "Daddy has to work hard and late each night to provide for us, honey!" Mom explains.
All across America today, this is the usual conversation around the dinner table. I know, because I have been as guilty as anyone with the excuse that I have to work late to provide for my family. In reality, our first priorities are at home with our family. Our God is a providential God and will take care of all our needs. Isaiah 64:4 puts it, "For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for Him!" -NLT We need to put our trust back in almighty God and allow Him to provide for our families, while we return to the dinner table to be with our wives and children. In a world of fast food, fast cars, and faster lives, having a meal around the dinner table has all but become a thing of the past. Today, we need to be challenged as real men to come back to the dinner table so we can find out what the heartbeat of our families are. I enjoy this next passage each time I read it for its timely truth and honorable text. Psalm 128:3, "Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the innermost parts of your house; your children shall be like olive plants around your table." -AMP Anytime we are all able to eat at the same time around our table I am very proud to look up and see all the children and my fruitful wife setting around the table God has made for us. My wife and I are striving to raise 9 plus kids into young christian adults. I stress the striving part of that, because it is not as easy as writing it on this blog, but our hearts are at peace in that direction. We do not want to raise kids to be kids. Most of our public schools and many of the churches today are training kids to just be kids by segregating them into groups of only their age and only one focus which is knowledge only. Most of us should know that knowledge in and of itself will not help our children in their adult life. It is the wisdom that comes from knowing a loving and giving God that will go much farther. You do not have to look far to see an example of training the kid to be a kid by looking into each college campus and the behavior of most kids attending not to mention the professors teaching at these colleges. How can we justify sending our kids out into the world when we have spent very little time training them in the ways of God and Christian responsibility. If the kids are going to a public School the public school system has the kids 32 plus hours weekly, the church another 4 hours per week or more, the sports venues the remaining hours, how is it that we can stand before a holy God and tell him we raised our children the best we could? We cannot if we are to be truthful. Only Gods wonderful grace can get us all through. Men/Fathers, I encourage you to bring your family back to the dinner table, even if it means giving up some sports activities, church activities, work opportunities, etc. If that is what is needed we should do it...the rewards from your children will be priceless and the jewels in your crown in heaven will be wonderful. Make your dinner table a table of life and joy for your family again!
Copy Right Scott Bailey 2006
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