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Go with the flow this Christmas...

It's always a challenge to keep Christmas fun and light-hearted since devastating things tend to happen to me this time of year. It seems like my trees always fall over, the garage door rips down the christmas lights, and I end up falling off the ladder. My goal this year is to "shake it off" and make sure my kids remember how happy their dad was, even while at the hospital in traction. I'm going with the flow this year...

A Future Preacher!

You can never start 'em too young!

C'MON!!!

Bodily Excercise Profiteth Little

1Tim.4 [8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

While some of us try to use this verse as an excuse to be out of shape, it is important to not allow temporal things (like exercise) take up so much time in our day that we don't have any left for eternal things (devotions, soul winning). There are however some neat parallels we can draw between physical exercise and spiritual exercise.

I've been recently on a health kick, trying to get back to the fitness level I was in the Marines. I'm realizing it's all about building habits. Eating right, working out, getting enough sleep; they are all habits that are built over time until they are second nature. The same holds true for our spiritual fitness. The more we do it and force ourselves to be faithful, the more we will form good spiritual habits.

If you struggle with good spiritual habits, try keeping a journal and writing down what you did every day for your devotions. Another idea would be to get a calendar and cross off every day that you successfully completed your tasks. Give yourself some accountability with a partner and encourage each other to be faithful. Keeping a good relationship with the Lord takes effort, but it will be rewarded.

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New Age Religions

Last night we went street preaching in Sebastopol and it was freezing! I got to bring along a couple of highly motivated, fired up teenage boys from my Sunday School class and we had a great time. As I preached to a group of teenagers who were hanging out around a fountain, a bunch of them started yelling back at me. I realized that I get more hecklers and scorners than anyone else. I'm not sure if I'm louder, I speak more clearly, or I'm just more obnoxious (probably the last one), but it seems like every time I preach at lease a couple of kids have to come over and debate me. This time it was a kid with his hair in dreadlocks telling me that my yelling was offensive and Christ wouldn't have done that. I asked him if Christ whispered when he preached to 5,000 people.

This guy's whole argument was that as long as you are doing what is right in your heart, Jesus is happy with you and you will make it to Heaven. He says Christians live in fear of doing wrong and not making it to Heaven. In my opinion, he has it backwards. If I had to worry about doing what I know to be right in my heart, I would live in fear. What if I did something I knew was wrong in my heart and died without fixing it? Since I'm saved, I don't have to worry about following my heart because Christ already forgave the wickedness of my heart when He died for me 2,000 years ago. Praise God that we don't live in fear! Sadly, many of our young people have been perverted by New Age religious beliefs, and the modern Bible versions they read actually promote these philosophies. I can only hope that there was one in that crowd that had a heart soft enough to allow the seed of the Word of God to take root. We will know in Heaven!

Mortgages

Right now is a difficult time to be a home owner, especially in California. Many of our friends are struggling to make the payments on their adjustable rate mortgages, and some have had their homes foreclosed. My wife and I bought our home about 6 months ago which is when the housing market had already begun to slow down. I think it was perfect timing for us because we got a house we could afford, but were still able to qualify for 100% financing and a low fixed rate (5.75%)

There are still a lot of mortgages out there for first time home buyers, so if you are planning on moving from that apartment or condo (like we did) and are looking for cheap mortgages, the internet and/or a trustworthy mortgage broker is a good place to start. God really spared us from the current fiasco by providing us with a 40 year fixed, 10 year interest only mortgage (we got the ACORN loan through B of A). If I was in an ARM right now, I would be up a creek without a paddle.

When it comes to finances, a Christian must always remember to put God first in any decision. If you make sure you bathe it in prayer, my experience is that He will help you avoid the landmines that riddle the world of money. Remember, honor God with the first fruits and let Him bless you out of His bounty. buy to let mortgages ~This post is sponsored~