Stop and Start - Part 2

A blog series on how families can apply the gospel into their pain and dysfunction.

Part 2 - How to Set Priorities that Matter. How do you decide what is most important in your life? We all face decisions every day. Where will I eat lunch? Do I want to go to church? Will I accept that Facebook friend invite?

One major issue in today's families is the lack of priority in what eternally matters. I say that because many students live stressful, packed schedules. Many times the last place on their priority list is their spiritual growth. Sports, dance, academics and more are the main priorities.

The Bible does not give a step-by-step checklist to follow. It does provide principles that are applicable to how we make wise decisions with our lives. According to God, below are the priorities that matter most:

#1 God

#2 Spouse 

#3 Children 

 #4 Everything Else. This is where it gets messy.

 Paul talks more about what matter most in life! 

I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! Philippians 3:7-14

The apostle Paul talks about putting excessive value on things. The creation becomes worshipped more than the Creator. The world considers these valuable, but to God it's just earthly things. In fact, its just MANURE compared to knowing Christ! The greek word in v. 8 is translated as “rubbish” is actually the word for poop!

The Philippians were the most supportive church of Paul’s missionary work. The Church at Philippi was undergoing persecution for a while and now Paul is in prison writing this letter to them. Paul writes to encourage them. Paul referred to Christ’ persecutions and His faithfulness. Everything we call great in this world is nothing compared to knowing Jesus.

 According to Paul, here is what matters most in life: 

• Pressing on to being more like Christ

• Forget past mistakes. God has forgiven you.

• Press onto God’s specific purpose for your life. 

 Jesus is not just a priority in the family. Stop viewing God as a part of your life. Instead start viewing God AS your life. The heart response is that Jesus is not just a priority but He is the center of our lives. When we simply "put" Jesus first, it can turn into a checklist that we follow. Slowly, we put God into a box that we create.

A few questions to consider:  

- What sort of things would be hardest for you to give up? - Imagine a manure-meter that lets you score your progress as you learn to live Phil. 3:8, as you learn to value the things of the world. What would be your score of one to ten? (10 being “I counted everything as loss” and 1 being “Well, there’s something about manure that I like.”) Why would you score yourself that way? - Ask Christ to help you focus on Him and not on the things of this world

How do we have a strong nation? We have strong churches who love Jesus. How do we have strong churches? We have strong families that love Jesus. How do we have strong families? We have strong marriages that are the foundation for generations to come. How do we build strong marriages? Individuals who love Jesus more than anything in this world. What would you add about family priorities? How do we decide on setting priorities in our family? 

Stop and Start - Part 1

A blog series on how families can apply the gospel into their pain and dysfunction.

Statistics on the American Family -Nuclear families have dropped to below 25% of all households. - The number of single dads grew 70%, and the number of households headed by single moms grew 25% in the last decade. - Every thirty minutes in America – 29 kids will attempt suicide, 2,795 teenage girls will become pregnant, and 22 girls will get abortions. - Studies reveal that 85% of the people who make a commitment to Jesus Christ make the decision by the age of 18, or they never will.

Part 1: The Blame Game 

"Why did you not do what I asked you?" He said. She responded, "I didn't feel like it and plus, I am tired." He reacts, "But you told me you were going to do it and now it is ALL your fault."

The blame game. We are all infected with it. It started back in the Garden of Eden. It is everywhere and probably rears its ugly head in your family as it can in mine. Each family has its own background and history with their own specific problems. Some families are extremely verbal while others are quiet. The starting blocks for healthy relationships is vertical before it is horizontal. I do not believe there is a quick fix to family problems. My purpose in writing this series is to establish some biblical truths that can be applied to relationships in the family.

We all come from families with different types of dysfunction. My church has started a series on the family ("Modern Family"). Lately, I have thought about some of the normal dysfunctions that families face and what God's Word has to say about it.

The first family killer is the "blame game."We have all seen this happen in a conversation. Usually blaming happens after someone has made a mistake. The definition of blame is, "to find fault with; to hold responsible, to place responsibility for."

At the heart of man's sinful nature is the desire to stay out of trouble at all costs. We want to look better than others (pride) and do not mind putting others down if it helps us (accusing).

Jesus said, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye." Matthew 7:3-5

How to STOP playing the blame the game and START establishing humility in the home:

Give yourself credit (Matthew 7:3-5)

We are responsible for our own actions. Parents who make mistakes in their past affect the future of their children. Every parent makes mistakes. But it is their mistake. One of the top responses I get from students is that they feel pressure that they caused their families pain. God's grace is sufficient to carry the weight of any families burden. Restoration is fulfilled when hurting people find their hope and truth in Jesus.

Renew your past with truth. (Romans 12:1-2)

It is vital to replace the old attitude and habits with a new clarity. Families that continually blame each other reveals the need for humility. It is going back to the foot of the cross and seeing yourself in need of a Savior. The brutal truth is the only way to renew your past and forgive yourself and others.

Give life by your words. (Proverbs 16:24) The power of life is our words. Word can shape a person's identity, especially children and students. Blaming is the opposite of giving life. It is giving death to resolving any situation.

Examples of life giving words: - "I know God has shaped you in specific way for His purposes!" - "God has unconditional love for you, no matter what." - "You are uniquely made by God!" (Psalm 139) - "Our family would not be the same without you, you are so important!"

Try to stop blaming and start giving life to each other. Who knows, the blame game might just become a faint memory.

What are your thoughts on the "blame game?" What would you add to the "stop and start" list?  

My Prayer for Micah

Time is flying by as we wait for the arrival of Micah Jordan Robinson! His due date is September 3rd but I have a feeling that he is coming early. A lot has happened in the past few months (moving, new church, meeting new people) and more! We are eagerly awaiting Micah! He is active in the womb everyday. I'm amazed at God's handiwork in the beauty of Cassidy as she carries Micah into the last few weeks of her pregnancy. I have felt a lot of emotions already that are hard to describe. Feelings of inadequacy, fear, uncertainty, excitement, and overwhelming gratitude to name a few. Our journey of praying for a child was answered this past fall. The more I think about it, the more I realize God is in control. It is funny when I hear people say, "wow, you chose a hard time to have a baby in the middle of summer." I usually smile and nod. Most people don't understand that we went through a journey to get to this point. A journey that helped us realize how precious it is to have a child on the way.

I'm grateful that God's timing is always perfect.

One of the reasons we chose the name Micah is the meaning of the name ("Who is like God, God's gift"). One of my favorite passages of scripture is Micah 6:8.

 The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

My prayer for Micah is that he will do what is right no matter what the status quo is in culture. I hope that he will make decisions based upon God's Word.

My prayer for Micah is that he would love mercy. I hope that he will love the least of these. We hope to show him the mercy of Christ and how to pour that out to the world.

My prayer for Micah is that he would walk in humility. I pray he would put others before himself. I pray that he would one day put his faith in Jesus alone for His eternal salvation. I pray that He experiences the love of God and walks in that love daily.