I apologize for not being on here more to write the devotionals that I am given to write. As I wrote in a past post, the world has gotten in and taken my focus away from this blog. It is very wrong to allow that to happen. Then I receive the news that a state judge has ruled in a homeschooling case and I am horrified of that outcome.
The state of California and the state judge who heard the case concerning homeschooling by parents has ruled against the parents and for the state. It means that he told the parents they were violating the law by teaching their OWN children without a teaching certificate which is incredibly pricey and, of course, takes a number of years to complete. Naturally the state wants it this way.
Many Christians have homeschooled their children for years. I do believe that this is an attack directly affecting those parents and children…possibly an attack directed AT those people. Here is a part of what the judge said:
Justice H. Walter Croskey wrote his ruling on February 28, 2008:
“Parents do not have a constitutional right to home school their children… parents who fail to comply may be subjected to a criminal complaint against them, found guilty of an infraction, and subject to imposition of fines or an order to complete a parent education and counseling program.”
Did you see that? If a parent homeschools their child are criminals. People, we are so close to the end of the age! This will directly affect many Christian parents. The children will end up going to public schools where they will be subjected to the inadequate teaching in inadequate schools just because some judge in a state that is power hungry and greedy wants to make sure that the state has control over the kids. They will be indoctrinated with the views of the teacher and the curriculum of the school system the parents have been trying hard to avoid.
We are here for such a time as this. Please pray for these parents, children and all parents and children who will eventually be affected by this ruling. When the other states see this, they will begin to do the same things. Our freedoms are being lost, one by one. And now we are not allowed to teach our children in the manner we see fit. Oh Lord, come quickly!!!
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When a person is a Christian, meaning born again and having accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, they then go on to grow in the Lord (hopefully). This is accomplished by studying God’s Word, praying and talking to God, going to a Bible believing church (there are many that are not) and just enjoying God for Who He is.
When I said hopefully about growing in the Lord, I meant that sometimes people do ask Jesus into their hearts but then they do nothing else either because no one tells them what’s next or they simply believe that they do not have to do anything else. The deal is sealed. That is not correct but people do have a lack of information. Those folks are for another blog entry.
Today, I want to talk about going back to your roots. Who can do this? Obviously, those who have left their roots, meaning family and friends, so they go back home. In a spiritual sense, we need to do the same thing. Perhaps you are too busy during the day to spend time praying or studying. Maybe you find that going to church is not for you.
In my case, the problem was that I just got used to not reading the Bible as much as before. Getting the kids off to school took a lot of time in the mornings. Then after that, things just seemed to get in the way…a phone call, breakfast (I always liked to do my study before breakfast because I could think better then), the morning news show, getting bills paid, the weather or anything else. Too many things were getting in the way of my study time. Oh, I talked about it a good bit. But that was all.
What’s wrong here? The Bible says the cares of this world enter in and choke the word.
Mar 4:18-19 And these are those being sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceit of riches, and the lust about other things entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful.
At first, you hear God’s Word, it’s exciting and new. You react by enjoying the study time. But then, some other thing intrudes, not just once but day after day. Then it becomes a regular thing. I studied each morning. Then one day, I had to go somewhere. It intruded on my time. This WAS an emergency but it only happened once. The next time I tried to study, I could, but the next day, something else intruded and so it went. After a while, the intrusions were greater and more frequent. Soon, I found myself intruding on all the emergencies and phone calls to study. WOW!
So, what do you do about it? My solution to it was to go back to the study time. Yes, some things still tried to intrude, they always will. It will happen that way to you too. The reason is that the enemy does not want you to learn anything about your rights as a believer and the power behind it. God has given you, not only a spirit of power, love and a sound mind but the faith to deal with the enemy as well! How? By getting into God’s Word, reading to find out what and who you are in the Lord. Then act on that faith that comes from studying and reading God’s Word.
Now, if you have found yourself out there all alone, get back to your roots, when you asked the Lord Jesus into your life. He is waiting right there where you stepped away. He has not left there, you did. You can get right back on the path He has for you by simply asking His forgiveness and going back to what you know is right. And He will welcome you back!
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In a previous post, I mentioned a lyric with the words “man made god” in them. That phrase really bothered me for some time. In fact, it still does bother me. What is a man made god? As I stated in the other post, a man made god is whatever you are so focused on that it takes your heart from the One True God. It could be money, jobs, children, family, boat or car payments, house payments, overdue bills, whatever it might be. If your focus is on that instead of on God, then you have a man made god in your life.
God wants your full attention. He is, however, a gentleman and will not impose His will on you at any time. He waits patiently for you to see that all the worry in the world is not going to change what’s going on. He is waiting patiently for you to look at Him instead of your worries and situations. God tells us to rest in Him.
Heb 4:3 For we who have believed do enter into the rest
Psalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall rest under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him I will trust.
It is especially important that we do enter into His rest. However, we cannot do that if we are focused on those man made gods out there. It might be your money worries but it could just as easily be that person you are wanting to get together with even though you are married. If that is what you plan, that is your man made god.
Man made gods in your life will slow you down or stop you completely from learning what God has in store for you right now. We live in perilous times and need all the help we can get from the Lord. He wants us to seek His face. He wants us to bear witness of His Son, Jesus. Paul says that he is not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must learn to not be ashamed either. If the man made god in your life is stopping you, then you are too busy to witness of the Lord. That makes you ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What can you do to change that? First, stop focusing on your problems and personal desires and start focusing on the Lord. If you do that, He will add all those things to you that you need as long as it lines up with God’s Word. If you desire things that do not line up with God’s Word, you risk His resounding NO! He wishes to give you the desires of your heart. But seek God first with those desires. Always seek God first.
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Recently, I was able to see the lyrics to a song a friend wrote. In the song, she had the phrase “Man Made God” which intrigued me. Then I could not stop thinking about it. Seems that God is interested in that phrase too! But what is a man made god anyway?
It likely depends on what you are focused on. If money is your thing then that would be your god. If you are focused on power, you will be seeing a man made god in that. Whatever the focus that takes your spirit and mind away from your time with God is likely to be the man made god in your life. Sometimes, it’s just laziness. I find myself not doing those things that I was called to do because other things get in the way….like the latest program on television or the one book I cannot put down. Are these things wrong? No, not in and of themselves. But if they are taking me away from what I am supposed to be doing for the Lord, then yes, they can be.
God tells us to seek Him first, seek the kingdom of God first, THEN all these things shall be added to us. We usually find ourselves so focused on the daily things, trying to make a buck so we can pay the bills and get that car we spotted. But God wants us to focus solely on Him. We should not be worrying about that next dollar and where it’s coming from. That takes our minds away from the Lord and all He has in store for us and what we are to be doing for Him.
Do I want to live with a man made god? Certainly not!! Do you? Probably not. If not, then it is up to you to get into God’s Word every day, seek His face in all things and just trust in Him that He will take care of the problems. After all, He says that the birds of the air are clothed beautifully but they do not worry one bit how they look because God dresses them. How much more will He help you if only you will trust Him to do so?
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