New breed of educators coming

HALLELUJAH!!!!  I am so excited I can hardly sit still.  I heard Joseph Prince say that a new breed of educators is coming who will speak blessing and not anger/wrath over their students.  YES! Amen. That is what we are working on. Spread the news.  (his sermon #167 disclaimer I don't know Joseph Prince and he doesn't know me. I just appreciated his comments today on a television broadcast.)

Say what you PRAY

The message for our Spring Intercessors Team meeting was from Mark 11:22-26 on the centrality of prayer. It is a familiar passage. It is worth reading again.  

Mar 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.

Mar 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Mar 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Much has been said about the prominence of “saying” in this verse which we appreciate. There is power in our words. Even nonbelievers know this. Psychologists are talking a great deal now about “positive self-talk.” New Agers are using affirmations to improve their lives. However merely much repeating has limited power. Human words do have power, but no one suggests that such can miraculously change things outside that one human's system.

However, this passage is clearly about miraculous power. Jesus commands us to have faith in God. Mark 9:25 records Jesus as saying “Everything is possible for him who believes.” This too, is an extremely important insight. Jesus says things are possible to the one who believes – not to the one who is perfect, who studies the most, or who .... whatever action you wish to mention. Jesus repeatedly mentions faith. However, I submit it is not just any faith. It is faith in God.

There is another insight in this passage that I have never heard preached. It is a central insight. Right in the very center of this verse, read in Greek, is the word “prayer” or “proseuxomai.” Mark is written in a chiastic form that always points to the most important thought right in the middle. In the middle of the book is the passage about who Jesus is and the saying “take up your cross and follow me.” That middle passage is the point of the book. The middle of this passage is the word prayer. That word for prayer means “coming before God.” It is sometimes used of worship and often used for prayer.

The insight is that it is our coming before God, our connection to God, our reliance/trust/faith in God/ our speaking the words of God that make the whatsoever possible, that create miracles. Yes, let's have faith. Yes, let's speak in line with that. But very centrally, let's get close to God.

We can face the biggest thing in our lives with our connection to God, our faith, and our word, and command it to be gone, where we will never see it again. Not moved across the road. Not merely taken down a notch, but a mountain rooted up and thrown into the sea – of forgetfulness. Amen. Our commands have power because we move in the authority that Jesus brought back to us, that God gave humans at creation. It was always God's plan that humans have authority to spread the Kingdom, the Garden of Eden throughout the earth.

Similarly, in this ministry, let's keep prayer – a real connection to God – the center of what we do. Yes, we believe for miracles. Yes, we attempt to speak blessing. Yes, we are going to remember to forgive and accept forgiveness. Especially since we are just learning. We are still young in this, children in training and not yet Sons fully grown. So please forgive our shortcomings. But we, we will resolve to come before God. Our reliance to, connection with, authority from God is the central point.

Please join with us, in blessing children, educators, and parents. Let's say what we pray. Let's have faith in God.   

Money Modeling and Teaching

Okay, I couldn't resist getting on a soap box and talking about the adult world of money and the situation of the nation. However, I will argue that if adults don't handle money well, then we are poor roll models for our children.  Modelling is maybe more important than direct teaching. Direct teaching is powerful if it comes after modeling.

I heard a howl when I said my family didn't get into debt. Well, okay, the Sarles have sometimes taken mortgages, but only on conservative deals.  We don't do consumer debt. We don't typically buy cars or any other depreciating asset with debt.

I have certainly given some car salesman apoplexy. I notice they are not normally very interested in talking to me about the car; they want to talk about financing. I want to know how safe the car is.  How expensive it is to fix. They want to talk about financing. What is it, then, that they are really selling?

When the bank made a mistake and started charging me like a debtor -- wow! -- how badly they treated me. I couldn't get anyone to help me.  Until through connections I talked to a vice president. Then it got fixed and I got an apology.  Who wants to be treated like a debtor? Get wise. Teach your children.

Now, if the debt war isn't enough, there is the porn war. Next week Dani Johnson will be with us. We loved her last time. Tell your friends. Write on your calendar. Have a party just to listen to the broadcast. No one speaks more credibly on this topic than does Dani.  She herself is a master marketeer. She herself is a modern mother.  Her background informs her of the tragedy for children when there is addiction in the home. Protect your children. Listen in.

Resolutions for the New Year

We are making some resolutions here at The Great Shalom.

First we are resolving to be Biblically based and in align with Holy Spirit,

sensitive to Holy Spirit's wakeup calls,

have continuous improvement in our purity,

to be rigourous in our honest and keeping of commitments,

and do to the best in loving service as we possibly can.

Will you join me in such resolutions? Already, a couple of weeks into the year, most New Year's Resolutions are broken. Falling down is not the real problem. The real problem is not getting back up. It would be an even bigger problem to fail to try to get up.

Alright, so I am resolving. I am challenging you to make these resolves. Want to?

Jesus has done a lot for us. Too much for us to just laze around. Too much for us to be overburdened by just mere business. Too much to be guided by just anybody who comes along. Isn't this what Jesus would want. I invite you to come along.

Thanks.

New Year's Resolution

We have the custom of making New Year's Resolutions. It is a fine idea to intend self improvement. However, self-improvement seems to be very limited. New Year's resolutions seem to last a few weeks, don't they?

But real commitment, real calling out to the Lord has transformed lives.

How about commit to a year of prayer, of listening, and of doing what God has instructed us to do?

God has told us what we are to do in the Bible, yet even the most dedicated, more professional Christians largely ignore the Bible. We hear so very loudly our own tradition when we read the text, become confused, ignore it, and often fail to apply the Word in our busy life.

However, look, doesn't God really get it? Aren't we the ones who really need instructions?  Wouldn't listening to the instructions of the Maker and Redeemer God be the best strategy?

So, when we hit a text we know we don't understand, let's ask Holy Spirit to teach us.  Then let's listen. When we are going on auto pilot, on good tradition and custom, let's ask the Holy Spirit to show us in the Bible what God really told us to do.  Then let's realize the big picture, what it looks like to God -- that we would be so much more blessed if we really DID what God tells us to do.  Knowing, or thinking we know, or doing good stuff, but not God's will, really is just junk.  Real blessing comes from hearing, attending, doing.

Make 2010 your best year ever. The challenges will be great. Victory is available.
Blessings and love to you and yours.

Dani Johnson was great

Wow! Listen to the Dani Johnson interview.
You know what, she does what she teaches. She was great to work with. Yeah, we are on a mission : change the world by persuading one child at a time that doing good will be their path to doing well.

Dani Johnson's New Book : Grooming the Next Generation for Success

Dani Johnson's Grooming the Next Generation for Success is the best parenting book I have ever read.

When I was young, I was appalled at how parents spoke to their children. Today I am appalled at how children speak to their parents. I am shocked at how my college students comport themselves. I can't say much for my colleagues, either! Oh dear! Our society is in deep trouble.

Dani Johnson has a lot of help. The part I like best is the verbatim conversations, how she talks to her children In general, they go something like the following:

“You want to succeed, don't you?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Want to try that again?”

“Sure, mom.”

“You understand why this family does things like the 2 %, right?”

“Yes, mom, only 2% succeed and so we don't follow the crowd.”

“Right! Good job!”

Of course, she does tell us what to do when the response is not as is desired.

I was delighted with her distinction between protection and control. I was impressed at the discipline required even in an affluent home. I was amazed at how she and her husband set up a procedure to test and socialize her teenage daughter's potential date/mate into their system of honoring one another. Given the overall foundation, it is believable that their daughter sits through the initial conversation setting up the rules with a suitor, knowing she is a protected princess, not a controlled piece of disrespected chattel.

If you care nothing about Scripture, nevertheless, you will see the efficacy and sense in what she says. If you are a Bible believing Christian, you will see immediately how Johnson's way of parenting connects with Biblical principles and you will marvel that we haven't lived this way before.

It is high time to improve our parenting. Now is the time to step up to the challenges of the modern world, a world where our children are innundated with sexploitation, laziness and poor thinking. Johnson gives principles and realistic examples from her own family to help us take our parenting to a new level.

This is not a collection of trainers' platitudes. This is a book for the times. I am giving this book away for Christmas. My daughter gets the first such present. If you have anything to do with kids -- or are even are a grandparent like me -- you want to read it before you do the next item on your “To Do” list. Bravo! Hallelujah!

Sharon Sarles, Mont.Dip., M.Div., M.A. (Sociology)

www.greatshalom.org