Come see us on the first Saturday of every month @ 9am for our Men's Breakfast!
DAILY DEVOTION.....
November 25, 2018 Forgiveness Opens the Door “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
1 Corinthians 2:9Cruel words spoken in anger. A betrayal of trust. Promises broken. A destructive relationship you knew you should not have entered into. Have you been down those dark paths before? There are so many people who are living in the shadow of guilt and condemnation. The mistakes of their past haunt them and it is a painfully lonely and arduous journey for them. Perhaps the paralyzed man who was let down through the roof by his four faithful friends in the book of Mark understood a little of this. The Bible tells us he was paralyzed to the point where he could only lie on a mat, which was how his friends carried him to the house Jesus was in. With the man lying inert on his mat, his four friends lowered him through the roof, right in front of Jesus—the only way they knew how to bring their crippled friend before Jesus and secure his healing. Scripture tells us that when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5). To all who were watching this scene unfold that day, that must have been a very strange thing for Jesus to say—“your sins are forgiven you.” The man was clearly paralyzed. He was obviously there for healing. What had forgiveness to do with his condition or healing? But Jesus knew it was exactly what this poor man needed to hear for his healing to manifest. And indeed, at Jesus’ next words, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go to home,” the paralyzed man “jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers” (Mark 2:11–12, NLT). What had transpired? Jesus saw, when no one else could, that the man needed to hear he was forgiven, that God was not condemning him. And those words opened the door to his healing and broke him loose from his paralysis. No wonder the onlookers were stunned—the man went from being immobile and helpless to being active, strong, and completely whole right before their eyes! My beloved friend, if you are paralyzed by a heavy sense of condemnation over something in your past, I want you to know beyond any doubt that God is not withholding your breakthrough from you. He loves you, understands your pain and suffering, and has forgiven you through the cross. He wants you to know that your past does not have to poison your future. No matter how many dark days you have experienced, God has prepared many wonderful open doors of opportunity, favor, and good success for you to walk through in the days ahead. Your brightest and most glorious days are still ahead of you.
Watch the video below from our first annual Men's Breakfast Car, Boat, and Bike show!
GOOD TAKE AWAY GOD YOU GET 0
GOD DID A SPECIAL WORK IN THE HEARTS OF THESE MEN AT THE MEN'S RETREAT 2016 ... LEAVE A LEGACY!
Family Focus....
Raising Money-Smart Kids With Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz (See other articles on Focus on the Family website) Rachel Cruze finds it amusing when she hears people talk about Dave Ramsey like he's some kind of rock star. "To me, he's just my dad." Rachel's parents, Dave and Sharon Ramsey, have been married 31 years and have three adult children. Experiencing financial success in their 20s and then recovering from personal bankruptcy in their 30s, Dave and Sharon determined that their family would not continue to make the same financial mistakes. "We made the declaration that we would start a new tradition," Dave says, "a tradition of money knowledge and money character traits." That tradition has touched more than just the Ramsey family. Dave's message of financial hope has grown his corporation Lampo Group Inc. from a card table in his living room to a multimillion-dollar company. With nearly 6 million listeners tuning in to his radio show each week, Dave Ramsey has become a household name, and his financial principles have challenged listeners to "live like no one else so later you can live like no one else." With Ramsey's countercultural approach to life and money management, listeners may wonder what it was like growing up in the Ramsey household. Rachel clarifies, "Mine was the very first family to go through ‘the Dave Ramsey plan,' and trust me, it wasn't always easy." Rachel is now married, and she and her dad recently co-authored the parenting book Smart Money, Smart Kids. Thriving Family talked with Dave and Rachel about the journey they've shared as father and daughter. They discussed the importance of good family communication, and they shared personal stories about finding faith, living on a budget and loving to give. Dave, tell us about your faith journey.Dave:After losing everything, I went on a quest to figure out how money really works and how I could get control of it. I had met God on the way up, but I really got to know Him on the way down. I studied what the Bible said about money and discovered there are more than 800 Scriptures on money and personal finance. This wasn't the beginning of my spiritual journey, but it helped me understand His principles of stewardship. Rachel, what was it like as a kid experiencing family life on a budget?Rachel:As in most families, Ramsey kids each had their own personality. As my parents taught us about money, my sister, Denise, grasped the ideas quickly. Budgeting was right up her alley, and saving money just came naturally to her. For me, it was a different story. I am a free spirit and naturally more of a spender. I wasn't enthusiastic about doing a budget — and Ilovedto spend my money. By recognizing the differences in our personalities, my parents were able to tailor the way they taught each of us about money. So, how did faith affect the family view of finances?Dave:The first and most important money lesson we taught our children was stewardship. We believe that God owns everything, and we are asked to manage it for Him. And since we don't own it, it makes it easier to give. With each of our children, we watched for indications of understanding stewardship by displaying selfless acts. When they received their commissions (not allowances), the first envelope they put money in was their "give" envelope. We taught them to tithe before anything else — just like an adult should do. We watched them each Sunday take their money and give it back to God. We saw them each enjoy giving money to both local and international charities. Now, they didn't always get it right, but the key was to praise them when we caught them in selfless actions. Not every child can be a natural giver, but generositycanbe nurtured! Tell us about a time when you realized that you really were starting that new tradition of money character.Dave:When Rachel was in kindergarten, each child was asked to draw a picture of what they would do with $100. We looked through the book of all the kids' drawings. When we got to Rachel's page, we were caught off guard. Rachel's response was, "If I had $100, I would give it to poor people." To see one of our children really understand the concept of giving allowed us to realize that, with God's help, we could change our family. Tell us about parenting with grace.Dave:As I look back on parenting the Ramsey kids and teaching the ideas of commission, chore charts, saving, giving and spending, what amazes me most is that our kids still got it despite how often Sharon and I messed up. So parent to parent, let me tell you the word here isgrace— grace for the kids' reactions to unusual circumstances and grace for yourself for not perfectly executing this plan. The key is to be intentional and to control the teaching and guiding of their character rather than control the child. What's the key to healthy Ramsey relationships today?Rachel:Communication and learning to be self-sustaining are keys to healthy family relationships. We're a very open family. We talk a lot and plan a lot. We have to make sure that we're all in agreement about family decisions, while still doing what's best for each individual. We respect each other and understand that we're all very different. What do you appreciate about each other?Rachel:My dad always talks about how bankruptcy made a lasting emotional impact on him. As his business has grown and he's become better known, I've never seen him take this for granted. Because he knows the pain that finances can cause, he genuinely wants to help other people avoid this pain. He doesn't take his calling lightly, and he continues to work hard every day to help more people. Dave:No one is ever going to be perfect when it comes to money, but we've seen our kids display that they know how money works and they can handle it responsibly. They are confident and competent. They don't spend every penny they have, but they don't keep every penny they have, either. They are generous givers. The payoff is worth the hard work and discipline of teaching our kids about money. Sharon and I have great satisfaction and richness of soul as we stand back and watch our children stand on their own and demonstrate wisdom beyond their years. Pam Woody is an editor for Focus on the Family magazine.
