About Me
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I might return..
I might return to this blogging soon, but for now I am going to have to pass, I have too many other areas that I need to fulfill right now, and I need to work on my time management, as soon as I do that and put more time into my family, then I may return, thank you guys! Be REAL!~
Friday, May 9, 2008
Giants in Prayer
I am in sitting in my office, wasting time, thinking....How am I going to get more leaders!? I don't stress too often, but when I have the summer coming, a new year coming for Church, and new programs starting, I also have leaders that I have now that are having to step down, it gets a little hectic....
There are all these great websites and articles out there that tell of how you can get the leaders you need and hang on to them, here is how you do it.....Blah, Blah Blah!! They make it sound so easy and that it will work to perfection...it does not. I have come to the realize that all I need to do is simply keep praising God, do His work He has called me to, and PRAY PRAY PRAY! Now that is fool proof and that is perfect! Have we forgot about prayer?? So many churches now are so large and do so much, are we so busy and business like that we forget to just let God take care of the issues at hand? We know of it and speak of it and say a little tid bit here and there when we are together, but do we truly know the power of prayer? We need to be prayer warriors, we need to be Giants in prayer...
I recently read a great bit by E.M. Bounds that had this to say about prayer:
" We need this prayerful Leadership; we must have it, that is the perfection and beauty of its holiness, by strength and elevation of its faith, by the potency and pressure of its prayers, by the authority and spotlessness of its example, by the fire and contagion of its zeal, by the singularity, sublimity, and unworthiness of its piety, it may influence God and hold and mold the church to its heavenly pattern. Such leaders, how mighty they are felt! How their flame arouses church! How they embattle and give victory by the conflicts and triumphs of their own faith! How they fashion it by the impress and imoportunity of their own prayers! How they inoculate by the contagion and fire of their holiness! How they lead the march in great spiritual revolutions! How the church is raised from the dead by the ressurection call of their sermons! Holiness springs up in their wake as flowers at the voice of spring, and where they tread the desert blooms as a garden of the Lord. God's cause demands such leaders."
Where are those leaders? Sadly, I have met only a few...But we are all called to be that as christians, I know I find myself lacking in even mediocre prayer! No wonder I stress over such an issue of lack of leaders, God can move mountains!!!!!
"We need a new intense and radical commitment to prayer, leaders who know and prove the power of prayer, congregations growing ever more mighty in prayer. We need prevailing leadership to mold a new generation of prayer warriors."-Wesley Duewel
"As Christ seeks the lost sheep, God seeks intercessors."-Andrew Murray
There are all these great websites and articles out there that tell of how you can get the leaders you need and hang on to them, here is how you do it.....Blah, Blah Blah!! They make it sound so easy and that it will work to perfection...it does not. I have come to the realize that all I need to do is simply keep praising God, do His work He has called me to, and PRAY PRAY PRAY! Now that is fool proof and that is perfect! Have we forgot about prayer?? So many churches now are so large and do so much, are we so busy and business like that we forget to just let God take care of the issues at hand? We know of it and speak of it and say a little tid bit here and there when we are together, but do we truly know the power of prayer? We need to be prayer warriors, we need to be Giants in prayer...
I recently read a great bit by E.M. Bounds that had this to say about prayer:
" We need this prayerful Leadership; we must have it, that is the perfection and beauty of its holiness, by strength and elevation of its faith, by the potency and pressure of its prayers, by the authority and spotlessness of its example, by the fire and contagion of its zeal, by the singularity, sublimity, and unworthiness of its piety, it may influence God and hold and mold the church to its heavenly pattern. Such leaders, how mighty they are felt! How their flame arouses church! How they embattle and give victory by the conflicts and triumphs of their own faith! How they fashion it by the impress and imoportunity of their own prayers! How they inoculate by the contagion and fire of their holiness! How they lead the march in great spiritual revolutions! How the church is raised from the dead by the ressurection call of their sermons! Holiness springs up in their wake as flowers at the voice of spring, and where they tread the desert blooms as a garden of the Lord. God's cause demands such leaders."
Where are those leaders? Sadly, I have met only a few...But we are all called to be that as christians, I know I find myself lacking in even mediocre prayer! No wonder I stress over such an issue of lack of leaders, God can move mountains!!!!!
"We need a new intense and radical commitment to prayer, leaders who know and prove the power of prayer, congregations growing ever more mighty in prayer. We need prevailing leadership to mold a new generation of prayer warriors."-Wesley Duewel
"As Christ seeks the lost sheep, God seeks intercessors."-Andrew Murray
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Who is in control
I am down for the count...I have been diagnosed with Strep! With this, I have been banned from all activities for 48 hours...especially from children...I am a Children's Minister!! I have to go to church tonight and preach to children, I have an Awana Grand Prix to get ready for Saturday and a Kidz Blitz to get ready for!! Did I mention I was put on pills for High Blood Pressure as well? Now that I have been quarantined to my room at home it has given me time to think, who is in control? You can be anyone, Donald Trump, or Oprah Winfree, but when you are sick you are sick and anyone of them, and us, can be quarantined at any time...or die...Our God is in control, no one else, and nothing else, but our God whos son Jesus gave himself for us so that we may have eternal life with Him...
So, as I sit in this room, banned from the rest of the world, I am ok...The Lord is in Control, my work will come and go, the children will get taught tonight and the grand prix will go on with or with out me, but eternity is forever and I want that eternity for me, to be praising God! Where will you spend that eternity.....What is the real deal for you?
Revelation 1:8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 21:6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
So, as I sit in this room, banned from the rest of the world, I am ok...The Lord is in Control, my work will come and go, the children will get taught tonight and the grand prix will go on with or with out me, but eternity is forever and I want that eternity for me, to be praising God! Where will you spend that eternity.....What is the real deal for you?
Revelation 1:8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation 21:6He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Revelation 22:13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
What is up?
This will be short...What is up? I am frustrated at all the different arguments and differences of opinions on the views of a christian! First of all, Jesus is not a view but a reality! Secondly, why OPRAH, do you and all those who follow her want to be even associated with christianity and heaven if you do not believe what the Bible says??? Get over yourself, and read the Bible, there is one way, Jesus, those who call upon the Lord will be saved! Jesus even says, I am the way, the truth, and the life! IF you dont want Jesus, than go and find another "view" to follow...I do pray for all those oprah followers, that the scales will be removed from their eyes, but dont try to change the Bible and the words in it, to your own benifit and liking...oprah and her followers say, that statement is narrow minded.....well, ok, so what? Again, the Bible states that the road is narrow to all those who believes in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord, but wide is the road to those who dont! Explain that one, IF you watch Oprah, you are in danger of being confused and disoriented, get out why you can!.....I also am getting upset at christians that try to make church a place of business rather than a place of worship, but I will comment on that later. And that is the real deal!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Salvation...when is it too early?
I have many parents always asking me, "is it too early for my child to ask Christ into their heart"?
Most parents will say that they are not mature enough or not “gifted” to teach children and disciple them. I believe that is a huge inaccuracy, God would not allow them to have children, if it was not a gift to raise them toward a Godly life! Gangel refers it to this,
Becoming a Christian is the most important decision a child will ever make. As parents and leaders, we need to understand and apply the Word of God to them in a way so that they may fully come to know Christ in these early years, in which, then; leaders and parents can disciple these children throughout the rest of their latter childhood and teen years; Instead of having to re-teach them year after year of what the Bible is all about. At the heart of the matter, leaders and parents must be the lead example to children, so that they can develop and grow into what God wants them to be.
As Thomas Sanders explains in an article:
“Guiding children to take those first steps toward faith can be the most rewarding opportunity of life for parents. Parents who have growing relationships with Christ can create an environment for a child to be introduced to Him from the first days of life. As a child grows and matures, his knowledge of Jesus will grow. By laying foundations for spiritual conversion, parents become partners with the Holy Spirit as He prepares and calls a child to accept Jesus as Savior.”
What about as young as preschoolers? Most preschoolers are in the concrete stage of life. While feelings are very real and memorable, young children do not understand the abstract concepts and realities that exist in and pervade the adult world. While faith to trust Christ is simple and childlike, the concepts associated with the articulation and understanding of the Gospel and salvation are, at best, intangible for a preschooler's concrete mind. Recognizing that God's grace is available to all and it is His work alone, we must not set age limits on when a child may come to salvation. Likewise, we should not pressure a child with expectations before he is able to meet them, rather we should nourish them with love and acceptance, and reflect Christ to them through ourselves as parents and teachers. Therefore, any child, even preschoolers, can become aware of a need of Christ and understand the message of salvation, though there minds are not fully developed. Even adults are not fully aware of all that it takes to be a Christian when they are first saved, they must mature and be discipled, this goes for the child as well, they know Christ and know that they are lost without Him, but must grow and become more mature physically and spiritually to know Christ more. When children see and recognize Christ in the parent, they are ready to reproduce that faithfulness in their own lives. Salvation of a child, I believe, comes easy; as long as we, as parents, implement the Bible and its teachings.
Someone has said, "Mom and dad see God in the Bible". Children must first see God in mom and dad. The first impressions of God that a child receives are from his or her parents. A child's attitude about God is first formed and fashioned by the attitudes their parents have about God.
There is no separate gospel for children. The child must understand and be convicted of his broken relationship with God. Parents must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s work. Where there is no conviction, there can be no real change and spiritual conversion. Decisions that last a lifetime are decisions based on conviction and conversion.
Can children have that real salvation of knowing Christ as Savior? I believe so, as we have acknowledged already in descipling and nurturing children in their salvation experience. I believe that it is a fine line, and you have to have great discernment in acknowledging that decision, many children need to come out of that pre-operational stage, which, fluctuates in the child’s maturity somewhere, I believe, around 4-5 yrs old, but age really does not matter, that is just a normal range of when a child can come to that understanding of who Christ is and what He did for us and why. But Amen to God for law does not bound Him and if He is ready for a child to recognize Him, than so be it! Though, faith does not automatically unfold in the child’s life, faith is a trust and loyal issue, it is love that we feel from God. Children need to learn how to have faith, and they can learn through the love and loyalty that we as parents and teachers show and teach them, by this they learn what faith in God is, and they can trust that faith because they have seen it work through us. Children are born with readiness for faith, but they need that environment for the Faith to potentially become a reality.
“Parents everywhere want their children to be successful. But God's idea of success is far different from the world's concept of it. If you build a foundation of faith in your children's lives, they can achieve success of eternal significance.” -Whitney Hopler, Raising Children of Faith
No decision is as life-changing or eternal as the decision to become a Christian. For this reason, children need to be counseled with the greatest care, wisdom, and integrity. Your goal should not be to get a “yes” answer. Your goal is to aid in understanding, as a partner with the Holy Spirit. Let us not forget the only reason that we, as Christians, are still here on earth after we are saved is to one, give God glory and praise His name, and two, spread the Word of God to all and bring salvation to those who want it! What better way than to start with our own children. We need to look at the big picture and realize that this time on earth is very short, and if we want our children to be with God, and are truly convince of the realization of Heaven and Hell, than we will began to apply the Truth in their every day lives. Let’s not veer off course of the race, but let us keep our eyes forward toward the goal!
Father God, help us to teach our children about You. Let them see in our lives a heart full of devotion to the Father, honoring You in all we do. We ask for Your help as we teach our children to love You, not only at church on Sunday, but in our everyday lives. Amen.
Now that is the Real Deal!
On our knees...
Travis Duke
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."
Deuteronomy 11:16-21
Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
John 3:15
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:16
I am the light that has come into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not live in the dark. John 12:46
Most parents will say that they are not mature enough or not “gifted” to teach children and disciple them. I believe that is a huge inaccuracy, God would not allow them to have children, if it was not a gift to raise them toward a Godly life! Gangel refers it to this,
“that God has a leadership role of some degree and kind for each of us. We need, then, to seek His will within all our hearts, to cry to Him to give us a vision of what He is calling us to do with our lives, and to pray for grace to be faithful-not successful!"
We need to put into practice this idea to our parents that, they do have a gift to lead their children to know Christ. I have heard this by too many parents, that they are just not gifted in that area. This is very sad to hear and I fear it to be the beginning of the generation lost.
If we do not step up to what God has designed us to do as Christian parents, and that is to raise our children up in the Lord, then the next generation will be lost. Besides, it is not a gift, but a commandment to do these things!
"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7
As Thomas Sanders explains in an article:
“Guiding children to take those first steps toward faith can be the most rewarding opportunity of life for parents. Parents who have growing relationships with Christ can create an environment for a child to be introduced to Him from the first days of life. As a child grows and matures, his knowledge of Jesus will grow. By laying foundations for spiritual conversion, parents become partners with the Holy Spirit as He prepares and calls a child to accept Jesus as Savior.”
What about as young as preschoolers? Most preschoolers are in the concrete stage of life. While feelings are very real and memorable, young children do not understand the abstract concepts and realities that exist in and pervade the adult world. While faith to trust Christ is simple and childlike, the concepts associated with the articulation and understanding of the Gospel and salvation are, at best, intangible for a preschooler's concrete mind. Recognizing that God's grace is available to all and it is His work alone, we must not set age limits on when a child may come to salvation. Likewise, we should not pressure a child with expectations before he is able to meet them, rather we should nourish them with love and acceptance, and reflect Christ to them through ourselves as parents and teachers. Therefore, any child, even preschoolers, can become aware of a need of Christ and understand the message of salvation, though there minds are not fully developed. Even adults are not fully aware of all that it takes to be a Christian when they are first saved, they must mature and be discipled, this goes for the child as well, they know Christ and know that they are lost without Him, but must grow and become more mature physically and spiritually to know Christ more. When children see and recognize Christ in the parent, they are ready to reproduce that faithfulness in their own lives. Salvation of a child, I believe, comes easy; as long as we, as parents, implement the Bible and its teachings.
Someone has said, "Mom and dad see God in the Bible". Children must first see God in mom and dad. The first impressions of God that a child receives are from his or her parents. A child's attitude about God is first formed and fashioned by the attitudes their parents have about God.
There is no separate gospel for children. The child must understand and be convicted of his broken relationship with God. Parents must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s work. Where there is no conviction, there can be no real change and spiritual conversion. Decisions that last a lifetime are decisions based on conviction and conversion.
Can children have that real salvation of knowing Christ as Savior? I believe so, as we have acknowledged already in descipling and nurturing children in their salvation experience. I believe that it is a fine line, and you have to have great discernment in acknowledging that decision, many children need to come out of that pre-operational stage, which, fluctuates in the child’s maturity somewhere, I believe, around 4-5 yrs old, but age really does not matter, that is just a normal range of when a child can come to that understanding of who Christ is and what He did for us and why. But Amen to God for law does not bound Him and if He is ready for a child to recognize Him, than so be it! Though, faith does not automatically unfold in the child’s life, faith is a trust and loyal issue, it is love that we feel from God. Children need to learn how to have faith, and they can learn through the love and loyalty that we as parents and teachers show and teach them, by this they learn what faith in God is, and they can trust that faith because they have seen it work through us. Children are born with readiness for faith, but they need that environment for the Faith to potentially become a reality.
“Parents everywhere want their children to be successful. But God's idea of success is far different from the world's concept of it. If you build a foundation of faith in your children's lives, they can achieve success of eternal significance.” -Whitney Hopler, Raising Children of Faith
No decision is as life-changing or eternal as the decision to become a Christian. For this reason, children need to be counseled with the greatest care, wisdom, and integrity. Your goal should not be to get a “yes” answer. Your goal is to aid in understanding, as a partner with the Holy Spirit. Let us not forget the only reason that we, as Christians, are still here on earth after we are saved is to one, give God glory and praise His name, and two, spread the Word of God to all and bring salvation to those who want it! What better way than to start with our own children. We need to look at the big picture and realize that this time on earth is very short, and if we want our children to be with God, and are truly convince of the realization of Heaven and Hell, than we will began to apply the Truth in their every day lives. Let’s not veer off course of the race, but let us keep our eyes forward toward the goal!
Father God, help us to teach our children about You. Let them see in our lives a heart full of devotion to the Father, honoring You in all we do. We ask for Your help as we teach our children to love You, not only at church on Sunday, but in our everyday lives. Amen.
Now that is the Real Deal!
On our knees...
Travis Duke
"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth."
Deuteronomy 11:16-21
Everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
John 3:15
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Mark 16:16
I am the light that has come into the world so that everyone who believes in me will not live in the dark. John 12:46
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Deal
Ok, here is the deal, some co-pastors of mine, (Jason and Mike) have started blogs and I feel left out, so....here I am!
I am not one to post everyday so I may throw down once a week, who knows, and who knows who will even read this?! I just felt left out....I feel better now.
I am the Children's Pastor at First Baptist Pearland Texas, and my family and I are having a blast! We just recently moved here from Georgia, (God's country) and home of the awesome Bulldawgs! We love it here though, and have made some great friends, the church is great, and the ministry is growing....in numbers, but most of all Spiritually.
Last night I was used by the Lord to lead a child to Christ, there is nothing better than to lead another soul to Jesus, thousands of Angels were rejoicing at that time.
I will return with some rants, raves, and useless information soon.....I just wanted to let you know that the Real Deal is here......
I am not one to post everyday so I may throw down once a week, who knows, and who knows who will even read this?! I just felt left out....I feel better now.
I am the Children's Pastor at First Baptist Pearland Texas, and my family and I are having a blast! We just recently moved here from Georgia, (God's country) and home of the awesome Bulldawgs! We love it here though, and have made some great friends, the church is great, and the ministry is growing....in numbers, but most of all Spiritually.
Last night I was used by the Lord to lead a child to Christ, there is nothing better than to lead another soul to Jesus, thousands of Angels were rejoicing at that time.
I will return with some rants, raves, and useless information soon.....I just wanted to let you know that the Real Deal is here......
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