A Winning Game Plan Produces a Winning Game!

Something has been on my mind for a few weeks, so I thought that I would write about it and share my thoughts to everyone. I am specifically writing to kids. So kids, listen to me, and understand what I am saying.

One of the things that I have noticed among kids these days is the not-so-good attitude that they display towards there parents. I know, I know... "But my parents just don't understand me, or my situation".... or ...."my parents embarrass me in front of my friends".

But I say this to all you kids that think that you can roll your eyes at your parents, or think that you can turn your head away from them when they are giving you instruction, or talk back to them when they ask you to do something or to stop doing something by saying: "But, I'm NOT", showing great disrespect for your parents:

Exodus 20:12 (New International Version)

¹² "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Now, this is one of the Ten Commandments that the Lord God has handed down to all mankind. This is not a suggestion, or else it would have been described as the "Ten Suggestions". This is a Commandment given my God to all of us. Now why do you think that it is a Commandment and not just a suggestion? The answer is because it is so very important.

I don't think that anyone of you wants to follow in the footsteps of Satan. But what you don't understand is this: The devil doesn't go up to you and say, "Hey Johnny, today I want you to do this really bad, aweful thing that you will certainly end up going to hell for when you die." No, Satan does not go about things that way. This is the way that he goes about pulling you away from God:

1st - He will make you think that you know more about things than your parents do. He will make you think that you know what's better for you than your parents think.

2nd - After years of bucking your parents and disobeying their wishes, Satan will make you think that you know more that your boss does, or more than your teachers do, or more than your school gym teachers do.

3rd - Then Satan will make you think that the laws that are set up by society are really ridiculous, so you will start to disobey them as well. He will make you think that it is a game to disobey the law and not get caught.

The next thing you know, years down the line of your life, you have failed out of school, disobeyed the law, gotten arrested, involved in drugs, and have made a real mess of the perfect life that God had planned for you. And it all started with the rolling of your eyes, the little bit of disrespect that you show your parents.

Now maybe your life won't go this way, and I hope for all of you that it does not. But I have seen many, many, many lives of kids that have. Even kids that were from very strong Christian families went this way when the kids were allowed to display disrespect towards their parents without sufficient repercussion.

To the kids that are reading this: God has a plan for you, and it is awesome! I think that it would be foolish to feel that we know more about our life than God does. So, listen to me. Follow God!! When you find yourself rolling your eyes, or talking back to your parents....STOP!! Realize that it is Satan pulling you away from God! Ever so slowly. So STOP! Turn from Satan. Look to your parents and listen to what they have to say.... RESPECT them! HONOR them, for God COMMANDS you to do this. HONOR God by Honoring your parents! And get ready for the wonderful life that God has planned for you!

To the parents that are reading this: God has COMMANDED that your children respect and honor you. You are God's Child, and God has given you instruction for your kids. You need to Honor God by making sure that your kids honor you! By allowing your kids to run all over you, YOU are dishonoring God! God says to you:

Proverbs 13:24 (New International Version)

²⁴ He who spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is careful to discipline him.

So, discipline your child if he / she shows you disrespect. This does not mean to beat your child senseless. This means that you should determine a course of discipline that will deter the action not desired. If your discipline is not deterring the problem behavior, then the discipline is not severe enough. Make it more severe! But do not dishonor God by allowing this type of behavior to continue.

I have heard so many parents say that it makes them feel bad when they discipline their children. Well, of course it does! Just like it hurts God when you do something that requires him to discipline you. If it did not make you feel badly, then you do not love your child. But because it makes you feel badly to administer a punishment, it shows that you love your child. Children need to have direction and boundaries in life, just like you and I. God realizes this as well and that is why God has given us the bible as the guidelines for us to follow. When we do not follow the guidelines that He has set up, there are consequences. You have seen them just like I have. Our God is a loving God, He disciplines us when we stray from Him.

Therefore, discipline your children as God disciplines you. Raise your children in a way that Honors God. Don't let Satan pull your children away from you, not even one step. Love your children as God loves you. And you will be happy years later when your child has grown up to be a positive, God loving adult, raising children the way that he/she was raised in God.

A friend of mine once said that he was listening to his son talk to his friends one day. The kids were talking about one of their friends. They were explaining how lucky that friend was because his parents would always let him do anything he wanted to do. Then my friends son spoke up saying, "No, I don't think that it is that way at all. I think that his parents must not love him very much." Can you believe this? This is a statement from a 17 year old. In my opinion, that boy understands the love of his parents. He understands that in order to love a child, boundaries have to be set, and consequences must be enforced if the boundaries are not obeyed.

Parents, love your children. Read the loving guidelines for our lives with your children. Read the bible together as a family. Discuss what you have read and why God is saying these things to you. Listen to what your children have to say about what they have read. Discuss with them in a loving manner, as God always has a loving heart for you.

Kids, Love your parents. Honor your parents. Listen to me, there have been many times in my adult life that I have not agreed with my parents. But I honor them by listening to them. The answer to your parents is not, "But, I'm NOT." The answer should always be, "Yes Ma'am" or "Yes Sir". I think that you will find that more times than not, the things that your parents are telling you to do, are for your own good, or your own safety. I would be willing to bet that if you listened to your parents, then went into your room and dove into your bible, you would find that what your parents are asking you to do is biblical as well! God is asking you to do the same thing! Try it, I bet you will find that I am correct at least 90% of the time.

If you want to be great on the ball field, you read the playbook and execute the plays as closely as you can to the way that they were designed. If you want to be a great cheerleader, you practice the cheers the way that they were designed until you have perfected them. A winning game plan produces a winning game. God has a winning game plan for your life. If you want to be successful in life, go to the playbook that God has provided for you, read it, and execute life the way that it was designed by God. The bible is God's playbook. Read it, understand it, and obey it. Don't ever let Satan get ahold of your life and pull you away from the wonderful life that God has planned for you!

Happy Father's Day - A Tribute To My Dad

Father's Day is fast approaching. I understand the significants of Father's Day and have come to realize that being a father is one of the most awesome privileges bestowed upon me by God.

This past year has given me plenty of food for thought to reflect about my father. When I was a young boy, my dad travelled extensively. Most Mondays through Thursdays he would be away from home working hard as a traveling service manager. He was the best at what he did and took great pride in doing the work that God had given him the best he could. But more times than not, I would miss the father / son times that we were missing. In retrospect, I look back now and remember that even though he was not home monday through thursday, he was ALWAYS at my games on friday afternoon or evening, no matter where they were being played. It did not matter how difficult it was for him to attend, he was always there. As a child, it was great to see him there. As an adult, it is great to know the love that he had for his children, and the great lengths he would go to just to show that love.

Later in my college years, when I strayed from God's will for me, my dad was always there to help me readjust my course through life. When I was young, his guidance was in the form of a loving strong hand, changing to loving and encouraging words backed by his living example when I was older. But I think the fact that he was always there made the most significant impact.

Now, I am much older, with children of my own. I spend countless hours reading the bible and praying and talking with God. And in doing this, one of the things I like the most about our God is that He is always there too. Sometimes he corrects us with a strong hand, and sometimes with loving encouraging words. But He is always there.

It is in this that I have realized that my father is very much a Godly man. He has always raised me in Godly ways, the best he knew how. For that I am extremely grateful and thankful that God has given me a dad that has chosen to love and honor God by trying to raise his children the way that God wanted and by using God as an example to follow.

More times than not, actions speak much louder than words. Economic times have impacted my family extremely hard. I have lost my job during the worst time possible. Stress levels at my house have been the highest I have ever seen. But during all this my dad sat me down and said, "Son, stay in constant prayer, ask for guidance". Wise words from a very wise man, repeating the words from the wisest. Psalms 25:5 - "guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior, and my hope is in you all the day long."

My dad has been a wonderful godly example to me my whole life. He has always loved me, cared for me, guided me, been an example for me to follow, and has kept his footsteps close to Jesus so that the example that he set for me was the example that God wished.

So this Father's Day, I want my dad to know how much I love him. I want him to know how much I appreciate the efforts he made to always be there for me. I want him to know how much I am grateful that he chose to be close with God, so that the example he set for me was a Godly example. But most importantly, I want to thank God for giving me a father that expresses his love to me everyday. I am so blessed to have a father like my father, and I thank him for being there for me always, and for loving me endlessly.

I love you Dad! Happy Father's Day!

Scott

ARE YOU READY!!

Are you ready? Let me repeat it again... ARE YOU READY?????

I was sent this video from a friend of mine, and it is the best example I have ever seen of the coming of Christ. Please watch it.

Matthew 24:27 

²⁷For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

I say again..... ARE...YOU...READY??? Separation from God is an eternal thing, not a temporary thing. Jesus could return at any time.

This video made me think about my own life. I have been a Christian for a long time. My thoughts were, "Scott, Are you SURE!!" I thought for a moment, and the answer is, "Yes!! I am ABSOLUTELY sure!" I am not only absolutely sure about me, I am absolutely sure about my wife, my son, and my daughter.

Are you sure? Kids, if you are not sure about where you stand with God, MAKE SURE!! If you don't know how, I will lead you here and now.

Pray this prayer with me now!

"Lord, I know that I am a sinner, and cannot get to heaven by myself. I don't know everything about this Lord, but I do know this: Jesus died on the cross for me, for my sins. And for that I am eternally grateful. Jesus said that He stands at the door and knocks. So, today, I am opening the door of my heart to Jesus to be the savior and the leader of my life. Please come into my life and save me. Amen" 

That is all you need to do to be saved by Jesus.... to be SURE... to be READY for His return.

So Kids, be ready!! Be sure!!

If you have read this article, and have asked Jesus into your heart as a result of reading it, I want to hear from you. Please just send me an email with your name and address telling me. I have a little gift for you to celebrate your special day. Nothing could make me happier for you than knowing that you are God's child and will live with Him eternally in heaven.