The Favorite Child: Proverbs 3:3-4

By a show of hands who thinks their brother or sister is the favorite child? Ok now who thinks they were the favorite child? It is interesting that children believe parents show favoritism. I know... I know... as you read this you are probably saying, "They do!" Just keep reading because the reality is we believe our family has favorites because deep down we all long to be favored. Maybe your family does or does not, but all children longed to be favored by their family. The good news even if no one else favors you God does.
Proverbs 3:3-4 says, " Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man." When we love one another and put faithfulness/loyalty as a high priority in our lives God and man will favor us. Since being favored is what we long for hear the wisdom of God through Solomon. You are favored when you show love and faithfulness. In short, you are a favored child of God and the cool thing is, He is big enough to have many favorites.

What Do We Value?

Growing up I had a pretty massive baseball card collection. As the years went by I sort of forgot about this collection. Until one day when my mom called me to inform me they were moving and wondered what she was to do with all my baseball cards. In the midst of that phone call a flood of childhood memories and "hard" work putting this collection together came to my mind. Also the beating heart of a 10 year old boy trapped in a 30 year old body was imagining the worst that could happen to these treasures from childhood. I calmly told my mom that I would pick them up and bring them home where they belonged.

Although this event is slightly exaggerated, well not really, it did get me to thinking about the value of these cards and do I value God and His wisdom in the same way. Proverbs chapter 2:6-8 says, "For the LORD gives, wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints." The short of this passage is this... God's wisdom is valuable. It is not simply knowledge we put in our heads, but it is knowledge that is lived out in our everyday lives. Valuable wisdom from our heavenly Father protects us from Satan's deceptions as well as the distraction and attractions of the world.

The question comes back to... Do I value His Wisdom? and if I do then that means I need to trust His word and His judgment. The true value of something in our lives is tested when under fire. My mom's choice of what to do with my baseball cards allowed me to see that she would throw them away if I wanted her to, but if I truly valued them then I should come pick them up and take care of them. I chose to value them. I also choose to value God's wisdom. 

Mysterious God

Growing up I loved mystery novels like the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes. My fascination with mystery and seeing how these sleuths would solve crimes was amazing to a young 10 year old. As I got older my fascination with mystery never diminished. I also realized that there are a lot of people who love mystery. TV shows like NCIS and Law and Order engage the minds of the tv viewers and they love it. Mysterious TV shows are some of the most watched shows on cable TV. Groups of people also like mystery in their own lives. They seek organizations that appeal to the mysterious sides of their followers. People love mystery. The question arises, in the Christian faith, is the One true God a God that does not want to be known, but followed blindly?

Granted there are things that humanity will never know about God, but this is something that is known, He wants to be known. In Genesis, He walked with Adam and Eve before The Fall. He created covenants with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. An idea that was not foreign to these men because the known world, at that time, used a covenant process. In Exodus, He used some of Egypt's gods against them in the plagues that ravaged their lands. In Deuteronomy, He used laws to help guide the people of Israel to live peaceful and structured lives. In the New Testament, Jesus used parables of farming and fishing to communicate spiritual truths to the people in those societies. The list could go on. What must be understood is that we may not be able to comprehend all there is about God, but we can know Him.

God, in all His power, could disappear from our lives and become a mysterious being that desires not to be known, but forces worship. However, this is not the God we see in the Old or the New Testament. God speaks to His people in language and processes that they would understand because He wants the people to know that they can trust Him with their lives. God goes through an awful lot of trouble to engage people where they are at so that they can know Him and experience His love and grace. So is God trying to hide from His creation? Absolutely not! He is still saying the same thing Jesus said as He ascended into heaven, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  

A good book on this topic

Called to Be Holy by John Oswalt

Emotionalism vs. Salvation

Emotion vs. Salvation

“I cried a lot.” I have had many students say this to me as an indication that God has saved them. Although I do believe God can bring people to tears over their sin, Christians must be careful not to use emotion as the indication of salvation or even that a service was good. The thing that Christians must be careful not to do is begin to worship the emotional high we get from a worship service, but rather the Creator. Losing sight of God as the center of salvation and our worship can bring about false worship and false salvation.

Christians must ground themselves in what the Gospel teaches. True salvation may or may not bring about emotion. However, true salvation will bring about transformation (Romans 12:1-2). Churches put so much emphasis on baptism that they lose sight of discipleship. Baptism numbers can be high, but the question the church must ask itself is, “Are these that are being baptized producing fruit?” In other words these new Christians should be sharing their story with others. They should be inviting people to church. They should be actively involved in their local church. A transformed soul of Jesus, whether they have cried or not, will produce fruit. Mathew 7:15-20 tells us this much, “You will recognize them by their fruit.” Emotionalism may produce temporary results, but true salvation will create a burning desire in the Christians heart that cannot be quenched by persecution or mockery.

Are They Worth It?

           

Leadership is equipping. This phrase holds true in any facet of life. A teacher does not become a teacher over night or a preacher becomes a preacher over night. Within every facet of life, people are trained by others who have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt. Student ministry is not any different.

Student ministry is very tricky. It is like no other position in the church. The student leader must relate to the seventh grader who still picks his nose and plays Halo as well as his mom who is a doctor and has more brain power than the entire church combined. However, the great divide between immature student and mature parent can be crossed. The way it is crossed is by following Ephesians 4:11-13. Leaders must equip the body of Christ, parents, students, aunts, uncles, etc. A student leader’s job is to develop relationships with students and reinforce spiritual disciplines that should be taught at home. Their job does not stop with students. They must encourage and equip the parents with books, music, workshops, and any other tool that can aid in assisting the parent in becoming at better spiritual leader. In other words, a leader’s job is not to be a day care on Sundays and Wednesdays, but a minister equipping parents and students with tools to aid in their spiritual journey. Here are some suggestions of some good tools to assist parents and students:

Parent/ Leader Resources

Rethink

Your First Two Years of Youth Ministry

www.whatisorange.org

Student Resources

Why So Many Gods

How to Stay Christian in College (good gift for high school seniors)

Do Hard Things

In closing, student leaders have a wonderful privilege to make an impact on a generation that most have written off as lazy and disrespectful. They also have the privilege of partnering with parents and equipping them to help their kids. With a lot of patience, love and perseverance this generation can become hard working and God honoring. The question now becomes… Are they worth it?

            

The Purpose of X18

You maybe wondering what X18 stands for. That is a very good question. X18 stands for Exodus 18. To refresh you memory, Exodus 18 is the story of where Moses was having a difficult time leading the Israelite. Jethro, his father in law, comes into town and advises him on how to delegate some of his responsibilities out to others in the group. Jethro's advice is the inspiration behind this blog. It is not a blog to get others to do a minister's work for them, but a blog to share advice and resources on how to help ministers in their current situation. I pray that this blog allows experienced ministers to share their wealth of experience with young ministers such as myself.
Each month their will be a new blog post from a different person that reflect their field of expertise. The goal is for these ministers to equip readers with tools to go back to their churches and begin to use within their respective ministries. Please feel free to send any feedback to x18resourceministries@gmail.com

A few sites that may help you with student and/or children's ministry:
Children Ministry:
www.whatisorange.org ( A great site for Sunday School or Children's Church material)

Youth Ministry:
www.4truth.net (a great free resource for apologetics)
www.open.lifechurch.tv (a great free resource for Wednesday night lessons and video clips)