The lost pearl – A timeless appeal

Since ancient times, the pearl has been a symbol of unblemished perfection. It is the oldest known gem, and for centuries it was considered the most valuable. A fragment of the oldest known pearl jewelry, found in the sarcophagus of a Persian princess who died in 520 BC, is displayed in the Louvre in Paris. To the ancients, pearls were a symbol of the moon and had magical powers. In classical Rome, only persons above a certain rank were allowed to wear pearl jewelry. The Latin word for pearl literally means "unique", attesting to the fact that no two pearls are identical. In another four part series I will endeavor to explore the precious existence of woman, likening her to the precious nature of the pearl and delve into our physique as to where we as women have misplaced our value.

It is not a coincidence that I chose the pearl as it has huge biblical connections, as you will see as these articles evolve.  The lost value of women will be linked to the precious nature and quality of the pearl. In the beginning of creation men and women were given equal dominion over all things. Even though Eve became the central focus of the fall of men and women having committed the one sin God had admonished not to, it never changed the value God placed on women. His design for her never changed. He found great value in she, woman. He found such value that the scripture makes mention how he fashioned her. He took great care when he shaped her hips knowing they would need to carry the children that were to multiple the earth. Prior to making her he sized up Adam looked at his strengths and his weaknesses from there realizing that there was no one suitable for the man, he shaped her to be his perfect help meet, someone designed to complement him. Woman is spoken of affectionately through scripture. Glimpses are given to us of women who God honored and many men took time to mention in scripture.

There are a myriad of wise women; there was Ruth who did exactly what her mother-in-law told her and honored her with not only her mouth but her actions and we see one of the greatest marriages take place, linked to the line of Christ. There was Esther who was wise enough to see that no one except the Eunuch seemed to be worthy of her obedience and instruction. With that wisdom she became queen and saved the Jews. Hannah realized that the only way to open her barren womb was to absolutely surrender herself and the first fruit of her womb to God, from that realization and acceptance her womb was opened to not only one of the greatest prophets to lead Israel but God also gave her other offsprings. Samson’s mother who never having had children trusted God and bore the strongest judge Israel ever had, the Shumanite woman who trusted Elijah during a famine and ate to her full until the famine ended, Rahab the prostitute who took in the spies of Israel securing a promise of safety for herself and her family, Deborah the woman judge and prophetess, Moses wife who warned him of his failure to circumcise his sons, saving his life, and Abigail, wife of Nabal using wisdom to save her family and slaves by going to David excusing the actions of her husband. The list can go on the importance is for you to delve into the lives of these women in your personal bible study time and embrace the role they’ve played in the wellbeing of their community and their family.

As we began the pearl is unique. The history of the pearl tells, similar to our fingerprints, there are no two pearls alike. This Almighty God with an infinite mind made both and yet with all possibilities we know that He is so phenomenal in His design that in all the world, when making woman, he made no two alike. So why do we look at other women and desire what they have? Why do we look into the mirror and find fault with what we see? Why do we second guess our greatness? Why do we doubt the ability to be loved? Why do we underscore our abilities? Why do we hate ourselves? The simple answer is we have forgotten our true value and in order to revive and thrive we must reconstruct our true value and then learn how to maintain it.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the second of four parts, “Cast not your pearls amongst swine.”

Doing Me – Nobody is better at doing me than me!

No one does me better than me. This is a reality all must accept in order to reach a place of contentment, a place of peace, and a place of self-empowerment.  Unfortunately so many people look at others and wish for what they have. Or they immediately become insecure and take an immediate disliking to the person who is doing nothing more than doing themselves. We have this uncanny disposition to “hate” on people for no reason at all. It’s ironic to me how instead of endeavoring to become more like the person we feel jealousy towards we plot to bring them down, harm them, gossip about them, and work equally as hard to discredit their character. How do you know when you’ve too can say you are great at doing you? Glad you asked. Here are a couple of nuggets.

• When you can look at yourself in the mirror and love the you that looks back at you – you will thrive at being you.

• When you can wake up each morning and embrace all that the world has for you today, knowing that whatever “it” is, you can face it because you have exactly what it takes to make it through the day then you can confidently say, “I am great at doing me.”

You also must be endowed with the following truth:

1. Nothing can happen in your life that God doesn’t allow. Anything pertaining to you must first get permission from God. In order to know whether that “something” is due to pruning or correction you must view your life through the lens of the bible. Are your efforts to be a reflection of Christ genuine?
2. You are fully equipped, keeping in mind the promise of God that He will not put anything more on you than you can bear. This means whatever comes your way you are fully prepared to deal with “it” head on. Because you can rest in this knowledge, as long as you trust God, you get to leave all the consequences up to Him. Another scripture reminds you that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
3. 
   Nothing harmful thing can come up against you. That is of course if you believe the promise that no weapon formed against you shall prosper.  The other realization is, “if God is for you who can be against you?”  
4. As long as you are living your life according to God’s instruction you rest in the truth that when your ways please God He will make you at peace with your enemies. You can also trust if you delight in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart.
5. All your needs will be met, because you go it, another promise has been made to that affect. The scriptures states God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.
6. 
   You stand on the truth that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. This means everything about your physique is perfect and made to specification.
7. The talents and gifts that have been bestowed upon you are uniquely yours to fulfill as only you can fulfill them.

So with those things in mind who could be better at doing you than you? You don’t have to look at other people around you and get an attitude, wish for their things, or covet their life because you have a phenomenal life ahead of you that will decidedly flourish based upon you participation. While it is true things have been deeply embedded in your heart and mind, it is your responsibility to blossom fully within the gifts directly linked to you. We are to stir up the gifts and make excellent use of them.

In order to perfect those gifts then:

• You must take classes, get instruction, obtain a mentor, and practice honing those gifts, skills, and talents.
• You must give maximum effort to exploring the breadth, width, and height those skills, talents, and gifts will afford.
• You must be willing to use them to their fullest.
• You must be willing to share your gifts, talents, and skills.
• You must be attentive to the prompting of God as He positions you to go to various levels in your life.
• You must be available as opportunities are brought your way. You must be quiet and ensure that the direction you are heading in is the direction that you should go. You must trust if there is a door that you are to go through God will open it. Conversely if there is a door He does not want you to go through He will close it.

Bottom line if you remain focused on the plans that have been established for you, and you pursue the things that are available based upon your persistent and faithful actions, then you succeed at doing you and you can rejoice in other’s who too, are great at doing them!

Living a Prosperous Life in 2011

(A message on prosperity)

Every woman wants to experience prosperity in her life.  For the majority of individuals, that prosperity is generally material. To those of you living a life of lack, we have good news; you no longer have to live a life of lack. To those of you living in a state of just enough, we have good news for you as well; you no longer have to live your life in a state of just enough. The question is not “Can I have it?” The better question is “What am I willing to do to receive it?” Too many ministries are raising Christians with unrealistic expectations of financial wealth and other forms of prosperity. It is not enough to state with your mouth that you have accepted Christ as your personal savior. The confession, if it reached your heart, is your ticket to heaven. However the abundance, the pressed down shaken together, the barns bursting open, is obtained with much more sacrifice.  

You can have a life with more than enough if you are willing to stand by and on the word of God. Very few preachers these days want to speak about holiness. They have failed to speak the truth and tell you that prosperity is not simply due to your tithes and offering. I know what Malachi says about robbing God.  Please remember you cannot simply stand on one scripture. You must study the word in its entirety. Never let one scripture be the basis of your Christian walk. You must read the bible in its entirety and receive the richness of God’s word and understand fully the mind of Christ. Very few preachers want to make it plain that receiving God’s abundance is based upon obedience to His word and His will. Holiness is the true condition of obtaining a prosperous life that is pleasing to God. We will support these principles by taking you through the word of God. You tell me whether the truth is being provided without compromise.  

In order to live a full life we recommend that you read Deuteronomy 28:1-14 daily.

Deuteronomy 28: 1-2, Now it shall be, (This is the promise. Remember the promises of God are all yes and amen. 2 Corinthian 1:20) if (Key word. It shall be if you do the following.) you will diligently (Diligent is defined “constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything.” Synonyms:  tirelessly, unremitting, untiring. You put everything into it.) obey (Don’t miss this ladies, please read and study with care. Obey means to comply with or follow the commands, restrictions, wishes and instructions of. To submit or conform in action to. To be obedient.) the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake (This is rich so hide these words in your heart ladies.  Overtake is defined this way, to catch up with and pass. If you diligently obey God, your prosperity will catch up with and pass you! Now you have to admit that’s good word and good news! Overtake is further defined to move ahead of in achievement, productions, scores, etc, to surpass!) if (There’s that word “if” again. “If” always means a condition of.) you will obey the Lord your God.  

The promise of abundance is given twice in the first two scriptures with the same conditions following the promise. Don’t miss! You want to internalize this “if” a life of prosperity is your goal. God is so good that after He spells out what He requires of you to receive blessings, He gives you a glimpse of what a life that reflects obedience and love for God looks like. He is so wonderful that He takes out the questions of what is and is not covered and He lovingly shares His plan of treasures and promises waiting for you “if” (There is that word conditional again.) you live a life that is obedient to His specific commands. I know I keep repeating this but so does God.  If God thought it important enough to keep saying it, who am I to stray from His guidance? 

Deuteronomy 28:3-9, Blessed (divinely or supremely favored, blissfully happy, content. Bringing thankfulness and happiness) shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. (No matter where you go blessings will overtake you.) Blessed shall be the offspring of your body (Your obedience and blessings will transfer to your children. They will be blessed because of your obedience.) and the produce of your ground (These were farmers generally so you can apply this to your work place or your place of business.) and the offspring of your beast (This can be transferred to your employees or anything else that is part of your ability to prosper.) the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. (Everything that pertains to your prosperity will bring you much joy and continued advancement.) Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl (The cupboards in your home shall always remain plentiful). Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out (Coming or going blessings will follow you and overtake you). The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; (You will see God’s hands on those who are attempting to bring you harm. Your enemies will be defeated.) they (your enemies) shall come out against you one way and shall flee before you seven ways (They won’t know what hit them. They will be breaking their necks to get away from you.) The Lord will command the blessings upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. (Wherever God moves you, you will flourish.) The Lord will establish (Found, institute, build or bring into being on a firm or stable basis. To bring about permanently) you as a holy (set a part for God) people to Himself, as He swore to you if (There’s that condition again.) you will keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and walk in His ways. (God reminds you what you must do to receive bountifully from Him.)  

Deuteronomy 28:12, The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season (Once again the focus is farming. Transfer the thoughts to your career and other things that deal directly with your prosperity. Notice God says “in its season”. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 reminds us that there is a time for everything under the sun. This is a key point to your sanity. You have a season for all these blessings to over take you if (the clause) you live your life according to the word of God. Don’t stress out and put your timeline on it. Let God put His timeline on it and simply live your life as God has instructed. Be reminded that God is not slack (slow) about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you (This passage speaks specifically about salvation, yet the principle applies.) God is not slack. He will do what He said He would do in His timing. I might add His perfect timing. God knows when you are ready to receive various things in your life. He spends time preparing us so when blessings come we can receive them in the spirit they were intended. I could give you many scriptures about waiting on the Lord. I encourage you to do an in-depth study on waiting on God and the promises and rewards associated with waiting.  Store this scripture in your heart: “God is not a man that He would lie nor the son of man that He should repent” (change His mind.) Numbers 23:19. In order to please God during this waiting period, we must stand on Proverbs 3:5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding.” Trust God to do exactly what He says He is going to do. Try not to figure out in your finite mind when the Infinite mind is going to manifest those blessings in your life. Actually I take that back; we do know when God is going to announce our season; when we are ready.) and to bless all the work of your hand (Everything you put your hand to God is going to bless); and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.     

Deuteronomy 28:13-14 And the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail (You will be first and not last), and you shall be above and you shall not be underneath if you will listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left (Don’t get distracted by the world and ungodly counsel. No matter how good it may sound, test all counsel by the word of God. Stop going by feelings or “it sounds good”.  Stand on what the word says and do it.) to go after other gods to serve them. (Other gods are anything that takes your focus away from God.) 

If you still doubt the validity of this message, please read through the Old Testament and see when the Jews had much and when they had lacked. You will discover that they always had much when they walked (lived their life) according to the Word of God. When they turned from God and decided to be wise in their own eyes they lost everything.   

Here are some scriptures to store in your heart to remind you of your priorities as a child of God.  

·       Paul reminds us that because Christ died for us, we are not to live our lives for ourselves, but for God.  2 Corinthians 5:15 

·       For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10  (What are you living for, things or holiness unto God?) 

·       James 1:27 reminds us that true undefiled religion is taking care of widows and orphans and keeping oneself holy. Ladies  we will be judged on this standard. What are you doing with your resources? What are you doing with your time? What are you doing with your talents? 

·       Search me. O God, and know my heart (my motives) try me (test my motives) and know my anxious thoughts and see if there be any harmful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalms 139:23-24 

·       No good thing does He (God) withhold from those who walk uprightly.  Psalms 84:11b 

·       Man cannot serve two Gods. He will love one and hate the other. Matthew 6:24. You cannot serve God and money. God is letting us know that if we covet material things and not the things that concern Him, then our true love is material and not God. Don’t get confused.  

Now I know some of you are still challenged. You are wondering if I am saying wealth is not a good thing and anyone who enjoys nice things is wrong. Did I say obtaining nice things is wrong? God forbid! I enjoy nice things like the best of them. I am saying don’t let your pursuit of prosperity begin and end with a desire for riches and the acquisition of nice things.  Don’t allow your heart to get clouded with stuff.  Instead, let it get clouded with the Stuff Provider. Seek His will and His desire and He in turn, will give you the desires of your heart. Psalms 37:4.  Since 1 Peter 1:16 instructs us to, “Be ye holy; for I am holy,” the ultimate goal of our walk should be the pursuit of holiness.

The most important heart felt sentiment you should store in your heart and take out of this message is, when you seek the things and take care of the things that are important to God, He will take care of those things that are important to you.

Much prosperity to you and yours in 2011!

A king of my own

Everyone woman, I don’t care what you say; every woman wants a king of her own. Recently we watched Kate Middleton marry Prince William. Here was a young woman, what they call a commoner in England, lands England’s most eligible bachelor. Prior to her, her late mother-in-law Princess Diana was a product of what we all thought was the dream, marrying the next in line to the throne. Their marriage seemed a fairy tale. We later learned all that was glitter was not gold. Prior to both Diana and Kate there was another wedding to royalty and that was Grace Kelly, who became the princess of Monaco. For all we know this was a legitimate fairy tale union. I am reminded of even an earlier union, not so fairy tallish because she was drafted into her position, Esther, the Jewish peasant.

Let’s glean into Esther’s life and let’s see what we can glean from her that may allow us to position ourselves for a king of our own. Esther was the orphaned relation of a Jewish man named Mordeci. Esther was living pretty much a carefree life. The king on the other hand had a wife named Vashti. She was an obstinate woman who defied her husband. Not only did she defy her husband but she defied her husband who was the king, in front of all his boys and his guests. Let me say up front there is much discussion about the king wanting to display her before all his boys as he had been drinking, eating, and making merry, showing off all his precious and expensive items and Vashti was another item he wanted to show off. This lesson ladies’ is for free – if you are unhappy with something your husband is doing, wait until you are alone and share those concerns with him. If you share those concerns in front of his friends, family, co-workers, enemies, or whoever, you position them to have to decrease the shame they feel, whether right or wrong, inflicted in front of others by less than favorable behavior. If you want to read the full story on Esther and Vashti read the book of Esther.

Once Vashti had embarrassed the king, his boys came to him and stated (my paraphrase), “look our wives have lost their minds; they feel if the queen can diss the king in front of all and make him look foolish and receive no repercussions, then they feel they should be able to do the same. You have to make this good or we will all have to live with wives who show no respect to their husbands.” The king asked, “what should I do?” The counsel he received was to put the queen away and get a new one. Now let’s be clear this is not an article of how to get rid of your husband or your wife. The king decided to take the advice of his boys, put his wife away, and set a decree out to all young women that they were to come and reside in the castle of the king.

My sanctified mind would like to explore some of the character traits of the women who were drafted into this new world. There was one woman who decided since she was being considered to be the queen she might as well we be treated like one right now. She immediately sized up her competition and decided she was the best of the lot. Lady one we will call “full of herself”. Ms. Full of herself paraded herself around the other women treating them as subordinates. Then there was Ms. Demanding. She had to have everything now, I mean isn’t that the queenly attitude and expectation. In steps Ms. Complainer, things just weren’t going her way. Somehow she was not being respected as the potential future queen. There were many others and I am sure you get the point. Then there was Esther. Esther’s demeanor was quiet. She took in her surroundings. She observed the other women and their attitudes try to discern which were gaining in a way that benefitted all. To her surprise there was no one in the room that she felt she could bond with, be taken under their wing, or anyone she even desired to imitate. This mild conservative woman caught the eye of the Eunuch, the individual who was charged with overseeing the women, the potential future queen. Little did the unwise women know that he had strong influence when consulting with the king. The eunuch approached Esther and began schooling her. He taught her how to carry herself, how to prepare herself. The wisdom of Esther, realized immediately, that he was definitely someone to listen to and she did. She didn’t question him, she didn’t argue with him, and she didn’t discount him. Many know how the story ended, Esther became queen.

Tips on getting a king of your own:

1.      Follow those who project a life worthy of following. There are those in our lives who are jacked up and for some strange reason we take their advice. If the advice doesn’t present a positive outcome, RUN from their counsel.

2.      Seek out instruction that provides a secure road map to being the perfect help mate. This help mate is to compliment her future husband. Where he is weak she is strong and vice versa. It was never intended for you to lead him, lord yourself over him, or raise him. Become, evolve, into that phenomenal woman who as they say in proverbs 31; the men in the courts are envious of him because of the exceptional wife he has.

3.      Be quiet and observe. Don’t be so quick to be out in the front or run your mouth. It’s the one who preserves herself and maintains her composure confidently that stands out and garners the attention of the eligible.

4.      Develop your inner beauty. We spend a great deal of time fixing our outward and spend little if no time on our inward. We are reminded that it is our inner person that wins individuals over. That inner beauty is developed through reading the scriptures and becoming the model of virtue, wisdom, and hospitality. This inner beauty has inner strength laced with intelligence.

5.      One desiring a king of her own must first submit to the one and only King before she can ever submit to her king. If you are not willing to submit to Christ as your Lord and Savior how in the world will you ever submit to your husband?  

So if you desire a king of your own follow this road map and see what your outcome will be. Always remember your desire should line up with God’s desire a man after His own heart, that is truly all the royalty you need and my, my, my what a king for the queen!

OWNING UP TO IT

It is a crying shame how many never take responsibility for their actions; now I want you to take notice that I am talking about those who say they are believers.  I understand that it goes all the way back to the garden when God confronted Adam about his disobedience; Adam immediately blamed God for giving him his wife.  I know there are those who always want to place the responsibility of their actions on someone else; it is time to stop blaming someone else for your wrong and start admitting your failure to do right.

It is also a crying shame for those who never accept responsibility for their actions; how they will not apologize for anything they do wrong.  They act as if everyone else is at fault.  This is nothing more than blatant arrogance!  Look, if you are wrong, admit it and apologize for your wrongdoing.  Stop avoiding the fact that you were at fault.  The Proverb writer states: “These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren” (Proverbs 6:16-19 NKJV).  If you take notice, the first thing that is an abomination to the Lord is “Pride.”  Therefore, if you continue in your arrogance and thinking you are too good to apologize, I’ve got some news for you, the Lord is going to break you.  Own up to your wrong and apologize!

It is also sad when an individual, who is supposed to be a Christian, can always point out the wrong of others, but fail to even notice anything wrong about them.  The funny thing is when something is pointed out about them they become very angry or they are in denial about their discrepancy.  They tend to boast about all of their good qualities as though they have never sinned a day in their lives.  What a Joke!  Everyone must own up to the fact that there is the possibility of some shortcomings in their character.  It is imperative that all Christians take the time to be honest with themselves and examine their lives thoroughly.  After examination is completed the natural next step should be confession; admitting when you are wrong!

Let us look at the life of King David who failed miserably when he deliberately sinned with Bathsheba and found out that she was pregnant his arrogance and deceit got the best of him. Desiring to keep their union a secret he tried to trick her husband by sending for him to come back from the battle he was fighting on behalf of the king. This faithful solider was giving his all while his leader was taking license with one of his most faithful servant’s possessions.  David’s cover up scheme was to prey on the nature of Uriah’s manhood.

However Uriah was an honorable man and the providence of God was directing the events.  Uriah refused to go into his wife.  David then tried to get Uriah drunk so that he would go and lay down with his wife, Bathsheba.  Needless to say that didn’t work either.  David then devised a plan to send Uriah back to the battle field and have the men withdraw from him in the heat of the battle. That attempt was successful and Uriah died and David went and took his wife and married her.  God sent the Prophet Nathan to confront David about his wrongdoing and David repented of his sin.  He admitted his failure; he did not make excuses about why he did what he did, he owned up to his fault.  That is the response God wants all of us to follow. 

While David’s example is extreme it is meant to cover a myriad of issues, small and large, that each of us fails to acknowledge, accept our roles in their outcomes, and refuse to seek forgiveness. What a phenomenal growth experience you will experience when you learn to be honest with yourself about the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is only when we are honest with ourselves that we will be able to be honest with others, and from that honesty will spring healing for everyone concerned.

Your servant in Christ

Pastor Moore 

(Guest Commentator)

Train up a child

I had the privilege of attending Mother’s Day service at my mother’s church. Her Pastor, Pastor Warner, preached a powerful sermon and I wanted to expand on its principles in order to bless especially those who didn’t have the opportunity to hear him. His primary text came from 2 Timothy 1:3, which made mention of Paul’s clear understanding that Timothy’s early biblical foundation had been established and imitated through the teachings and lives of his grandmother and his mother. Further in the text Paul states that because of that sound instruction he is positive that Timothy will prevail. What a picture! What a statement! Without compromise the women in Timothy’s life had held fast to scripture and lived a life that could be imitated with excitement, sustenance and endurance because Timothy had been exposed to those principles throughout his childhood and even into his adulthood. As parents that should be what we strive to accomplish in the lives of our children. We all know the scripture train up a child in the way in which they should go and when they are older they will not depart. This scripture doesn’t mean to infer that your children will never chose a road that you had not instructed, it simply means in their right mind they will remember the sound instruction and will eventually gravitate back to what they know to be the best way for them. Now don’t get me wrong there are also some children who may never stray, they may embrace the teachings and truly honor them in their hearts. The best way to minimize the straying is to be sure that you are a parent who lives by the

 principle “I do as I say.” Why is this important? Good question. It’s important because your children are watching your every move. It doesn’t matter to them that you all go to church every time the door is open, when they subsequently see when no one from the church is around you cussing, drunk, high on whatever, sleeping with whomever, always complaining, and always unhappy. Trust me even though you are in church every time the door is open what they see is someone going through the motions of being a Christian but failing to believe it and live it themselves. There’s a scripture that says “they have a form of godliness but they deny the power within.”

Here’s what that looks like;

• You walk around saying “I am blessed of the Lord and highly favored.” But as soon as things get tight financially you begin to panic and stress visibly in front of your children.
• 
  You say I am a Christian but you hate your brother or sister. 

• You get your shout straight on or your dance for all to see and soon as you get out of the church you’re cussing out the car that just cut you off. You’re stopping off at the local spot and purchasing the bootlegged movie. (By the way just so you know you’re stealing. How do you tell your child not to steal and in front of them you steal?)
• 
  You get to speaking in tongues and as soon as you get to work you’re being lazy, you’re speaking ill of your employer to other co-workers, instead of giving your all you’re slacking off, trying just to get by. 

• You participate in prayer in church and yet you have absolutely no prayer life away from the church.
• You sing gospel music while at church but as soon you get in our car and until you return to church you listen to secular music.
• You dust off your bible just in time for church but you never crack it open away from the church.
• 
  When someone is going through you tell them what you would do and not what the word of God says.

The list could go on but I think you get the point. You are perpetrating a lie about your life before everyone, which is showing a form of power and yet you live a defeated life – denying the truth of the ability of God to handle all your situations and to be everything you need.

There are things my brother’s learned from my father; things such as fixing things around the house, providing for their family, carrying things instead of the women, and working on vehicles. They almost verbatim do those exact things. As children we emulate our parents whether consciously or subconsciously. No matter how we view it our children take our lead. The question begs what will be your legacy with your children? What is it that will be said about you when others encounter your child? We must remember that raising a precious child is an awesome responsibility and for those who don’t take it seriously you will not get away with anything, there is a day coming when you will have to give account for how you raised your children.

At the end of the day if you are training your child up in the way that they should go here are some character traits your children will possess.

• They respect authority
• They have a healthy fear of the Lord
• They look forward to attending church and worshipping the Lord
• Their friends and those they encounter know there’s something special about your child (they’re a Christian but they live it instead of saying it.)
• They choose their friends wisely. They tend to replicate their values.
• They don’t participate in harsh behavior towards others for sport.
• They respect the sanctity of life. They value others.
• 
  They respect YOU. They honor their parents not just with their mouth but with their deeds. 

• They are hospitable

So as we began train up your children in the way that they should go so when they are older they will fondly remember the sound teaching and call you “blessed.”