Self esteem is a huge part of our lives and without it, we are complete wrecks. Self esteem gives us the ability to take the extra step, to get out of bed, to make more with our life… From time to time I love to read Isaiah 6 because it is a glimpse into heaven. In it, Isaiah sees God and immediately declares

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (v5).

Prior to today, reading that brought up feelings of fear because I thought Isaiah was afraid of being struck down right then and there.

After reading this today I realized that Isaiah declaration of “woe” is not out of fear of death, but the realization of his sin. Isaiah was a godly man, a God appointed prophet and some may have considered him holy. Isaiah, seeing the Holiness of God realizes his inadequacy to be in the presence of God. Even the Seraphim could not look at God because of his pure holiness.

Isaiah was knocked down and any feelings of self-worth were destroyed. I can imagine as he cries out that he drops to his knees and cries. He is at a point where he has never been. He has never had so little self-esteem in his life to this point. At this point we could ask, what can Isaiah do to get his self-esteem back? The answer is revealed in the next verse.

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said:”Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah did nothing to get his self-esteem back. Only God Himself can renew us from a lack of self-worth/esteem. If you desire to be renewed from a lack of self-esteem, take relief in knowing that it’s not something you can do yourself. Take the burden of shame and guilt away by letting God renew your self-worth. When you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, and when you place your complete trust and faith in him will you be renewed.

If you are a follower of Christ, do you believe that God made you perfect and in His image? Do you believe that God is sovereign and never out of control? Do you believe that you will be renewed like Isaiah? If you do, then patience and trust are the things you should seek. We know that its God who redeems and renews us and we have no control over God’s timing in that, but we do have control over cultivating the fruit of the spirit. Draw closer to God and your love for him will grow, and in turn your love for his plan in you will grow. Seek out the fruit of patience and peace and you will find the healing that you seek. These things are needed to wait on God to do his work in our lives!

This article "How can a Christian get self-esteem?" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

As a father, nothing would be greater than seeing my daughter commit her life to Christ and to follow Him with all her heart. As a father and a Christian, I know I cannot force this onto her. If I force my faith onto her, she would not have her own faith, but that of her parents. There in lies the dilemma! What can we do to be sure our child knows Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior?

Do not force it

We cannot force our children to love Christ. Have you heard of the saying “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still”. We cannot try to talk them into it. When Christ called me into a relationship while in highschool, it wasnt against my will. God, through his grace chose to save me. My friends didn’t save me by convincing me to follow Christ. The act of salvation is solely due to Christ and by no others, so stop trying to force it.

Indirect Exposure

Children love to mimic their parents. I see it everyday in the mannerisms of my 2-year-old daughter. She loves playing “house” and “kitchen”. She also loves playing on daddy’s phone because daddy plays on its. The other day she said “Oh my goodness” and told me “Yes sir”, not because we taught her these things, but she picked up on it. In her effort to be a big girl, she is using her parents and family around her.

My bible study times are not conducive to times when she is awake, so she doesn’t witness that, but she plays while we have bible study and goes to church with us. We talk about Jesus and pray with her around, but we do not force it. We do read her a bible story almost every night out of a toddler bible as well.

Set an example

Since we know our children mimic us, we know that they watch and listen to us constantly. If you live in sin, then Christ cannot be glorified and seen through you. Whereas if you live by the spirit, the fruit of the spirit will pour out of you, allowing your children to see Jesus through you. That child will want to be just like you, whether you are sinful or spirit-filled, so led the outpouring of the Holy Spirit be seen in your life.

Conclusion

Do not force it, but do not hide it. Indirect exposure to a Christian lifestyle won’t bring a child to Christ alone, but it doesn’t hurt it either. Ultimately, demonstrating Christ through you is the key to bringing your children to Christ. So instead of focusing on your child, focus on cultivating your walk with Christ so that fruit can be seen by the people you love the most.

This article "How do I tell my young child about Jesus Christ?" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

To be honest, the world of collections is unknown to my wife and I. Luckily we felt the need to rid ourselves of debt before we got to a point we couldn’t handle paying it. ‘Lucky us’ because what creditors will do to harass, insult and guilt you holds no bounds. Sure, there are laws against certain collection efforts/practices, but man, these people really are ruthless!

In week 5 of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University, the topic is ‘Credit Sharks in Suits’ and I would not recommend missing this lesson. While it did not apply to my situation right now, it made me realize the consequences of poor money management. For those who are being targeted by these collection attempts, Dave gives simple advice to defeat their efforts. Its simple advice if you know it, but many do not, so my recommendation to you is to check out Financial Peace University and attend this lesson!

Our class also tallied our total debts, not including the house and it came up to be a shocking $624,000… or $21,000/person or $42,000/couple…OUCH!

This article "Week 5 – Credit Sharks in Suits | Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

For some reason I forgot to post on our debt snowball last month! We ended 2011 with $21,878 left in debt payments out of the original $32, 683, which was phenomenal considering it was only two and a half months of work! In January, we paid down debt as normal using our snowball amount ($1300) which left us with $20,786,  leaving us with $20,$786 to pay down debt. For you math nerds out there, that doesn’t add up to $1300 because of the interest we paid, which is about ~$250…OUCH!

February

For February we are making a huge dent and making our last payment on a credit card…EVER! We are very excited! Added to our monthly snowball amount, we have a tax return, which allows us to dump an extra $2,590 onto our debt (Yes, we are adjusting what we claim to reduce our return next year). We now only have two non mortgage debts to our name. The first is a HELOC and the second is a student loan… We are getting closer every month!

With the tax return I realized the stark contrast our lives have made in one years time. Last year I do not know what we did with our tax return, perhaps blew it on a trip, or some purchase I’ve already forgotten about? Next year, we will be debt free and our tax return can be used for fun, not debt! YES!

Breakdown of the numbers

Starting debt on January 1, 2012: $21,878

Debt payments this month (and last since I forgot to post it): $5191

Paid $15,971 of $32,683 in 4 months! We’re halfway!

Thanks Dave Ramsey for introducing us to the debt snowball!

This article "January and February debt snowball continues" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

My wife would be the first to tell you that I am extremely impatient. In 2003, my wife and I (She was just a girlfriend then) were skiing with some friends. I decided to teach my wife how to ski, in much the same way I taught a friend a few years prior. This friend was on this trip with us, so my teaching was successful for him, but the same method of teaching was not working for her. I was becoming impatient asking myself “Why isn’t she getting it? Why isn’t she listening to me? Why doesn’t she care?” Admittedly, this was not the most proud moment of my life and due to my impatience, I just left her on the mountain. Again, it was not a proud moment and a very mean thing to do. Luckily, she is more patient than I and still married me four years later, but we haven’t been skiing since!

As part of my new years resolution to learn about and attain more of the fruit of the spirit, love was the first fruit I decided to focus on and as part of 1 Cor 13:4 “Love is patient…” and I have already posted on this topic previously, but I feel that the more I study and the more I get into God’s word about a subject, the more is revealed. As most of my readers know, David would have to be my favorite old testament character. David is known for his faith, but I don’t think we can overlook his patience.

David was a shepherd before he was a warrior and king and this has to be where his patience was learned. Sheep have got to be the most lackadaisical, free-spirited creatures that God has created. A shepherd has to guard over them to prevent predators from attacking and to prevent a stray sheep from wandering. But the primary task that a shepherd has is to watch and wait. They watch the sheep eat and wait for them to finish before moving them to a newer/greener area before starting the process all over again. If David was a shepherd, he was extremely patient!

In many of the Psalms we can read how Davids practice of patience has paid off because of his demonstration of patience toward God. David loves God and shows it in many ways, one of which is through his patience. Don’t misunderstand his patience because although he was patient with God, he was very active during his wait. Psalm 27:14 “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” David knows that God will come and answer his prayers, so instead of sitting and waiting, he prepares for the Lord by seeking his face (psalm 27:8).

As it took David many years of exercising patience, it will take us a long time as well. It will not happen over night. It cannot be done apart from Christ, so breathe easy, pray, and thank God for working in your heart and pray for a change so you can exercise patience as Christ did in his love for us!

Jesus, help me to become patient. Change my heart to reflect more of you. I pray that I would slow down and not be in such a hurry all the time because it provokes my impatient heart. I pray that this heart is renewed and patience is given. I know that you will give the fruit of the spirit to those who love you and seek you and I pray that the fruit become more and more evident in my life everyday.

This article "Love is patient… Is this impossible?" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

This weeks lesson is the crux of Dave Ramsey’s entire business. It is the reason my wife and I are taking the class and I suspect that the same holds true for the others in our class. In week 4 of Financial Peace University we watched a DVD of Dave and he dispelled some myths about debt in an attempt to “rewire” us. After watching this lesson, consider me rewired.

I used to listen to Dave very regularly and felt “informed” coming into this lesson. After all, prior to even starting Financial Peace University we started Dumping Debt and saving, based upon what we read in The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness by Dave Ramsey. I have been blogging about the progress of dumping our debt and you can view the start of that journey here. As of the day of this post, we have dumped $11,000  of debt and saved over $2000. We are on track to be debt free by Christmas!

I just wanted to say that this stuff works and the class has truly been a blessing to us! But as I said, Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness covers the exact same thing, but not in as much detail. I would recomend buying his book and if you decide to start your journey to debt freedom, then consider joining a class!

This article "Week 4 – Dumping Debt (Financial Peace University)" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

The last couple of weeks I have been digesting a pretty thought-provoking book called Letters from a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianityby Dr. Gregory Boyd. The basic premise in this book originates from a collection of correspondence the Christian author and the skeptic father. The author is an Apologetic’s teacher at a Christian University and the letters he wrote his father were an attempt to put his apologetic’s to use.

As a Christian reading this book, it is hard to digest some of the concepts the author presents his father, trying to reason with science rather than faith, but in the end, his father came to know Christ. It’s not that the author’s belief was focused on the scientific reasons that God exists, rather the author used this strategy to reach his father because faith was not an option for him.

Personally, I find it hard to convince skeptics of Jesus’ sacrifice and of the faith I have in the salvation and inheritance it provides. After all, in Matthew 7:6 it says ““Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.” There is one significant difference that the author does instead of throwing his pearls to the pigs. He had a relationship and he loved his father.

Had the relationship been estranged or not been a loving one, this correspondence would have been in vain. So if you pick up this book in hopes of converting a skeptic, remember to love them first. Do not argue with them and be patient. It took almost 3 years of correspondence, so stick with it!

I am glad I read the book and would encourage you to do the same, but some arguments are extreme, or perhaps “off the wall” and even sway away from most general Christian beliefs. Most arguments are not, but it would be wise to be in prayer as you read this so that God would reveal the truth to you!

This article "Letters from a Skeptic | Book Review" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

In Exodus 2:11-22, we read of the account of Moses confronting an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. The confrontation ends when Moses murders the Egyptian. Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to Midian. Moses witnessed the shepherds driving away the seven daughters of Reuel and Moses intervened, driving the bullying Shepherds away. When I read this I see two very different Moses in each incident.

Murderous Moses

When Moses looked around prior to striking down the Egyptian, why do you think that was? The verse before said Moses had “looked on their burdens”, obviously realizing the plight of the enslaved people under Egyptian rule. Moses wanted to make a difference and help the slaves in whatever way he could. Moses looked around because he had murderous intent. Angeried because of the persecution of his people, Moses murdered an Egyptian.

Moses intent was to lead. He felt that he had a realm of responsiblity around him and was put in a situation where he could make a difference. What person, who was able to stop it, would allow that to happen? Moses did what most of us would do, but took it a step too far. His anger turned to rage and the result was death. God gave Moses his strength and a desire in Moses heart to lift the burdens of those around him, but it was taken to far.

Repenting Moses

After fleeing from Pharaoh, Moses heart was changed. We know this because of the interaction Moses had with the bullying Shepherds who were driving away the women from the well. We know that Moses had the capability to murder, but instead Moses simply drove them off. Moses could have done this with the Egyptian he murdered, but this time he excercised restraint. In doing so, he demonstrated that God changed his heart after he fled. Moses still felt a calling and desire on his heart to protect those around him, as he demonstrated by protecting the women at the well.

What does this mean for me?

God has given each of us strengths and weaknesses. We must excercise caution in our strengths so that we do not fulfill the works of the flesh through them, but the fruit of the spirit. An example with Moses is that he had great strength to know he could murder an Egyptian, perhaps more than what is realized today. But by restraining his fit of anger(work of the flesh), he was able to excercise self-control(fruit of the spirit). It seems that Moses transformation was that God had given him the Holy Spirit during this time, though he did not know it. Develop the fruit of the spirit so that God can work in your won life, much like God worked in the life of Moses.

This article "Moses… From murderer to leader" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

When I read about loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:34-40) it hits me hard. God says the most important commandment is to love your god and the second is to love your neighbor as yourself. In verse 40 is says “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” This is huge because Jesus did not have to say this! When he was asked he gave the two most important commandments, but proceeded to tell us that the entirety of the law is dependant on these two commandments. They are very important! I understand loving God first, as much as possible, but loving my neighbor as I love myself is where God convicts me the most.

Let me briefly list a few things that I personally want more than anything for myself:

• A healthy family
• Being able to provide food, shelter, clothing.
• Spending individual time with my wide and child(ren).
• Become a blessing and not a hindrance
• Provide vacations and memories
• Give laughter
• Share God

My neighbor may share many of these same things that they want most in their life. I want a healthy family, so do they. I want to take them on vacation, so do they! I want to be able to spend time with my family, so do they! If I am to love my neighbor as myself, I must put them first. As hard as it is to say, I must put the needs of others before my own.

This is the same way Christ demonstrated to us in his sacrifice. Christ wanted to live! Christ knew that his neighbors(everyone else) would die because they were not righteous and lived in sin, so Christ loved his neighbor as much as he loved himself and chose to give us life. In doing so, his death was necessary! So Jesus, being perfect, demonstrated the completion and perfect example of the two greatest commandments. To love God first and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Loving your neighbor is not an easy thing! They may have done things to deserve the situation they are placed in. Or perhaps their faith is lacking, or perhaps they are just needy people in general? Wow, this sounds a lot like us before Christ died on the Cross. I did not deserve it, I lacked faith, and I was needy! Yet Christ, chose to sacrifice himself for us.

This year, I would like to take my “vacation” to love others as myself. Instead of spending time on me and my family, I want to love as Christ loves me. I want to sacrifice something so that others could experience HIS blessings. I now see that this is the reason for the “mission field”. People spending time helping others know Christ in a deeper way is their act of loving their neighbors as themselves. I feel God calling me to go on a mission. I’m not sure where whether its local or distant, I know God wants me to sacrifice my time for His kingdom.

Jesus, use me in and show me your plans. I am willing and able, with your strength, to take on any mission field you want to place me in.

This article "How Can I Love my Neighbor as Myself?" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.

This weekend I will be celebrating my 28th birthday! Yeah, it’s not really that exciting, but hey it’s another year right? This also signifies another year I have the privilege to live and breathe. It is another year I can thank God for the blessing he has given me time and time again, but it is another year I fail to be taken to have my sanctification complete.

I have been a follower of Christ for 11 years now and it hasn’t been without struggle. Early on in my walk, I fell into alcoholism, and by the grace of God, He redeemed me. Then I proceeded to ignore him calling in my life to lead. I have always been naturally inclined to be a leader, but felt that I was too sinful to lead others. I felt that others would do better than me. Through that God revealed to me that he wants me, sin and all, to follow his calling on my life.

I finally listened…

A couple of years ago I realized this. During the summer, I finally listened to God, who I felt leading me to join the Marines, or more specifically, to become an officer in the Marines. The first time in my life I said yes to God. I had been ignoring God’s reminder of this for 9 years and in my faith I was finally going to submit. This is outlined in a previous post if you are interested, but one thing led to another and I did everything I could to get in. The only thing stopping me was the one thing I had no control over, my hearing. I am almost completely deaf in one ear and that stopped the train, so to speak. I listened to God, got physically fit (lost 70 lbs), ran, exercised and God, in his infinite wisdom stopped it from happening.

Looking back on that time, it reminds me of Abraham sacrificing his son. God was testing Abraham’s faith and at the point of no return God intervened and saved Isaac. For me at last possible minute, God intervened and put a stop to it. I do not know why, but perhaps he was testing my faith like he tested Abraham?

Growing in faith and love…

Since then my faith has swelled and my love for God has grown so deep that I am sick of being here. I am tired of sinning and not being perfect. I am tired of the pain and sorrow we experience every day in a creation that is separate from God. Don’t get me wrong, I am not suicidal, but I am longing for the return of Christ.

Romans 8:23 - Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

Perhaps this is more of Gods work in my life, giving me the desire to draw closer to him. I am not perfect, I am not even decent. I am the most wretched sinful person imaginable and that is why I cannot wait for Christs return. God has given me another year of life, but it is not the “life” I am longing for. I am ready for my life to be taken at any moment and greatly look forward to the eternal “life” in heaven that God has promised through the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ

This article "28 Years of Life and Counting – Looking back…" is from Lost Blogger - No Compass. No Sense of Direction. A Blog about Christ and Other Stuff.