“Let there be a method in our giving, so that the poor may not go away empty nor the subsistence of the needy be done away and become the spoil of the dishonest.” —Ambrose
“Passion for the glory of the Lord is the key to making a difference all out of proportion to who we are. It is not the prerogative of old or young, intelligent or simple, men or women. This passion can flame up in the heart of any saint. Do we want it enough to seek it?” —John Piper
“Of one thing we are very sure. There will be a full restoration of the apostolic gifts and the full power of Pentecost before the coming of the Lord….” Read more of this quote from Dr. Charles S. Price from over 75 years ago.
“What you do with television in your home will help determine whether you and your family will be dumbed down. Let me suggest that you not watch (or let your kids watch) shows that play to the lowest common denominator in humanity… shows that are written and produced for, yes, I’ll say it…dumb people. You might think they’re harmless and amusing, but are they really the best use of your time and, more importantly, your brain?” Read more from Mark Atteberry in his post The Dumbing Down Of America.
In a recently-released last chapter to his ground-breaking book Generation iY, Tim Elmore added material that made me realize more than ever that this book is a must read for anyone who works with youth. You can read my book review by clicking here, and you can read some other quotes I shared from this chapter by clicking here.
Just a few additional thoughts Dr. Elmore shared in this chapter that I wanted to pass along to you—
“We did a better job preventing, presuming and protecting then we did preparing.”
“Examine the right-hand column for a moment. Notice the words slow, hard, boring, risk and labor. Are those not the very ingredients that build a mature adult? When a task is hard and it moves slowly, it builds patience and work ethic in me. When things are boring, it forces my mind to be creative on its own. When I have to take risks, I learn that failure is not final or fatal, and that it’s only when I risk failure that I feel the satisfaction of true success. And when I learn to embrace labor, using my strengths to add value to others, I learned the value of service.”
“Wherever you see a lacking virtue, there’s likely an activity you can do to build it, just as one would lift weights to improve physical muscle strength. … We can no longer assume those emotional muscles will develop naturally in kids. We must initiate a plan to build them. Will likely need to discuss this issue over with them, and agree to balance the virtual with the genuine; the screen with the real. In short:
More time interacting with the real people.
More time outside in active movement.
More time working and waiting on answers.
More time initiating and less time reacting.”
“It’s important to strike a balance between utilizing the conveniences of modern technology and building the life skills that require no technology.”
I’m going to make a statement about Dr. Tim Elmore’s book Generation iY that I rarely make: This book is a MUST READ for parents and anyone who works with youth!
Yes, a must read. The subtitle of this book is not over-dramatized, but really is an understated truth: Our last chance to save their future.
Recently Tim Elmore released in ebook format a final chapter to Generation iY. After reading this I was just as convinced that anyone who works with our youth must read this book (read my full book review by clicking here). Here are a few quotes from this chapter.
“Historical trends suggest that every time there is a population explosion among the youth (between 15-29 years old), violence follows. Sociologist Gunnar Heinson reported that countries are vulnerable when the youth population is 30 percent or higher.”
“Our assessment of 8,500 high school and college students clearly reveals a drop in:
Resilience—we removed the ability to bounce back after a failure.
Empathy—we have pushed them toward self-expansion.
Work ethic—their short attention spans make the daily grind a turn-off.
Stamina—sticking with the task when the novelty’s going is difficult.
Ambition—the internal drive to succeed is replaced by external stimuli.
Self-awareness—few adults have been honest about their blind spots.”
“Condoleezza Rice and Joel Klein released a report recently saying that the state of our youth is now an issue of national security. Seventy-five percent of America’s youth are not even fit for the military due to obesity, criminal records or failure to graduate high school.”
As technology goes up, empathy goes down. We can find a direct parallel between screen time and the lack of empathy in adolescence. It makes sense, doesn’t it? A text that says ‘I am having a bad day’ doesn’t elicit the same empathy as being face to face with a person in tears, in the midst of a crisis. It seems virtual, so our empathy is virtual. Kids often laugh at what they cried about a decade ago.
As information expands, attention spans diminish. Resilience, patience, and attention spans have dropped thanks to today’s quick, convenient, and saturated world. When overwhelmed, we surrender readily. Herbert Simon said it best: “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”
As options broaden, long-term commitment shrinks.
As life speeds up, patience and personal discipline drop.
As external stimulation increases, internal motivation decreases. Experiments among students show that external rewards actually reduce internal drive and ambition. Kids work for the reward, not the satisfaction of the work. The external (and possibly artificial and superficial) reduces incentive and, consequently, self-sufficiency.
As consequences for failure diminish, so does the value of success.
As virtual connections climb, emotional intelligence declines.
As free content swells, so does our sense of entitlement.
The Hollywood movie Noah has been called “the least biblical biblical movie ever made” by its director Darren Aronofsky. But check out this article: The Folly Of What Noah Preached.
“Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can’t make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you’ll never get back. Your time is your life. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.” —Rick Warren
“I fear John Knox’s prayers more than an army of ten thousand men.” —Mary Queen of Scots
Astronomers have found a new planet! Think what else the Creator has out there for us to discover…. “It goes to show that there’s something we don’t know about our Solar System, and it’s something important,” says co-discoverer Chad Trujillo.
“You see Agape is all giving, not getting. Read what St. Paul says about it in First Corinthians Chap. 13. Then look at a picture of Charity (or Agape) in action in St. Luke, chap 10 v.30-35. And then, better still, look at Matthew chap 25 v.31-46: from which you see that Christ counts all that you do for this baby exactly as if you had done it for Him when He was a baby in the manger at Bethlehem: you are in a sense sharing in the things His mother did for Him. Giving money is only one way of showing charity: to give time and toil is far better and (for most of us) harder. And notice, though it is all giving—you needn’t expect any reward—how you do gets rewarded almost at once.” —C.S. Lewis
Parents and teachers, this is good advice from Tim Elmore on working with ‘difficult’ students: How To Lead An Outlier.
David Wilkerson has a solid word for those in a difficult marriage: Is There Any Hope?
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
“It is better to offend men than to grieve the blessed Spirit of God which dwells in the church.” —A.W. Tozer
A good reminder for pastors, parents, teachers and mentors:
“And just as the helmsman does not always yield to the winds, but sometimes, turning the prow towards them, opposes the whole force of the hurricanes; so the Instructor never yields to the blasts that blow in this world, nor commits the child to them like a vessel to make shipwreck on a wild and licentious course of life; but, wafted on by the favoring breeze of the Spirit of truth, stoutly holds on to the child’s helm—his ears, I mean—until He bring him safe to anchor in the haven of heaven.” —Clement of Alexandria
“Whenever the Lord sees one of His children wrestling with some lust or bondage, He moves in quickly to bring us back to a path of obedience, peace and rest. How does He do this? He brings about conditions in our lives that force us to face our sin!” Read more from David Wilkerson in his post The Arrow Of Truth.
Chilly Chilton says, “Use social media but don’t let social media use you” in his blog post Don’t Pet The Dragon.
These are links to articles and quotes I found interesting today.
I love C.S. Lewis’ interaction with children: “As to Aslan’s other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the Great Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else’s fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb (see the end of the Dawn Treader). Don’t you really know His name in this world? Think it over and let me know your answer! Reepicheep in your coloured picture has just the right perky, cheeky expression. I love real mice. There are lots in my rooms in College but I have never set a trap. When I sit up late working they poke their heads out from behind the curtains just as if they were saying, ‘Hi! Time for you to go to bed. We want to come out and play.’”
I love this reminder from Max Lucado’s book Grace: “Muhammad does not indwell Muslims. Buddha does not inhabit Buddhists. Influence? Instruct? Yes. But occupy? No!” You can read my review of Grace by clicking here.
Did you hear about the pastor who died from a rattlesnake bite while handling one during a church service? Check out What’s With The Snakes?
“Oh! my brethren, it were well if this commendation, so forced from the lips of enemies, could also be compelled by our own example. If we could live like Peter and John; if our lives were ‘living epistles of God, known and read of all men;’ if, whenever we were seen, men would take knowledge of us, that we had been with Jesus, it would be a happy thing for this world, and a blessed thing for us.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Thy poor prayer would have no force with Omnipotence if force were needed; but His love, like a spring, rises of itself and overflows for the supply of all thy needs.” —Charles Spurgeon
“Don’t pray for sermons, let sermons come from your prayers. So, as long as I’m meeting with God, I will always have something to say.” —Chilly Chilton
Only a little time left to download a free song from U2 and help end AIDS: Fight AIDS With (Red)
“The fundamental issue for any of us is to feel loved. If we feel loved by the significant people in our lives, we are more likely to reach out potential for God and good in the world.” —Dr. Gary Chapman
A nice touch I appreciated in Andrew Murray’s book Raising Your Child To Love God was the prayers he included at the end of each of the 52 chapters of this book. Below are some of the lines of prayer which I found noteworthy. If you would like to read some other quotes from this book, click here. If you would like to read my book review of this book, click here.
“Give us a deep sense of our holy calling to train their immortal souls for You and for our glory.”
“By my life, by my words, by my prayers, by gentleness and love, by authority and instruction, I would lead them in the way of the Lord. Be my helper, Lord.”
“As we see the power of sin and the world threatening our children, may we plead for them as for our own life.”
“O Father, open the eyes of all Your people, that in each little one You give them their faith may see an extraordinary child.”
“I acknowledge, Lord, that I do not sufficiently realize the value of my children or the danger to which they are exposed from the prince and the spirit of this world. Lord, teach me fully to recognize the danger and yet never to fear the commandment of the King. Open my eyes to see that in the light of heaven each child is a special child, entrusted to my keeping and training for your work and kingdom. Help me in the humility and watchfulness and boldness of faith to keep him sheltered, to hide him from the power of the world and of sin. May my own life be the life of faith, hid with Christ in God, that my child may know no other dwelling place.”
“O God, teach us to feel deeply that You have need of our children. For the building up of Your temple, in the struggle of Your kingdom with the powers of darkness, in the gathering of Your people from the millions of lost, You have need of our children. We give them to You. We will train them for You. We will wait in prayer and faith, and we beseech You to inspire them with a holy enthusiasm for the kingdom and its conquests.”
“Grant that I may always live worthy of all honor. And may the holy power to train young souls to keep Your commandments, to honor and serve You, be the fruit of Your own Spirit’s work in me.”
“Make our home a blessing to others, encouraging them to take a stand for You.”
“Teach me always to speak to him of Your love so that his heart will early be won to You. May my whole life be an inspiration, guiding him to what is pure and lovely, to what is holy and well pleasing to You.”
“Dear God, help me to teach my children the fear of the Lord by instruction, example, and the spirit of my own life. May thoughtfulness, truthfulness, and lovingkindness mark the conversation of my home. May the life of all in my care by holy unto the Lord. Daily I would show them, through Your grace, how departing from every evil, doing every good, and following after peace and holiness is what true fear of the Lord produces.”
“I am weak, but I know Your almighty power is working in me to keep me humble yet hopeful, conscious of my weakness yet confident in You.”
“O Lord, we draw nigh to You to claim the fulfillment of this promise on behalf of our beloved children. Lord, may they from their very youth have Your Spirit poured out upon them that even in the simplicity of childhood they may say, ‘I belong to the Lord.’”
“Because our child has been presented to You as Jesus was, may this be the beginning of a likeness that will take possession of his whole life. Give grace to Your servants. May we be worthy parents, guardians, and guides of this child who has been given to the Lord. For Your name’s sake. Amen.”
“May my daily experience of the way in which Your shepherd-love does its work be a lesson that teaches me how to feed my little flock. … Let Your holy love in my heart be the inspiring power of all my communion with You and with them. And let me so prove how wonderfully You are my Shepherd and blessed I am to be their shepherd.”
“O God, how we bless You for the promise that our home is to be Your home, the abode of Your Holy Spirit, and that in the happy life of love between parents and children, the Spirit of Your divine love is to be the link that binds us together.”
“Set me apart as a parent so to live as one baptized into Christ’s death that first my life and later my teaching may lead my child to experience this blessed life in Christ.”
“I come to You humbly confessing my sin. Often misbehavior in my children has been met by sinful response on my part. I know that this only discourages them. I want to be a parent who models patient love, helping them in their weakness, and by my example encouraging them with the assurance that they, too, can overcome difficulty.”
Craig T. Owens 