Hello again,
We hope you get a chance to try out some of the free action games to your right, after all, having clean, enjoyable fun makes life worth living. Tonight's lesson comes from a favorite book of the Bible. Psalms. Listen up kids, because this lesson concerns a king called David who had been through alot of termoil, and guilt. He was given this gift from God, knowledge that can applied to today's time as well. The verses are from Psalms 37 which applies to two things, greed, and patience. The first goes like this,
"A little that a righteous man has if better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken but the Lord upholdeth the rightous. The Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever."
What does this mean? Simply put, it means that many people strive in life for success. There is nothing wrong with success, it's admirable, satisfying and praised. David had went from a mere shepherd, herding goats and sheep in the mountains, to one of the finest palaces in all of Israel. He was successful. However he like so many who attain success, are not content with maintaining their status quo. He had everything a man could want, a beautiful palace, gold and silver, power and glory, military achievements, even a woman who loved him. Yet, he desired more. With this desire, he used deceit, his power and cunning to attain the wife of one of his most trusted soldiers, leading to murder and adultry. Many people strive for glory, power, money success, but do so dishonestly. They do so at the exspense of someone else. Their personality changes, becoming focused only on the prize and not at what cost it takes to get it. When a friend asks you to do something that you know is wrong, remember that God stands behind you and saying no to this dishonest act doesn't go unnoticed.Now for you parents.
I heard a woman say once that she would do anything to be manager of her company. Within four years, she had attained such a goal. Everyone outside the office saw it as the most wonderful thing ever, praising her for her hard work and achievments. Little did they realize that to get that promotion, she had placed her family, her friends, even her fellow coworkers behind her. She became obsessed with profit, always stydying the competition, never realizing it was her son's birthday party, or her anniversary, or her daughter's dance recital. To her, saying I'm sorry, or it was all in the name of work which brought more money home to them, was the perfect bandaid for their dissapointment. People she had known since high school, became not good enough to hang out at her house. Business parties and upper management took center stage. When her district manager called one night asking her to cover the night shift, she never considered her families concerns and feelings. When vacations were cancelled and overtime became manditory profit never lost out over the feelings of those closest to her.
Then one morning, she came home after an all night inventory rush. It was the end of the year and her company needed her there. On the table next to her daughter's unfinished glass of juice was a note. Her husband had taken the kids and left her. The Lord tells us that gain isn't a bad thing. However the methods we use and the focus of our gain, is . So many people feel that they are helping their families by taking on the world. What we fail to remember is, there are sacrifices and costs for achieving greatness and there are ethical choices we must make. To be successful comes in all shapes and forms. A man has a great family, a loving home and a simple way of life. I would say he was a success. To others he was a failure because he never made it out of high school. Those who see him as a failure should reevaluate life as we know it. Far too many are successful out of corruption, selfishness, lust and greed. Far too many lies, deceit and bitterness toward their fellow man brought them there. I've discovered that being in leadership is a cold business because at the top all that counts is profit, profit, profit. Thus the verse is saying, The little money, power, house, car, savings account, that a rightous man has, is better because he earned it honestly. He didn't insult his workers to get it, he didn't take from the poor, or step on someone to rise above it. He didn't falter from the ethical standards his Lord placed before him. And for that God shall give him his interitance to replace the riches he didn't have. This riches of a wicked man shall do him little good when he faces the judgement, for his bargaining, craftiness and sales marketing strategy does little good. I'm not saying all wealth is based on wickedness, many men and women got to the top through hard work and good strategies. However many have not. Keep the sun in your face and you'll always find your way home. Keep the sun to your back and you'll always be walking in a shadow. Try it sometime.
Moving on to lesson number Patience.
Psalms 37:34
"Wait on the Lord , and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. when the wicked are cut off you shall see it."
What that means is we are all too eager to get ahead and prosper. We do this without following the true course that the Lord prepares for us. We want all of it, and we want it right now! Sound familiar. Like that commercial for settlement payments. "I need my money and I want it now!" The woman sounds like many of us out there today. We all want to control our piece of the pie and do it before we reach 30. This is how we begin to listen to our own will and ignoring the will of God. It's like a train who wants to make it to Richmond at 3:00 am, when the conductor knows that the train station will be blocked until 3:30 with two other trains. The train after thinking about it for a moment, decides his position at the Richmond terminal is more important than the other two waiting in line. So he takes off without the condutor and what happens? He arrives alright at the Richmond terminal but ends up scrap metal after crashing into the other trains. Our lives are like that sometimes. We never listen to the directives our Lord gives us. Many call it a conscience, I call it the Holy Spirt. He speaks to our hearts, trying to lead us in the right direction. Whether it be a job, a marriage, a relationship, a friendship, or making a purchase, I believe he gives us mental and heart felt signs which far too often we refuse to follow. The Lord in this passage tells us to wait on the Lord, and keep the way. Don't take shortcuts just because we feel he's not listening. He has a time and place for everything, including making choices. He knows what's right and true for us, like a gardner who knows exactly which seasons to plant and sow, reap and till, the Lord knows what's best for us all. It's like an old gospel hymn by Dave Hollister, I heard Sunday, it goes something like this:
"The Potter, He saw a vessel
that had been broken by the wind and the rain.
He sought it with so much compassion
to put it back together again.
Oh, I was that broken vessel
that no one thought was any good,
I cried, "Lord, You are the Potter,"
"and I am the clay,"
"make me over again today".
Chorus:
Jesus picked up the pieces
of my broken heart,
my broken heart that day.
And He made me a new vessel,
He revived my soul again.
We have to start understanding that we are mortal human beings, created and will perish, all of us. We must surrender the reins over to a higher power, allowing the Lord to guide us, lead us, and strengthen us. This world has become far too motivated on social acceptance, political corruption, moral decay, and financially dependant. What this sums up is a boiling pot of desastrous mixes where our human nature created for peace, compassion, and love, cannot survive or advance. When was the last time you went to a corporation, and actually spoke to a member of the executive staff who said hello, how is your family today, hope your life is going well. When was the last time your financial advisor asked about your wife and actually meant it? Would he have said it if you didn't have money with his firm? When was the last time a commercial on television said, Your life is great, are you happy, if so never mind, you don't need this item. No, instead it guilts you into thinking that all the items you have isn't good enough, or your not successful because your not working for the firm. How many movies are based on family values? How many sitcoms these days focus on getting the family together, involved, or teaching them clean moralisitic virtues? None that I can think of. There is no focus, there is no attention paid to the Lord's directives. So be it. I for one have no faith in the current social, financial, political or economic structure of this nation. It is now up to us to change the way we think, act and live. Listen and wait on him, the Lord will guide you.
God Bless all of you and have a good night,
until next time.
I'm Mericlese the teacher
We hope you get a chance to try out some of the free action games to your right, after all, having clean, enjoyable fun makes life worth living. Tonight's lesson comes from a favorite book of the Bible. Psalms. Listen up kids, because this lesson concerns a king called David who had been through alot of termoil, and guilt. He was given this gift from God, knowledge that can applied to today's time as well. The verses are from Psalms 37 which applies to two things, greed, and patience. The first goes like this,
"A little that a righteous man has if better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken but the Lord upholdeth the rightous. The Lord knows the days of the upright and their inheritance shall be forever."
What does this mean? Simply put, it means that many people strive in life for success. There is nothing wrong with success, it's admirable, satisfying and praised. David had went from a mere shepherd, herding goats and sheep in the mountains, to one of the finest palaces in all of Israel. He was successful. However he like so many who attain success, are not content with maintaining their status quo. He had everything a man could want, a beautiful palace, gold and silver, power and glory, military achievements, even a woman who loved him. Yet, he desired more. With this desire, he used deceit, his power and cunning to attain the wife of one of his most trusted soldiers, leading to murder and adultry. Many people strive for glory, power, money success, but do so dishonestly. They do so at the exspense of someone else. Their personality changes, becoming focused only on the prize and not at what cost it takes to get it. When a friend asks you to do something that you know is wrong, remember that God stands behind you and saying no to this dishonest act doesn't go unnoticed.Now for you parents.
I heard a woman say once that she would do anything to be manager of her company. Within four years, she had attained such a goal. Everyone outside the office saw it as the most wonderful thing ever, praising her for her hard work and achievments. Little did they realize that to get that promotion, she had placed her family, her friends, even her fellow coworkers behind her. She became obsessed with profit, always stydying the competition, never realizing it was her son's birthday party, or her anniversary, or her daughter's dance recital. To her, saying I'm sorry, or it was all in the name of work which brought more money home to them, was the perfect bandaid for their dissapointment. People she had known since high school, became not good enough to hang out at her house. Business parties and upper management took center stage. When her district manager called one night asking her to cover the night shift, she never considered her families concerns and feelings. When vacations were cancelled and overtime became manditory profit never lost out over the feelings of those closest to her.
Then one morning, she came home after an all night inventory rush. It was the end of the year and her company needed her there. On the table next to her daughter's unfinished glass of juice was a note. Her husband had taken the kids and left her. The Lord tells us that gain isn't a bad thing. However the methods we use and the focus of our gain, is . So many people feel that they are helping their families by taking on the world. What we fail to remember is, there are sacrifices and costs for achieving greatness and there are ethical choices we must make. To be successful comes in all shapes and forms. A man has a great family, a loving home and a simple way of life. I would say he was a success. To others he was a failure because he never made it out of high school. Those who see him as a failure should reevaluate life as we know it. Far too many are successful out of corruption, selfishness, lust and greed. Far too many lies, deceit and bitterness toward their fellow man brought them there. I've discovered that being in leadership is a cold business because at the top all that counts is profit, profit, profit. Thus the verse is saying, The little money, power, house, car, savings account, that a rightous man has, is better because he earned it honestly. He didn't insult his workers to get it, he didn't take from the poor, or step on someone to rise above it. He didn't falter from the ethical standards his Lord placed before him. And for that God shall give him his interitance to replace the riches he didn't have. This riches of a wicked man shall do him little good when he faces the judgement, for his bargaining, craftiness and sales marketing strategy does little good. I'm not saying all wealth is based on wickedness, many men and women got to the top through hard work and good strategies. However many have not. Keep the sun in your face and you'll always find your way home. Keep the sun to your back and you'll always be walking in a shadow. Try it sometime.
Moving on to lesson number Patience.
Psalms 37:34
"Wait on the Lord , and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land. when the wicked are cut off you shall see it."
What that means is we are all too eager to get ahead and prosper. We do this without following the true course that the Lord prepares for us. We want all of it, and we want it right now! Sound familiar. Like that commercial for settlement payments. "I need my money and I want it now!" The woman sounds like many of us out there today. We all want to control our piece of the pie and do it before we reach 30. This is how we begin to listen to our own will and ignoring the will of God. It's like a train who wants to make it to Richmond at 3:00 am, when the conductor knows that the train station will be blocked until 3:30 with two other trains. The train after thinking about it for a moment, decides his position at the Richmond terminal is more important than the other two waiting in line. So he takes off without the condutor and what happens? He arrives alright at the Richmond terminal but ends up scrap metal after crashing into the other trains. Our lives are like that sometimes. We never listen to the directives our Lord gives us. Many call it a conscience, I call it the Holy Spirt. He speaks to our hearts, trying to lead us in the right direction. Whether it be a job, a marriage, a relationship, a friendship, or making a purchase, I believe he gives us mental and heart felt signs which far too often we refuse to follow. The Lord in this passage tells us to wait on the Lord, and keep the way. Don't take shortcuts just because we feel he's not listening. He has a time and place for everything, including making choices. He knows what's right and true for us, like a gardner who knows exactly which seasons to plant and sow, reap and till, the Lord knows what's best for us all. It's like an old gospel hymn by Dave Hollister, I heard Sunday, it goes something like this:
"The Potter, He saw a vessel
that had been broken by the wind and the rain.
He sought it with so much compassion
to put it back together again.
Oh, I was that broken vessel
that no one thought was any good,
I cried, "Lord, You are the Potter,"
"and I am the clay,"
"make me over again today".
Chorus:
Jesus picked up the pieces
of my broken heart,
my broken heart that day.
And He made me a new vessel,
He revived my soul again.
We have to start understanding that we are mortal human beings, created and will perish, all of us. We must surrender the reins over to a higher power, allowing the Lord to guide us, lead us, and strengthen us. This world has become far too motivated on social acceptance, political corruption, moral decay, and financially dependant. What this sums up is a boiling pot of desastrous mixes where our human nature created for peace, compassion, and love, cannot survive or advance. When was the last time you went to a corporation, and actually spoke to a member of the executive staff who said hello, how is your family today, hope your life is going well. When was the last time your financial advisor asked about your wife and actually meant it? Would he have said it if you didn't have money with his firm? When was the last time a commercial on television said, Your life is great, are you happy, if so never mind, you don't need this item. No, instead it guilts you into thinking that all the items you have isn't good enough, or your not successful because your not working for the firm. How many movies are based on family values? How many sitcoms these days focus on getting the family together, involved, or teaching them clean moralisitic virtues? None that I can think of. There is no focus, there is no attention paid to the Lord's directives. So be it. I for one have no faith in the current social, financial, political or economic structure of this nation. It is now up to us to change the way we think, act and live. Listen and wait on him, the Lord will guide you.
God Bless all of you and have a good night,
until next time.
I'm Mericlese the teacher
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