“If we begin to get a glimpse of the vast glory of God, we will realize that many of our conflicts are like two ants arguing about which is taller while standing in front of Mount Everest.

“We quibble over some infinitesimal difference of opinion while the vastness of Almighty God soars into the heavens.

“We need to stop looking at one another relative to ourselves, or, better yet, stop looking in the mirror. And we need to turn our eyes to the loveliness of Christ in his Word.”     –Chris Brauns-

HT: Trevin Wax

There is alot of talk these days about absent fathers, homes wrecked by divorce and dads who do not care.  Certainly those are issues that are problems today, however, I believe there are alot of us dads who are doing our best to be “good” dads. 

The good thing is there is a great deal of resources to help us become successful fathers.  There are an endless amount of books, cd’s, podcasts, radio shows and internet helps to get us to become better dads.  But even with all of that, dads often feel helpless when it comes to “successful” parenting.

We are told to be patient, but we still blow it from time to time.  We are taught to be firm, but often we are too soft. (Which I am the failing more at this now that I have a beautiful little girl)  We are instructed to spend more time with our kids, but our work demands more and more from us.  We know we are to be loving, but for some reason we feel like we fall short in that area.

Within the heart of man is the desire to achieve, the desire to be the best we can be.  At home, at work, at church and everywhere else we go.  Our desire is to be the best, BUT at the end of the day we often feel like we don’t cut it.  I know how often a dad feels a sense of guilt when he believes he has let his kids down. 

As I have been preparing for a Father’s day message, I have wondered how many dads wish they could attain all the things they are taught.  I wonder how many dads feel like failures even though they would never admit it.  Fatherhood is challenging to say the least.  Dad, do your best!  When you make mistakes, move on.  Try your hardest, but always remember you are only human.  Love your family, spend time with them, provide for them but don’t be too hard on yourself.  Kids are often very forgiving, even when we blow it.

It is Father’s Day week so I decided to post an interesting assessment of the different types of dads.  I have been thinking more lately about how I can be more effective as a father as well as more intentional in shaping the lives of Josh and Hannah.  Dads must play a major part in the spiritual development of their kids.

“Three Types of Dads by Robert Lewis:

ABSENT dads are invisible and are only shadows in a boy’s life.

INVOLVED dads participate in their son’s lives but without a plan. This kind of dad is often vision-less or shapeless. He has overlooked investing a core of clear, masculine directives into his son’s life which are vital to his success.

STRATEGIC dads have a well thought out plan and vision. They understand the true sense of masculinity and know how to deposit it in their son’s life.

Which one are you?”     HT: Braxton Brady (Strategic Dad blog)

Here John Wesley gives a word to a young preacher:

"No, Aleck, no! The danger of ruin to Methodism does not lie here. It springs from quite a different quarter. Our preachers, many of them, are fallen. They are not spiritual. They are not alive to God. They are soft, enervated, fearful of shame, toil, hardship. . . . Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth." 
HT: Ray Ortlund

Having read this today it makes me evaluate myself in light of such a great man as John Wesley.  The American church and the world could use a group of pastors that Wesley is looking for.  I ask myself, as should every pastor, “Am I Spiritual?  Am I alive to God?  Do I desire God wholly?  Do I fear only sin?

As men and women of God we must consecrate ourselves wholly to God.  Give Him all of us.  Sell out to all that He is, and be all that He desires us to be.

So often we pray for years for something and never see results.  We become tempted to believe that God isn’t listening or doesn’t care or that He is not going to answer.  Sometimes we have to wait.  His timing and ways are not always ours.

Sonya and I have been praying for her brother for over 18 years.  We have prayed for his salvation and deliverance from alcohol.  He was hard-core for all these years.  There were times we thought he would never change.  We continued to believe that,  until about a month ago, when Sonya got a call from him.  He gave his heart to Christ.  Circumstances in his life caused him to turn to Christ.  He is now serving the Lord and is completely delivered from alcohol.  In fact, Friday, he told me  that he has been dry for exactly 30 days. 

Yesterday, Brock was baptized at New Vision Church of the Nazarene in San Antonio.  You can see the video here.  Watch the one from June 14th “Godly Living”.  His baptism is about 4 to 5 minutes in.  What an awesome God we serve!

There is hope for your lost loved ones.  They can come home.  Do not quit praying!  The answer may be just around the corner.

I always look forward to Sunday so we can see what God does.  It was a busy morning nonetheless.  I taught Youth Sunday School this morning.  Their teacher wasn’t able to make it so I pulled something together to talk about.  I enjoyed our conversation and getting to know our young people a little better.

We continued our Hostage series.  We talked about being held captive by worry and how to overcome worry.  We identified four major causes of anxiety in our society today.

1.  Rush Sickness – trying to cram 30 hours of activities in 24 hours.
2.  Straining – trying to make it ahead in this world and straining to find acceptance and success in life.
3.  Change – changing jobs, homes and other things that are tough changes.
4.  World Instability – all the issues of living in a sin-filled world.

To overcome worry we find the remedy in Philippians 4:6-7.
1. Prayer and Supplication – supplication literally means taking our burdens to God and leaving them there.
2.  Thanksgiving – Focusing on what He has already done, rather than on what He hasn’t done yet.
3.  Let your requests be made known to God – Be specific with your needs.

These are good remedies for worry.  They are sure to work because the Bible tells us to take this road.  Paul said to be anxious for nothing and then gives us these steps to be without anxiety.

After service we had our first newcomers luncheon to get to know some of our newest people.  We were joined by several new families and singles as well as a couple of our long-time members.  It was a great time of connecting with some  of our newest attenders.

I have been working the last couple of days on changing our church website.  I was able to upload the new version this afternoon.  Now, there are still a few things to be done like adding sermon audio and pictures of our leadership.  But for the most part, it is complete.  Check it out and let me know what you think.  www.rogersag.com 

Also, be sure to check back over the next several weeks as we continue to enhance the website.

I have been re-adjusting my Scripture reading time and I am taking a new approach to maximize my daily intake of the Word of God.  It takes me a little longer but it enables me to glean from more sections of the Bible daily.

I have broken down the sections of the Bible and now read one chapter a day from each section.

1 chapter from the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy – The Law)

1 chapter from the History Books (Joshua through Esther)

1 chapter from the Poetic Books (Job through Song of Solomon)

1 chapter from the Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)

1 chapter from the Gospels and Acts (Matthew through Acts)

1 chapter from the Epistles (Romans through Revelation)

Doing this has helped me digest more Scripture daily and read through the Bible a little quicker.

You can download a copy of the reading plan here.  Just check of the box of the chapters you read when you get done.  This chart helps you keep up with your progress.