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![Train Up a Child](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1451934919461-WM0U1L3X31CEHRNTUN5X/image-asset.jpeg)
Train Up a Child
As a parent, I try hard to train my children to be good people. I want them to know the difference between right and wrong and love and hate. I also want them to know how to forgive others and themselves to the point that they let it go, so the root of bitterness and resentment can’t grow inside them. Yet, I realize in order for them to do that, I must practice what I preach. I must stop rehashing forgiven mistakes.
![Are we a family?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1450474955882-CYHY3JDMZ4RQ2UWZA5OB/image-asset.jpeg)
Are we a family?
Does your congregation stay in touch with each other outside of church? Do you call people during the week to see how they are doing? When was the last time you had someone from your fellowship over for dinner? How many of us know each other’s phone numbers, let alone where each of us live? Do you bother to call a member if you haven’t seen them at church in a while to make sure they are okay?
If you do all the above things, that is awesome. Please teach others to do it, also, because this is what families do for each other. We are supposed to be the family of God, but in my experience, we really don’t act like it. Families get together when they can.
![Do You Like You?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1450116714257-KOIYJP8JZPTF0R2R1KOU/image-asset.jpeg)
Do You Like You?
How do you treat yourself? When you “look” at yourself, do you like what you see? Do you struggle with self-condemnation? Is this how we are supposed to be?
It is easy for me to treat others with love and compassion. It is easy for me to try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they are not nice, but it is not easy for me to treat myself with the same affection. I am really hard on myself. I think that I am my worse judge. I also have a bad habit of self-comparison.
![God’s Not Fixing This?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1449267697176-7TXG69TWGJ2VMDHNSQEB/image-asset.jpeg)
God’s Not Fixing This?
This week another tragedy took place and fourteen people lost their lives due to the senseless actions of others. Like always, it started a firestorm between politicians and the media. Yet, this time the attack was on prayer not just guns. In fact, the New York Daily News’ front page was “God Isn’t Fixing This,” and it called those of us who pray, “cowards who could truly end gun scourge continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.” Now, I’m not going to get in the gun debate. All I will say is people really need to do their research for themselves and not listen to politicians and the media because the truth is gun violence happens even in places that guns are not allowed by their citizens. Criminals and hateful people are not going to follow the rules.
![The Ultimate “Trojan Horse”](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1449005623115-KI1K841QTNSODLE6IZ8X/image-asset.jpeg)
The Ultimate “Trojan Horse”
Whenever this country (or any other, for that matter) is hit with a wave of immigrants, the story of the Trojan Horse is discussed. Nations worry that the influx is just some other country’s way of stealing jobs, getting rid of criminals and addicts, taking over the host country, or sending in terrorists.
If you go to Ellis Island, you will see it in the historical posters outlining—the same fear and worries from when the Irish poured into this country and when the Germans poured into this country, escaping poverty and/or terrorism in their own countries.
![Give Thanks](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1448665349837-V87JICO0V02D09FPL0DS/image-asset.jpeg)
Give Thanks
“Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving-kindness is everlasting” (Psa 118:1).
This past Thursday was America’s day of Thanksgiving, and the fact that not everyone celebrates it doesn’t mean that we as Christians can’t use it as a reminder of what we should be doing every day—giving God thanks. I know I need to practice giving God thanks for everything, and I mean everything. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, because giving thanks “in all circumstances” is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus (1 Thess 5:18).
![Thank You for Today](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1448049096328-8Z26956O154TZEKL0YM6/image-asset.jpeg)
Thank You for Today
A few weeks ago, I was watching my children play, and it hit me how much I hope and pray that I can watch them grow up and start their own families. Yet, I realized there are no guarantees in life except death, and I have no idea how much longer I have. I know that sounds really depressing, but while I was watching them play, I realized, I can’t dwell on what I can’t control. However, I can give thanks for every single day I have to spend with them.
Life is short. Our lives are just a “mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). We see this reality every day in the news. We are here one second and gone in the next. Therefore, we have to stop taking life for granted. Be thankful for today.
![Super Feast Site 2016](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1447799782785-7HGGYWZN5RDLEDKHC0GK/image-asset.jpeg)
Super Feast Site 2016
We invite you to join us at Super Feast Site 2016 in beautiful western Kentucky. This feast site is conveniently located near many cities in the US.
Church services for this feast site will be held at the Kentucky Dam State Park where there will be many activities for teens and children. Even though this site is in the midst of a beautiful state park and far from the hustle and bustle of any big city, it has family recreation attractions within minutes of our worship services auditorium.
![Turn up the Music](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1447461615505-O1RJ9M5BUZGADB02FP17/image-asset.jpeg)
Turn up the Music
I am grateful for music. Not only because I love to sing, but because I love how powerful music is. Music can bring back memories long forgotten. It can make us feel energized. It can also give us goose bumps or make us cry. It is emotional, and I love how music can bring glory to our Father and our Messiah.
Music is so neat considering the fact that even deaf people can feel music. In fact, the “perception of the musical vibrations by the deaf is likely every bit as real as the equivalent sounds, since they are ultimately processed in the same part of the brain” (WebMD). How cool is that?
![God Is Not Confined](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1446840820850-6CNXVX0F6OK2UBAIJRZH/image-asset.jpeg)
God Is Not Confined
I am so thankful that my God is not confined to human boxes. I am thankful that He isn’t limited to our abilities. I am thankful that no matter what I am going through, my God is bigger. Now, all I have to do is remember this when trials seem to want to make me forget.
It is so easy to let trials decrease our faith. When we are facing an obstacle that we alone cannot fix, we need to not make the mistake of forgetting that a lot of times it isn’t our job to fix it. It is God’s job. He doesn’t need our help to set things right.
![Sometimes Silence is Best Even When You Know You’re Right](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1446239527590-M8UBIPK0GS93KRCLENZU/image-asset.jpeg)
Sometimes Silence is Best Even When You Know You’re Right
Okay, I have a confession, this week’s blog is a lesson that I am trying to learn. I really need to work on keeping my mouth shut even if I know I’m right. Nothing major happened this week. It is just that I’m raising a teenage daughter who is very strong-willed, and we tend to not always see “eye to eye.” I love my daughter and she loves me, but we both have a tendency on trying to have the last word. My problem is I have yet to master the skill of letting my daughter figure out that she is wrong on her own. I tend to just keep trying to force her to realize it by continuing the argument. Yet, the truth is, regardless if I am right, when I act in a quarrelsome way, I am wrong.
![The Green-Eyed Monster](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1445622989984-D3WLHBFMENCQOCPM68MA/image-asset.jpeg)
The Green-Eyed Monster
Last week, I wrote about how we need to stop thinking that the “world revolves around us,” and how this thought causes us to be selfish and discontent. Well, this week, I want to look at another problem that causes discontent, envy/covetousness. You know the old saying, “Trying to keep up with the Joneses”? I honestly don’t know why the name Jones was picked, but it is a saying to describe people who strive to have what those around them have. This desire can cause all heaps of trouble, like extreme debt, depression, and especially discontentment. Why do we fall into the trap of envying each other? Why is it so easy to look at others and wish we had what they have?
![Get Out Of Yourself](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1445016949718-YZDJLGAUHVOMJTJLOZT6/image-asset.jpeg)
Get Out Of Yourself
Have you ever watched a group of toddlers play with toys? Many go for the best toys in the pile. Snatching it away and staring down the other kids as if to say, “I dare you to try to take this away from me.” I believe they are still in the “the world revolves around me” stage of life. Which, we understand that children don’t quite grasp sharing, being nice, knowing how to put others first, because they are little, and they have yet to learn how to treat others. What is our excuse, though, when we act the same way?
![Bible Q&A with Wes White - Who Should We Judge?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1444764361749-0DX7DEHP1AL7A3DM66U2/image-asset.jpeg)
Bible Q&A with Wes White - Who Should We Judge?
Here’s a question: “Doesn’t the Bible say to cry aloud and spare not and show my people their sins? For that reason, shouldn’t I clearly and loudly tell people I know (like friends and neighbors) when they’re sinning?”
Let’s read Isaiah 58:1. It says:
Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression. And to the house of Jacob their sins.
This is clearly a command in the Bible.
![Thy Kingdom Come](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1444673921798-E44SCGXOXHL7XRNLRU8O/image-asset.jpeg)
Thy Kingdom Come
Those of us who kept the Feast of Tabernacles are returning or have returned this week. I love the Feast of Tabernacles. It is always sad, though, when it is over. It is such a blessing to be able to partake of God’s Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day. It is a joy to be around His people for eight days, to hear good inspiring messages, and make friends. It gives us a tiny glimpse of what we all hope for and yearn for, the Kingdom of God. I know that the Kingdom of God will be much more enjoyable, but I am grateful to be able to at least get a small glimpse of the Kingdom when I am at the Feast.
![Modern Miracles](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1444413003001-PZNND7NO7NFD8XY6I3DB/image-asset.jpeg)
Modern Miracles
It’s the Sabbath in the Feast of Tabernacles 2015. As I sit here on the beautiful emerald coast, I am amazed at seeing a modern-day miracle. With this particular miracle, I can’t help but think of 1 Corinthians 12:10, where Paul is describing spiritual gifts: “to another the working of miracles…”
I was watching some of the effects of a powerful storm that hit the East Coast of the US. What a disaster! This is no doubt hurricane season. As of Thursday, there is another hurricane following, and this one is a category 3. It is headed for Cuba and Jamaica. So I keep watch on this storm by using the modern-day storm trackers.
![Why Do You Keep These Days?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1443195797819-QD82A33TWWFKY8KUIX8A/image-asset.jpeg)
Why Do You Keep These Days?
I don’t know how many times over the years I have been asked, when I had to take off from school or work for God’s Holy Days, if I was Jewish. It never offended me at all. I have family members that are Jewish, but I just found it interesting this misconception of God’s Holy Days as being only Jewish Holy Days. I know it is at the fault of some Bible translators and scholars who have called God’s appointed times (moedims) “Jewish” Holy Days, or the Feasts “of the Jews.” Yet, is it true that God’s Feasts are only meant for the tribe of Judah?
![Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is Humanity's Solution](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1442939868129-9E7JPHPRZQ7N81P5G8I7/image-asset.jpeg)
Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is Humanity's Solution
Believe it or not, there are Holy Days described in the Bible that, if understood, would enable mankind to understand what God is actually doing on Earth—how He’s going to accomplish His salvific plan of converting humanity from mortal to immortal and provide entrance into His Kingdom on Earth.
Specifically described by the latter half of the Holy Days, the sequence is made clear as to what and how God is going to keep man from self-destructing.
![Reaching Your Potential (Part 3)](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1442870328935-6JH1I2VDRJ06T9WPN8ZC/image-asset.jpeg)
Reaching Your Potential (Part 3)
We must remember what and who we are fighting. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The enemy is in control of this earthly realm and he manipulates our thoughts and our actions. Quit giving in to propaganda, such that the media, movies, and music provide us. We must set ourselves apart and remember that we are on the side of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We must challenge ourselves every day to overcome this world and to control our fleshly desires. Am I saying to not enjoy life? No. I am
![Mercy that Never Fails](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/50438d1dc4aa994481346f77/1442593300335-LSQPCJ7R29V2MYXZ75T9/image-asset.jpeg)
Mercy that Never Fails
Atonement is nearly upon us. The first thing that probably pops into our heads is the fact that it is a day of fasting. Last year, I wrote about how fasting allows us to focus more on God and our Messiah rather than food and drink, thus having a day where we are “at-one” with God. This is the only day in ancient Israel that the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. We now have the ultimate High Priest always in the Holy of Holies, and He allows us to have access to our Father through Him.
Well, this year I wanted to focus on something different. I wanted to look at a deeper fast other than abstaining from food and drink.