Author: jcudd14

This is a post that at first glance people may think applies only to parents. I am going to talk from a parent’s perspective, because I am a parent and that is my point of reference. But this could apply to grandparents as well. It could also include those that don’t have kids, but are in contact with kids, which could include basically everyone. It could also include future parents. So basically, this could actually involve everyone. So there you have it. This could be an all encompassing topic that could cut to the heart with a little bit of truth serum and a little bit of reflection.

Life is busy. We get caught up in a lot of things. We have a lot going on. I wasn’t alive in the “good ole days” but they tell me things were a lot slower than they are now. They tell me there were a lot less activities and a lot more family time opportunities. I can’t verify that because I obviously wasn’t around to see it. I do know that things are busier now than when I grew up though. But, as my own children grow up this topic comes to mind every day. What have we instilled in them?

There are the basic principles that every parent wants their kids to have. We want them to be hard working, respectful to other people, successful when they grow up, etc. I would say that no one would honestly say they don’t want those types of things for their children. But, what have we really taught them? This question comes to my mind regularly and I always wonder if Kristin and I have done the right things and done enough of those things.

Have we taught them to have a relationship with Jesus Christ? What exactly does that mean anyway? That doesn’t necessarily mean just taking them to church services on Sunday. That means have we been an example to them of what it means to have a relationship with our Lord. Have they seen us opening our Bibles and spending time in God’s word? Have we prayed with them at meal time? Have we prayed with them at night? Have we talked with them about what it means to have a relationship with the Lord and not just be a Sunday morning acquaintance with God? These are all legit questions as to how we have done as parents.

Have we taught them about priorities? Have we taught them that nothing takes precedents over attending Church services on Sunday? No activity, whether it is a ballgame, a shopping trip, a vacation, or whatever else the case may be, is worth missing time with God on Sunday. Does that mean that you will be at your home congregation every Sunday? No. There are times when you will be out of town. But, did we attend services on the road or have our own services in our camper while at a campsite somewhere? Did we make it a priority, or did we just say it will be alright for this one time? That one times makes it easier and easier the next time we want to do the same thing. I just want to make sure our children know that nothing takes priority over God. This also goes beyond just Sundays. Have we taught them that our relationship with God is not only a Sunday morning thing? Have we shown them by our actions that a relationship with God is a daily thing? It is easy to get caught up in attending church service on Sunday and then not spending any time with God until the next Sunday. Trust me, I did it for years. I look back now and realize that is not a very good way to go about things. But, it is easy to fall into that category.

Have we taught them how to treat other people? Have we taught them that you don’t repay one bad act with another? I Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” This is a tough one. Sometimes when someone does something to wrong us, even if we don’t act on it, we talk about how we feel about that person and a lot of times that is negative. Another problem with that talk is when our kids hear it. That isn’t what they need to hear coming out of our mouths. Romans 12:17-21 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” That is so tough to do sometimes. But, that isn’t me talking. That’s the word of God. That is our creator instructing us on how to handle people. It all goes back to the two greatest commands, love God and love your neighbor. Everything else falls into one of those two categories. I have talked about the Robertsons from Duck Dynasty in here before. I recently heard Phil tell a story about many years ago when he fished for a living. He went out to run his nets one day and discovered that someone had been getting to them before he did. He finally caught them in the act. When he caught them, he took the fish back that they had stole from him and then he gave some of the fish back to them. He said if you would just ask me I will give you some. He told them if they were hungry to stop by his house and he would feed them. He told them all he asked of them was that they not steal from him. That is a great example of how to do exactly what these verses above are talking about. That wouldn’t be easy to do, but that is what God instructs us to do.

There are so many things we need to teach our children as they grow up. Parenting is no doubt a hard, but massively important task. But, they do come with an owners manual, the Bible. What makes this difficult is that there are times when what we really want to do and what the Bible tells us to do are completely different. We just have to remember that if we use the Bible as our guide, there is a far greater reward than anything on this earth. It may not always be the popular decision amongst the people we are around, but that is ok. The eternal reward will be worth it.

Just last night we were eating supper and our kids got a pop out of our barn fridge, which used to be my grandparents fridge in their house. Our youngest took a drink and said, “This can smells like Papa ( who passed away a couple of years ago) and reminds me of him.” A few minutes later my daughter was in her room crying. It was weird that she was doing that, but especially weird because it was Daxon’s birthday and we were getting ready to have cake. I went back to Channing’s room and asked her what was going on. She said, “When Daxon said that his pop can smelled like Papa it made me miss him and Nene (who has also passed away) and I just want to see them again.” That was one of those parenting moments that caught me completely off guard. Here I am about to dive face deep into some oreo dirt cake and then she springs this on me. Talk about putting me on an emotional roller coaster. So we talked about how we will see them again. We just have to live our lives in a way that we trust God and we love God and love our neighbors and we will be united with not only Papa and Nene, but everyone else that we love that has gone on before us. I guess that talk and a hug was all she needed. After that, we hopped up and went back into the kitchen and absolutely destroyed that oreo cake.

So, as I look at the overall picture of raising kids, this is what I see. I look at all these things I want to do with my kids, and all of these things I want to teach my kids. We are, just like everyone else, busy with activities and hobbies and things that we enjoy doing. All of those things are great. I feel like they are great for them and for their overall development. It is great to teach our kids to go on vacations, play sports, camp, hunt, fish, build things, learn a trade, or have other hobbies. The list could go on and on. But, there is one question that always comes to my mind, and more lately than ever. What have we done with their soul? Have we instilled in them the love of God and the desire to seek a deep relationship with Him? But most importantly, have our children seen this in us? We all know that kids do what they see more than what they hear. You see, kids have selective hearing, no doubt. I see this daily in my house. It might even go beyond my children and apply to my wife as well. But, the kids definitely don’t have selective vision. They pick up on everything that we do. Sometimes I even catch myself thinking, “That doesn’t make any sense. Why are they doing that?” Then I realize they are just doing what they have seen me do. But anyway, that has really been on my heart lately. I just want to make sure that we are instilling in them what is truly important. Those hobbies are great and some of those can last them a lifetime. But, is what we are making our main focus going to benefit them beyond this life here on earth? If not, them maybe we need to re-evaluate what we are doing. Maybe we need to find a happy balance between our own desires and what God desires of us as parents. There are no do-overs with our kids. We get one shot. We must teach them to trust God and love God and love their neighbor and every thing else will fall into place!!!

It has been awhile since I’ve been on here. We have been busy. We have been out of town a lot. I have also been trying to process what all is going on right now. What is going on in our country is absolutely crazy. I can’t really even begin to describe how saddening it is to watch what is happening. It breaks my heart to see the divide that is taking place. What I hope to do by writing this post is to provide some encouragement. We can choose to get caught up in the craziness of the worldly view and let that effect our every day lives, or we can choose to take a Godly approach to this situation. We cannot be immune to what is going on. Unless we live under a rock we are going to at least hear some of what is happening. Everywhere you look there is information (some true and some fake) regarding the craziness that has became this country. The great thing is we can look to a constant that will never change, fail, or lead us astray. This is the Bible.

In Ephesians 6 we are taught about the Armor of God. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the full Armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” If we let all of this negativity creep into our minds and into our lives, that is exactly what the devil wants. He wants us to become part of the problem, not the solution. The armor of God can help be part of that solution for us as individuals and as a whole. Chapter 6:14-18 says, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all the saints.”

In a time like we are in right now, this gives me encouragement. This helps me to keep in mind that everything will be ok because God has equipped us with what we need to overcome evil of all kinds in this world. The tricky part is having the discipline to use it. The easier path is to have the same negative approach as a lot of other people. This outlook is contagious. It spreads quickly. It brings others along. But, so does a Godly view. So does being positive. So does being encouraging. It’s all how we choose to approach things.

Is it easy to have a positive approach in times like this, absolutely not. But our goal should be that we use the Armor of God in a way that those around us feel that it is easier to have a positive approach and that the negative outlook is rare. Is it always going to work out like that, no. But it certainly can’t hurt anything to think that it will.

I challenge everyone to dig deeper into Ephesians 6 and the Armor of God. I encourage everyone to work really hard at becoming a positive light in a dark world right now. These are hard times we are in. There is no doubt about that. We honestly don’t know where it is going from here. We have no idea. The great thing is we have a blue print for overcoming anything we encounter in this life, and that is the Bible. We can use our foundation, our Christianity, to make a positive difference in this negative situation. I hope we don’t just talk about it. I hope we put into practice what the Bible teaches. It is not always easy to do. But if we want to overcome all the negativity that is all around us, it is essential. There is no other way to come out on top. We might eventually SURVIVE all of this negativity, but the only way to THRIVE is through Jesus Christ and the Armor of God!!!

Think about this for a minute. Think about the answer to this question before you go any further. What is the single most important past, present, and future thing in your life? By that I mean what is the most important and impactful aspect of your your life before this very moment, during this very moment, and from this very moment forward? What is your primary focus and goal that you focus on more than anything else?

Now, having answered that question for yourself, let’s look at some different things that can effect the answer we came up with. If we are a Christian then we all could (and hopefully did) have the same answer, some form of God. It could have been Jesus. It could have been your spiritual life. It could have been your relationship with God. Maybe it was where you will spend eternity. All of those things relate back to God. Something dealing with God is the perfect answer. It’s like being in Sunday school as a kid. When the teacher asked a question and you didn’t know the answer or you were unsure, you couldn’t go wrong with Jesus. Everyone that attended Sunday school as a kid knows what I’m talking about. When you gave that answer, there was a decent percentage chance that it was going to be right. If it wasn’t exactly right, at least you were in the right neighborhood. The same applies to the first question I just asked.

I hope your answer to the first question was something to do with God. Mine was. But, if you are anything like me, there are a lot of things that get in the way of that and distract us from that focus. There are so many crazy things going on in our world right now. Many of those things serve as distractions. Many of them tear us away from God if we let them.

What if… we worried as much about our relationship with God as we do other people’s opinions and what they do and how they think. The Covid 19 pandemic has led to a lot of division. Instead of it uniting us to defeat it and do what we need to do to get this country back up and running, I have seen people lose friends over opinions. I have seen it divide us even more than we already were before. If we put as much effort into being more Christlike as we do ridiculing people for the way they handle the pandemic, we might all be closer to God than we were in March. But, we let what someone else thinks about it and how it was handled effect us and how we perceive those people. We talk bad about those people or let it negatively effect how we go about each day. We shouldn’t, but we do. We let what other people drive or the house they live in either cause us to be jealous or look down on them, depending on what end of the spectrum they are on. We judge people by their appearance. We see people that have a different sense of style than us or different hair color than we do and automatically have thoughts about them and we have no clue if they are accurate or not. It is things that simple that can cause us to stumble.

What if… we put our time with God before other things that stand in our way. There are so many things that take us away from time with God. We don’t think we have enough time. Our day is too busy to sit down for some alone time and feel God’s peace and power. We have too much to do when we wake up and we stay up too late to get up earlier the next day. We put other interests before our time with God. We have activities planned during worship time with God. Sporting events take precedence over time with God on Sundays. Other activities during the week can keep us from being involved in youth activities or other church events at times. I’m not saying that we will never miss church or a church event. But when we let these things take over once, then twice, then several times, it just becomes easier and easier to let it happen again and again. That is how we slip away from God. That is how we fall away and need God’s mercy to come back home to him. That is the wonderful thing about the God we serve. He welcomes us at any time with open arms if we truly seek a relationship with him.

What if… we claim to say and do all the right things, but never really seek him. Maybe we never really follow the two greatest commands, love God and love your neighbor. Matthew 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ That is a little scary to me. It’s not just about proclaiming to be a Christian. If it was that easy, everyone would do it. These verses make me think about all the times I haven’t put God first. That makes me think back to all the times when I was a lukewarm Christian (I have talked about that in here before). What if Jesus had came back to Earth then? Would I have been one that He said that about? Would He have said he never knew me? I put a lot of things before God at that time. I still do at times, but I try to get better each day I’m given the opportunity.

So the final question is, what if Jesus comes back today? It’s going to happen at some point! Is our name in the Book of Life? In Revelation 3:5 Jesus says, “He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” That’s what I want to happen one day for my family and myself. But, I also want everyone else I know to hear those words too. One thing I have thought a lot about during this quarantine is that we can always get better at being a Christian. It is a lifelong process. I have really examined life the last three months and realized that things slowing down has made me aware of some things I didn’t realize. I had things that I allowed to distract me and pull me away from God because I was “too busy.” There is always room for improvement in everything we do, and that includes being a Christian. It’s not over when we become a Christian, but it is a lifelong journey of ups and downs. We must be diligent in our desire to grow closer to God. The saying about talking the talk and walking the walk still rings true today, maybe more than ever. It is easy to talk the talk. It is easy to proclaim to be a Christian. The challenge is walking the walk. That is difficult. There are distractions everywhere we look. Satan works hard to find ways to separate us from God. We must work harder to stay close to Him.

My challenge for us this week is to think about all the things that are distractions to us. It is different for everyone. Everyone has different struggles and temptations. This week examine what those distractions look like in your own life. Maybe we make a list of them. Maybe we put them in the notes in our phone. Do whatever you need to do to make it work for you. Once we get that list compiled, set aside time each day to pray to God about these things. Pray that He will help us keep our priorities straight. Pray that we can keep all of these things second to our Creator. In the grand scheme of life, none of the things that will be on that list matter near as much as where our family, our friends, and ourselves will spend eternity. What if Jesus returned today, would our devotion to God outweigh distractions from God? Would our name be in the “Book of Life”? If we are not confident in the answer to that question, what if…we rearrange our priorities to get right with God and lead others to him as well!!!