Generational Prayer

Dear Tabernacle Family,

Let’s address an aspect of generational faith: praying and reading scripture with your children/spouse/family in your home. I had lunch with a group of school children this past week who had no clue what prayer was and how to pray. I remembered a line from a musical from years past: “God is good. God is great. Put some pizza on my plate.” It broke the ice and served as a springboard to a different prayer. We agreed to pray, “God is great. God is good. Bless the hands who made our food. Amen.” I believe it was the first time several of them had actually talked to God. And Carla, our cook, certainly deserved to be blessed in her service.

This encounter brought me to a different place. In your home, how comfortable are you praying in front of or with your family members? Do you know how to pray? But most importantly, do you know how to be genuine in praying to God in front your family? Kids and youth are smart and can snuff out the show-off in a brief millisecond. So, keep it simple and sincere.

1. God is worthy. When we pray, we need to remember God is worth the praise. God, You are Holy. God, You are Worthy. You are Kind. You deserve our praise.

2. God loves to hear from us. Conversations with God need to be an affirmation of faith and a genuine discussion of what we want to say to Him.

3. God wants to talk to us. David meditated. He WAITED on God. Practice waiting in prayer to hear what God would say. But please keep it short. God can speak in a full 15 second pause that is palatable to young hearts praying.

4. Ask your kids, spouse, family, “What do you think God was saying to you?”

5. And lastly, BLESS your kids/spouse/family. A blessing is a prayer, a portion of scripture or words of encouragement or guidance.

Here is a blessing to use this week with a child, spouse, friend. Say: Now I know the Lord protects (insert name). He answers (his/her) prayers with His mighty power (paraphrase of Psalm 20:6).

The blessing: May you remember that God is with you always and protects you, even in the things you cannot see.

May God richly bless you.

Pastor Sharon Baldwin Preschool Ministries/Southwestern Day Care Director

Inheritance

Dear Tabernacle Family,

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 (NKJV)

Becoming a father has brought this Bible verse to life for me. It has become a driving force in how I live, work and spend my resources. In everything I do now, I’m reminded by God’s Word. Am I leaving an inheritance for my grandchildren?

There is an Iroquois philosophy called the Seventh Generation Principle. This principle states the decisions someone makes today should result in seven generations of sustainability. Benjamin Franklin even considered this principle as a contributing influence on the American Constitution. Our founding fathers were moved by the Iroquois system of government. Whether knowingly or not, this principle shares much of the Biblical wisdom that King Solomon shares with us in the book of Proverbs.

Sadly, much of our culture today has rejected this Biblical wisdom of living with a generational worldview. Today’s sentiment is to take advantage of what’s in front of you and don’t worry about the consequences that will be left behind. This is often short sighted and I believe in many areas of culture/society we can point to circumstances where we are dealing with the effects of this type of living. What would happen if the church rejected the hedonistic lifestyle that culture is promoting and began to look at the world through the Biblical wisdom of King Solomon? Would we see failing churches, buildings in disrepair due to lack of financial resources and constant splits and divisions?

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, Psalm 24:1a (NKJV)

When we align ourselves with God’s Word and recognize that every decision we make has lasting ramifications, we are able to build a legacy that not only sustains our children and our children’s children, but creates a continuing platform that God can build from strength to strength, Glory to Glory!

I pray that as a church, we seek this Biblical lifestyle of generational living and blessings.

With love,

Pastor Joshua Ogle

How We Win

Dear Tabernacle Family,

Does it matter how we win?

My deep love and respect for the game of baseball is no secret. There are individual players and teams that I tend to follow, but my interest is for the game and how it’s played. To a casual observer, the game may be less than exciting, but to its followers, it is full of strategy and individual contests. There are rules and traditions that guide how the game is to be played.

You are probably aware that a scandal is casting a shadow over the validity of a certain team’s accomplishments, which spreads to the integrity of the game. The performance of those to whom the game has been given to steward is in question.

There is a desire in each of us to succeed in the endeavors that we are engaged in. With that comes a desire to have an “edge” that gives an advantage in the matter. Does it matter how that edge is obtained? Does it matter how a person or team wins?

Paul likens his life to running a race where the contestant competes for a perishable crown. He was so focused on the goal that he would not consider allowing anything to hinder that pursuit. The writer of Hebrews speaks of running a race before a great cloud of witnesses and encourages the runner to lay aside every weight and sin that would easily ensnare us.

Psalm 24:3-6 asks an important question and answers it as well. “Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord, or who may stand in His holy place?”

Scripture contains numerous accounts of those who ran the race of life, the challenges and sacrifices that they made. They realized that the race can be long, you become weary, and even seem hopeless. If you quit, you certainly can’t win. If you find a way to “beat the system” victory is hollow, and if discovered, can be removed.

The Psalmist in Psalm 73 had doubts that almost overwhelmed him as he compared himself to worldly men and their prosperity. He admits that he had entertained the temptation to yield to their methods and practices. They were proud, arrogant, seemingly untouched by adversity.

He describes his pain as he thought about it, “until he went into the sanctuary of God.” With that perspective he saw their end, and his view changed to “it was good for me to draw near to God.”

If you are wrestling with this type of issues in your life, please don’t allow yourself to grow faint in your well-doing. Each of us will be measured by how we live our lives with what God has given us. There is a trap in comparative living. It will leave our lives open to envy and lust for things that will not satisfy because they are obtained out of questionable motivation.

Live your life in a manner that will produce victories that will bring true satisfaction.

Pastor Allen Baun