From The Desk of a Geek

From The Desk of a Geek 

Twenty-four 

Kobe Bryant is probably my favorite basketball player of all time. He is famous for being one of the best basketball players in the history of the NBA. He played guard for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years. He was known for his tough defense, vertical leap, and ability to score winning baskets at the end of the game. He is widely considered the best basketball player of the 2000s and perhaps one of the best of all time.

Kobe died in a tragic helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. His daughter Gianna and seven others also passed in the accident.

I recently saw one of his game worn jerseys on Ebay with a starting bid of $350,000.00.

That is an incredible amount of money for a sports jersey that probably cost $75.00 retail, but then I started to think it was "Who the jersey belonged to" as to why it cost so much...

"If just touch his clothes, I will be healed."

That's what she told herself, this nameless, bleeding woman who'd traveled 30 miles, fueled by nothing but faith.

It was a daring plan. According to Mosaic Law, women who were ceremonially unclean weren't allowed to touch anyone, let alone the Son of God. But desperate women do desperate things. For 12 long years blood had flowed from her body, making her physically sick and socially unacceptable.

The physicians of her time were unable to relieve her suffering. She "spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse". Some of us have been there, dealing with a prolonged illness or stubborn medical condition. It's frustrating, even embarrassing, to keep going to the doctor, only to return home with an expensive prescription, yet little hope.

The true miracle in this story is what remained healthy: her faith. Her willingness to believe she could be well again, despite all evidence to the contrary. When she heard about a man who'd "healed many who had various diseases", she made a beeline for Capernaum.

After a 30-mile journey, I would have thrown myself in his path, begging him to help me. Instead our bleeding sister quietly "came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak".

By law, her touch would have made him unclean. By grace, just the opposite happened. "Immediately her bleeding stopped". Without a word, a look, or a touch from Jesus, she was made whole simply by believing he could heal her—and daring to act on that belief.

When her faith was rewarded, she wasn't the only one who noticed. "He turned around in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?'". How her heart must have pounded. She'd just stolen a miracle!

When the disciples pointed out that many in the crowded street were touching him, "Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it". He wasn't looking to accuse but to affirm.

The same faith that empowered her to stretch out her hand now gave her the strength to step forward. She "fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth".

She risked everything—public humiliation, if not punishment—to make her confession of faith, explaining to the crowd "why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed".

With a single word from Jesus, 12 years of pain and isolation were swept away: "Daughter … ". In no other gospel account does Jesus use this term of endearment and respect. Daughter. She was a member of the family now, restored to her community, setting an example for others who "begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed".

This woman literally put feet to her faith: traveling to Capernaum, reaching out to touch Jesus' garment, and walking forward at his invitation. By faith, we too can go first in our families, in our workplaces, and in our circles of influence, stepping forward to proclaim, "There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole."

Lonnie ...

From The Desk of a Geek

From The Desk of a Geek 

Dad, Do You Remember When...

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Brady, Landon, and Alex. My three sons [see how I made a reference to an old TV show] we went shopping and lunch and of course had some laughter and crazy times.

And tonight, Landon, Alex and myself continued a tradition of seeing any new MCU movie on opening night. Landon even made a big deal out of it by wearing a shirt and tie..!

There is no verse in the Bible that says, “Spend time with your children.” 

But....did you know 100 years ago the average parent spent 54 percent of his waking hours with his children? Today that figure is only 18 percent. In fact, one study said the average father spends only eight to ten minutes per day with his children. No wonder when our children run into problems and temptations, parents are among the last to whom they turn for help.

In the Old Testament, Eli was a faithful and successful priest. He was successful in his work and successful in his ministry. But Eli was not a successful father–his sons were very rebellious. In fact, the Bible calls them “worthless men” (1 Samuel 2:12). They stole from the Lord’s altar and committed acts of sexual immorality. Verse 17 says of Eli’s sons, “the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord.” 

So how did Eli respond when he heard about his sons’ sin and rebellion? “Now Eli was very old; and he heard all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. He said to them, ‘Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people?’ . . . But they would not listen to the voice of their father”. 

God judged Eli and his sons for their unrepentant sin. As a result, when we think of Eli, we don’t think of his success in his work. We only think of his legacy of failure as a parent.

Parents, if you fail your children, you lose everything. That is why it is so important that we apply these biblical parenting principles. 

What we do or we fail to do as a parent does not just stop with our children, but it reverberates through generation after generation. You see, when we leave this earth, our likeness will continue to appear again and again in the children and the grandchildren we leave behind. And that is why it is crucial that we learn to parent with success

One of the most important things you can do for your children is to give them your time and to enjoy being with them. Kids aren’t dumb--they sense when you feel like they’re a bother. They also sense when you genuinely like them and enjoy their company. You communicate your attitude toward them, in part, by little gestures: a warm smile, eye contact, a gentle nudge or hug, a shared laugh.

Just putting down what you’re doing for a minute and giving them your undivided attention says, “You are important to me and I want to hear what you have to say.” Even though what they want at the moment may not be an important issue, if you express a welcome response, it can open the way for communicating at other times on more important things, such as spiritual values and character issues. Influence is imparted through time together, genuinely enjoying their company.

I see so many parents, even in Christian families, and especially dads, who destroy their relationships with their kids by being perpetual­ly angry. Their only communica­tion toward them seems to be the high-decibel rhetorical question: “How many times do I have to tell you ...!!!” Or, their anger burns through with sarcastic remarks, name calling, and put downs: “Hey, stupid, use your head!” Sometimes they just shake their heads in disgust, communi­cating non-verbally, but unmistakably, to the child you are saying, “You’re an idiot!”

I’ve seen people in public places talk to their children in ways that wouldn’t be appropriate for correcting your dog. 

Then, when the kids rebel as teenagers, the parents shrug their shoulders and say weakly, “It’s just a normal phase they have to go through!”

The Bible commands us to put off such rotten speech, and instead use words that build up others. It tells us to put off anger and to be kind and tender to each other.

Time is a vapor. Blink once and it’s gone. We all have a responsibility to steward and invest the time God gives us in things that produce lasting and eternal dividends. Let’s use the precious and limited time we have with our children by investing in their hearts. Life is short. By God’s grace, don’t waste it.

Lonnie...

The Social Media Generation

From The Desk of a Geek 

The Social Media Generation 

Social media wields a powerful influence on our teens. Their world is colored by Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and Youtube. They probably get their news from Twitter and Facebook, although my kids tell me mainly ancient people over 30 use Facebook now. Social media can be a powerful communicator of God’s truth, but it can also hurt. Some kids use it to bully and compete with others, or to subtweet at friends they’re upset with. 

No doubt about it, social media can shake us up, and I have to admit I’m not so different from my teen boys. When we look at lives, and images on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook we start to feel not so attractive ourselves, and  what we have, the places we go, and the people we know don’t look as exciting as the glamourous images we see, and before we know it, we start to feel less positively about ourselves, social media can shake our self-image.

One important difference between my boys, and I is that I’ve had 30 +  more years to learn how much God loves me and who I am in Christ. Although social media can present a powerful challenge for our teens, their greatest problem is a "VULNERABLE SELF IMAGE".

They haven’t had the time to develop a strong identity based on who God is and how much He loves and values them.

When we understand better how God values us, His love becomes an internal filter through which we see the images and words that social media throws at us. As parents, we can help our teens get to know God better, experience more of His Love, and learn more of who they are in Christ.

To be able to build a more positive self-image and let God’s love filter out the world’s negative voices, our teens need to know one of the most amazing truths about our Creator is that He cares deeply about His children and actually draws near when we call out to Him. We spend a lifetime learning this, but Psalm 145 provides a glimpse of God’s character and care for man: “The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made… The Lord is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The Lord is near to all who call on him”.  

Most of us can’t imagine anyone loving us more than our mother does, but Scripture tells us God’s love and care go beyond that of a mother for her child. His passion for us goes so deep that He has even engraved our names on the palm of His hand. He loves your teen and mine with an everlasting love, and He demonstrated that love by sending Jesus to die on the cross. 

Our true value rests on the blood Christ shed for us, not on the number of likes we get on social media. Scripture teaches that God knit your teen together in the womb, fearfully and wonderfully Our sons and daughters are His workmanship, created with a purpose.

Our teens will continue learning these truths their whole life, but we can help them get started on the right track by seeking to reflect God’s love in the context of a healthy relationship with them. God can be a nebulous concept, but our kids see us in the flesh every day. We can’t be perfect parents, but we can reflect some of His love to our children by giving them three important gifts:

I love the passage in Deuteronomy 33 where Moses speaks a blessing over each tribe of Israel. It reminds me that as a parent, one of my roles is to bless my children through affirmation. When they were younger, I used to pray over them individually each night, thanking God for such a wonderful child and mentioning specific traits and talents I saw in each one. I still do this occasionally, but not near often enough. 

As I write this, I realize all over again that my teens and adult son and daughter inlaw still need affirmation from their mother and me. 

We can counteract the negative voices our kids might hear through social media  when we take the time to tell them the special qualities we love about them. Ultimately a positive, loving relationship with us opens the channel for our teens to receive more of God’s love and truth. 

We can encourage our teens to grow a stronger self-image based on who God is and how He loves them. Let’s encourage them to spend a few minutes each day reading Scripture, so they’ll have truth in their minds to counteract the lies the world may throw at them. Sometimes the world may send us negative messages via Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, but we can learn to let God’s love filter what we see on social media. 

Lonnie...