Mr. C's Blog

Good morning,

Joshua is one of my all-time heroes in the Bible. He was a man of great courage and conviction but more than anything he trusted God. It did not matter the size of the giant he was facing, Joshua stood firm in his faith. I love the story in Joshua 3 where he was preparing the people for their entrance into the Promised Land. He was giving instructions on following the Ark. Joshua 3:2-5 states:

“After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the   people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.” Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

In verses 3- 4, he tells the people to follow God and you will know which way to go even though you have never been this way before. That is an incredible statement that we all need to stop and take in for a moment.

That verse tells me that if we will follow God then He will lead us in the right way regardless of if this is new territory or not. What a word for us as believers! What a word for us as believers! Life is difficult but if we follow God we have His promise that He will direct our steps.

Joshua 3:3-4 are great verses, but I do not want you to miss verse 5. Joshua tells us to:

“Set ourselves apart today; for tomorrow God is going to do great things among us.”

This entire passage should give us hope that if we will give ourselves totally to God  that God stands ready to do great things in our lives and the lives of our families.

I pray that each of us will have the courage of Joshua to stand up to the strong winds of this culture and intentionally set our families apart for God. Maybe we need to set Joshua 24:15 as the mantra for our families.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

May we choose serving God as the intentional plan for our lives and families? The culture we live in is attempting to swallow our families’ whole with sin and corruption. The enemy is alive and well. We truly live in an age where few believe in absolute truth and so many are walking away from the faith.

God is offering us a much better alternative for our families if we will intentionally choose as Joshua to follow and serve God and live according to His Word. With an intentional plan to follow God and a committed dependence on Him, the future could big.

Have a great day!
Rick Calloway

Good morning,

“I wonder, then, why the last thing Jesus told us was to go into the

world, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that

He commanded. You’ll notice that he didn’t add, ‘But, hey, if that’s too

much to ask, tell them to just become Christians- you know, the people

who get to go to heaven without having to commit to anything’.”

— Francis Chan

What does ordinary look like today in Christianity? The look is not good. The ordinary Christian life in our world today is characterized by a lack of commitment. George Barna recently revealed some alarming research that best describes the lack of commitment I am referring to in Christianity.

He states:

“More than three out of four self-identified Christians (78%) strongly agreed that spirituality is very important to them. Yet less than one out of every five self-identified Christians (18%) claims to be totally committed to investing in their own spiritual development. About the same proportion of self-identified Christians (22%) claims to be “completely dependent upon God.”

The truth is that everyone alive in this world today is surrendered to something whether it be self, others, things, or Jesus. What scares me and keeps me up at night sometimes is that I am afraid that a lot of people in our churches today have never understood what it means to repent and receive Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. I am concerned that they have never come to grips with what it means to be committed to Christ.

The ordinary Christian experience today also refuses many times to stand up and make a difference in our world. Many times, as Christians, I am afraid we are too content to live in own little bubble and be concerned only with what seems to impact our existence. Our world desperately needs to see us live out our Christianity by standing for what is right and standing against what is wrong. More than ever, our world needs to see authentic Christianity that does these things and loves like Jesus.

What do our Christian lives look like? What are we surrendered to? What are you committed to?

Do not miss what Jesus had to say about this in Matthew 7:21.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will

enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually

do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”

Let’s not settle for the ordinary when God has called us to live for so much more!

Have a great day!

Rick Calloway

Good morning,

“There are really two major obstacles all parents face in teaching their children to obey: not only is the world they live in corrupt, but they themselves are sinful creatures too. They face a difficult struggle both inside and outside.”-John MacArthur

When our children are little, it is important to teach them Biblical principles such as to be kind to one another and to teach them the importance of sharing. As our kids begin to grow, we need to develop a more detailed spiritual plan that will equip them to face the battles on the outside that Paul described in 2 Corinthians 7:5. A great detailed battle plan is found in Ephesians 6:11-18.

Ephesians 6:11-18: “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

The concept of daily putting on the armor of God is one of the most important Biblical principles we can teach our children. We should first begin teaching them that this is a daily practice. From this passage, what are we to teach our children:

-    Their battle is not with people. It may seem like it at times. However, I wanted to teach my kids to love others and recognize that problems and disputes occur between people but learn not to take things out on people we are upset with. I want to teach them to be quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness. I want them as they grow up to know where the real source of our problems comes from.

-   I want them prepared through a study of God’s Word how to use the Bible as their sword to deal with the conflicts, disputes, and problems that come their way. Knowing God’s Word and hiding it in their heart will provide them with the tools necessary for the battle.

-   I want them to own their faith boldly as their helmet of protection. Knowing that they are a child of the King will provide them much needed security for the battle.

-   I want to teach them to walk in the Spirit as Colossians tells us so that they can wear the body armor of God’s righteousness.

-    I want to teach them to be filled with the Spirit so that they will readily share the Good News, sense the peace of God, and know the comfort of truth.

Parents, prepare your children for the battles of life with teaching them the principle of putting on the armor of God. 

Have a great day,
Rick Calloway

Good morning,

“In any case, we should live to whatever truth we have attained.

 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.  For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.” Philippians 3:16-18

I think we all at times have looked for models to pattern our lives after. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where my dad was someone who I could pattern my life after spiritually. He was a man who loved God, loved God’s Word, and loved me.

One of my biggest fears about being a parent was that I could be the type of role model that my children could pattern their lives after. My heart’s desire has long been that my children would see Jesus in me. I sought God for a long time for answers on how to live up to this desire. God has given me Philippians 3:16-20 as my answer for doing this.

In this passage, Paul made an incredible statement above when he asked those around him to “pattern their lives after his and follow those who follow our example.” I do not believe that Paul had an attitude of arrogance in believing that he had arrived spiritually. I know that because in Philippians 3:12 he declares “that I have not arrived.”

So, how does he make that kind of statement? I believe it comes not from confidence in himself but confidence in what God had done in his life. Paul had once been an enemy of the cross as he describes in verse 18. What did Paul mean by the statement “an enemy of the cross”?

Verse 19 of Philippians 3 gives us that answer when it says: “They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” Paul knew that he had been rescued from a life that was headed in the wrong direction and only focused on the things of this world.

Instead, Paul had experienced the truth of verse 20 in this chapter and had committed his life to the truth of this verse. Verse 20 declares: “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior.” Everything about Paul’s focus and direction for living had changed.

He was no longer focused on the things of this world but instead he operated his lifestyle from the vantage point of a citizen of Heaven. Paul’s quest now was to live for Jesus and to do so in such a way that God would be glorified. From the confidence he now had in Christ, he could tell others to follow or pattern their lives after what God had done in his life.

Paul had decided to live up to the standards required of a citizen of Heaven. I knew that for me to give my kids a pattern that they could follow I would have to allow God to change my vantage point. I would need to focus on growing my relationship with Christ and allowing Him to give me the mindset of a citizen of Heaven. I learned that I must be living in such a way as to bring honor and glory to God in all I do.

Have a great day!

Rick Calloway

Good morning,

“For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”

James 1:23-25

As I have gotten older, I sometimes think in my mind that I am still a young man. In those times, I find it hard to believe that I have gotten old. However, one look in the mirror reminds me of the truth. The mirror reveals the gray hair and wrinkles that are there dispelling the notion that I am still a young man.

Once I have seen what the mirror reveals, I can choose to walk away content with what I have seen or I can choose to make a change to my appearance. I could choose plastic surgery to remove wrinkles or dye my hair to change my appearance, so I can have the mirror reflect something different in the future.  (No need to worry-I am not doing that). My point is the mirror just reflects what is there.

In the passage above, James shares a similar analogy about the mirror when it comes to our spiritual lives. He tells us that reading and hearing the Word of God will reveal who we really are and the true condition of our walk with God.  The passage speaks of how we many times will see the picture of who we are through God’s Word, but we will walk away quickly without making any changes to our lives.

Other times, I am afraid we will not even consider the mirror of God’s truth because we do not want to face what the mirror of truth will tell us. I know that this has been true in my life at times in the past. When we do this, we are being held captive to a life that never satisfies.

This passage in James is offering us a better way to approach the mirror of truth. Instead of looking and quickly walking away from it, he is instructing us to “look carefully” at the truth that “sets you free” and “do what it says.”

James is teaching us to do three things. First, he is telling us to meditate on the Word of God, second to obey what it says, and lastly to not forget it. Let me leave you with two verses to consider that will help us as we approach the mirror of truth.

“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” Joshua 1:8

“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

 Psalm 119:11

The mirror truly does not lie! I pray that we will carefully look at what God is revealing to us daily through His Word!

Have a great day!

Rick Calloway