Mr. C's Blog

“Gratitude, warm, sincere, intense, when it takes possession of the bosom, fills the soul to overflowing and scarce leaves room for any other sentiment or thought.” John Quincy Adams

I love the Thanksgiving holiday season! I especially love gathering with family and friends to enjoy great food and fellowship. Most times this is a day where we are thankful for all that God has given us as we reflect.

However, I know that thankfulness is not something that should be relegated to only Thanksgiving Day. What would life really look if we began to live our daily lives with an attitude of gratitude? I love how John Quincy Adams describes the effect that a spirit of thankfulness has on us when we let it fill our spirits.

He says it “scarce leaves room for any other sentiment or thought.” He is right you know. When I have allowed a spirit of thankfulness to dominate my thinking I no longer find the desire or time for complaining, anger, or any other emotion.

More than Adams instructions, God’s Word is filled with truths as to how we are to live with a thankful spirit. I want to share a few with you:

“And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Be careful about nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6

“Then I will praise God’s name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving.” Psalm 69:30

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1

These are great reminders of how to give God thanks for everything in our lives. We are also to be grateful for our circumstances which is hard at times, in our prayer lives, in our daily speech, and daily walk.

Let me take these truths now and use them to say how grateful I am to God for what He has done for me. I am thankful that He saved me and that He gave me an incredible family. I am thankful that I get to lead such a great school. I am thankful to serve Him with my life. I am thankful for such great students, families, and staff in our school. I am grateful for this community of Metrolina and how it makes a difference in our community.

I pray that you will have a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving holiday! I also pray that each of us would allow a spirit of thankfulness to be a part of our everyday lives so that we might bring glory to our great God!

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” - Martin Luther

Prayer is one of the greatest privileges that we have as followers of Jesus Christ. However, it is also one of the least utilized and most misunderstood gifts for believers. James 4:3 describes this issue well when it says: “And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.” 

I love the way James phrases the issue of prayer when it says, “even when you ask.” The sad part is that many times it is not our first thought to go to God with the issues of life but rather to attempt to fix it on our own.  Next, he says that many times we ask out of the wrong motives.

So then, how do we effectively get our prayers answered? Let me give you some Biblical principles for an effective prayer life.

1)      Ask in faith: We must believe that God is able to do what is needed and to trust Him for what is best. “But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6

2) Pray in Jesus’s name: We should always ask in the name of Jesus. When we start asking that way, our motives will change. “You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy.” John 16:24

3) Pray according to God’s will: We must allow God to change our hearts to the point that our focus will be on things that please Him and those prayers He will answer. “And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him.” 1 John 5:14

4) We must be in right relationship with others: We must be right with others to have an effective prayer life. “In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.” 1 Peter 3:7

5) We cannot have unconfessed sin- “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Psalm 66:18

These principles are essential to an effective prayer life. I pray that each of us would grow our prayer lives and our relationship with the Lord as never before.

 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

When my youngest daughter was 3 years old, she went through a period where she was terribly afraid at night. Because of this fear, she would come into our bedroom at night and sleep beside our bed. Once there, she would want to hold my hand until she fell asleep. She needed the security of someone to hold onto to when she was afraid.

As adults, we too have many times when fear grips us and we ache for a feeling of security and peace. God’s Word reminds us that He never intended for His children to live in fear. 1 Timothy 1:7 tells us that He has not “given us a spirit of fear and timidity.” Paul was speaking to Timothy when he gave this verse. In verses 5-6 of that same chapter, he is reminding Timothy that because of his genuine, growing faith he did not have to be afraid or timid.

In fear’s place, this verse tells us that we have instead “power, love, and self-discipline.” What does Paul mean by this? What kind of power is he referring to? I believe that this power is the one that Paul spoke of in Ephesians 1:19-20 when he said:

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” 

My prayer is that we might truly understand the greatness of God’s power in our lives. It is the power that raised Jesus from the dead. Instead of fear, God has given us His incredible power in which to live our lives.

What kind of love is Paul referring to in 2 Timothy 1:7? I believe he is talking about a John 3:16 love that declares: “For God so loved the world that He gave...” He has given us a love that is sacrificial and unconditional. This is a love that “casts out fear.”

Finally, one of the fruits of the Spirit God has given us is self-control. If we will put our hope in Him and not this world, then we gain self-control over whatever comes against us. I love how 1 Peter 1:13 describes this truth:

“So, prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” 

We do not have to be afraid! God has promised us so much more!

Our culture has worked so hard in recent years to do everything possible to remove God from all aspects of the public square. This has systematically been going on for many years in our country. God has been left out and ignored in much of our culture.

For Christians, this is difficult because we believe that God created everything, and His fingerprints are on every aspect of this world. So, how could we possibly leave Him out? However, many times we as Christians leave Him out of our decision making and planning choosing to rely on our wisdom rather than His. I know this to be true because I have relied on my own wisdom far too many times instead of depending on God’s wisdom.

Paul in Colossians 2:3 tells us: “In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:3

This verse reminds us that in God alone we will find all wisdom and knowledge. His wisdom far surpasses anything we can imagine on our own. We cannot leave Him out and expect to have what we need to live this life victoriously.

Even more, this verse reminds us of the importance of Christian Education. Here at MCA, we do not leave God out of anything. We believe that God has something to say about everything in life including subject areas such as math, science, history, language, and all aspects of human behavior. A student cannot be totally prepared for this life without gaining a worldview that knows how to access God’s “treasures of wisdom and knowledge”.

We all have times in our lives where we struggle for answers to some of life’s biggest problems. The answers we need are found in the hope and truth of God’s Word. These treasures are not hidden or beyond our reach. They are available to us daily. For those of you who may be going through a difficult time finding the wisdom you need, I pray Colossians 2:3 will encourage you.

I also want to leave you with another verse of incredible promise for us as we live. This great promise is described so well in 2 Peter 1:3 when Paul declares: “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence.” 

Indeed, God has given us everything we need to live this life and find peace, joy, and contentment. In His power, may we claim it daily!

“The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Since the days of Ponce de Leon’s search for the fountain of youth, our world has been looking for ways to live longer and put off death. You can see this by simply watching commercials and see all the medications, diets, exercise plans, and more being advertised that will help not only prolong life but make us feel better and younger.

I do believe that taking care of ourselves and striving for a healthy lifestyle is something God would have us to do. However, I also believe that God’s Word goes beyond these ideas to present us with what it means to live a true life of quality. Proverbs 22:4 gives us great insight into what quality living looks like from a Biblical standpoint: “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.”

Solomon provides us in this verse with two things that should serve as our focus for living. First, he talks of living with “true humility.” Our world is consumed with taking selfies which underscores the real issue of this age. That issue is a society that is dominated by a concern for self. Solomon is telling us just the opposite. He is instructing us that life should not be about us but instead a true humility.

What is a true humility? I believe it is an attitude as Paul said in Philippians that “esteems others more than yourself.” It is a lifestyle that is characterized by Galatians 2:20 that says, “Not I but Christ.” 

The second thing we are to focus on is fear of the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? It is an awe and reverence of God that we should build our lives upon. Proverbs 9:10 tells us: "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom." 

A fear of the Lord will compel us to allow God to be the preeminent or most important relationship of our lives. With that in place, we will then begin to make our everyday decisions in a way that seeks to honor Him and not promote ourselves. It is a “foundation of wisdom” to build our lives upon.

Solomon not only gives us these two keys but he seals it by giving us the result of following these strategies. He declares that it will “lead to riches, honor, and long life.” Not riches as the world would describe but a rich lifestyle that only God can provide. A life that would be marked by peace, joy, contentment, self-control, and more.

Also, it produces honor. This type of lifestyle will do as Luke 2:52 says and give us “favor with God and favor with man.” There is no greater way to be remembered than as someone who has lived honorable before the Lord.

Finally, Proverbs 22:4 tells us that pursuit of these two things will lead to long life. The real secret is that if we will focus on the quality of life as God prescribes and not the longevity of it, God stands ready to give us so much more.