What Is Adoption?

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Image from  http://adoptiongiftsonline.com/

"What does it mean to be adopted?" 

This question was posed this morning on the Facebook page of my church, Garden Valley Bible.

At first, I formulated the Sunday School answer in my head. Being adopted means that someone chooses to love you forever and invites you to live with them. Generally, children are adopted because their biological parents cannot take care of them for whatever reason or they simply don't want the responsibility of raising a child. 

The post went further and said, "Please take a moment and reflect upon what you have today as His adopted son." This prompted further word study into the issue of adoption.

We Repeat to Remember

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Do you remember this clip from Sesame Street? A little girl is sent to the store by her Mom to pick up three things: A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter. All the way to the store she repeats these things to herself over and over so that she'll remember what she is supposed to buy.  

If You, Who Are Evil...

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Matthew 7:9-12

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

⁹ What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

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I was thinking about this passage today with regard to serving others. Garrett has been sick with strep throat this week. It is usually his and Vivian's job to unload the dishwasher. Vivian came to me and said, "I am going to do Garrett's dishes for him." Aaahhhh! How my heart melted!

I heard her in there working away with such happiness about the good thing she was doing for her brother. So, what did I do? I helped her with her part and Garrett's part of the dishes, and I rewarded her with two shiny quarters, which is gold for an almost six-year-old.

I don't write all this to brag on myself or my daughter, even though I'm proud of her. I just started thinking about this verse and thought if I, being evil, would help and reward my daughter for her heart of service to her brother, how much more will our Father in Heaven come alongside us, help us, and reward us when we lay down our rights and serve one another?

Just a few thoughts for this afternoon. Anything to add?

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[Guest Post] Let My Words Be Few

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This is a guest post by my friend, Robert Locklear. Robert is the Minister of Worship and Music at Christian Church of Clarendon Hills (Illinois). Check out Robert's blog and follow him on Twitter.

In Judges 11 there is a story that, if you're not prepared, will catch you off guard. You read it and just hope for a Hollywood ending. You even pray for an Abrahamic ending!  "Let there be a scapegoat".

Between Called and Crowned

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     Are you on hold? Do you feel like you've been called, gifted, or maybe even "anointed" to do something something but the pieces just haven't fallen into place for that to happen? Maybe you're working for a company and are more qualified for a position that someone else is doing. Maybe you're gifted in worship leading, but the opportunities to grow your ministry haven't opened up.

Image: Master isolated images / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

     Whatever your situation, I would like to discuss with you some observations from the life of King David in the Bible. He was a young boy when he was anointed as king of Israel. Israel's King Saul had turned his back on God, so God removed the kingdom from his lineage and established it with Jesse's family line. Although David had been anointed as king, he did not assume the crown for several years.

     In a previous post, we looked at how God refined Joseph's character and how you should hone your craft and character in obscurity before setting out in public service. In this post, we have some clear examples of what not to do in the time "between called and crowned."

Honor Thy Mother-in-Law (Part 1)

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Do not persuade me to leave you
or go back and not follow you
For wherever you go, I will go,
and wherever you live, I will live;
your people will be my people,
and your God will be my God.
Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May the LORD do this to me,
and even more,
if anything but death separates you and me.
Ruth 1:16-17

This passage is often quoted in tears at a wedding. It is a beautifully-poetic promise of lifelong loyalty. If you did not know the story of Ruth, you would assume that she was speaking to her husband. However, she actually spoke these words to her Mother-in-law, Naomi.

Let's Talk About Your Rest Ethic

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A lot has been said about rest. I'm sure you could walk into a bookstore or surf Amazon and find a plethora of books on the subject. The problem is that hardly anyone rests. Why is that? I would submit to you that in the age of technology where information is coming at you 24 hours a day at the speed of thought, there is pressure to try to keep up with it. There is pressure to not be "out of the loop".

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[Video] New Song - Let Us Fix Our Eyes

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Here is a new original song for worship. I wrote the lyric based on a passage in Hebrews 12. It is a short song, so I used it in the place of a spoken exhortation or scripture reading between songs. Hope you enjoy!

Why Twelve Stones?

Joshua 4:19-24 "The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan, and he said to the Israelites, "When your children ask their fathers in the future, 'What is the meaning of these stones?' you should tell your children, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. This is so that all the people of the earth may know that the LORD's hand is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God."

I have a picture on my desk that always makes me smile.

Four Reasons To Be Like a Child

Matthew 18:3 "I assure you," [Jesus] said, "unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus' disciples had been arguing about who among them would be the greatest in the kingdom. It's so easy to look at them and scoff at their silliness. Don't we do the same thing, though? Don't we judge our lives and the lives of others in the church by how much we've done for the kingdom? It's especially easy for those of us in public ministry to look at our accomplishments and think that Jesus has a special place reserved for us because of all we did for him.

Jesus turns this argument on its head when he says, "Unless you're like a child, you won't even ENTER the kingdom." The magnitude of this saying of Jesus bears investigation into the qualities of children that Jesus loves and how we should pray for grace to exhibit those qualities in our own lives.

Who Is Fighting For You? [Blog Re-mix]

This is a guest post I originally wrote for another blog. I thought I would share it here for you.

Exodus 14:13-14 Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." 

What a pep talk!

Don't Seek The Spotlight

^{Psalm 105:19} Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
      the Lord tested Joseph’s character.

Have you had a dream of what God was going to do in your life? Something you felt sure he was calling you to accomplish? Has the waiting seemed like it will never end? Have you felt forgotten by God?

[Video] New Song - Shout With Joy

© Copyright 2011 Toby Baxley

Go In the Strength You Have

Judges 6:14 The Lord turned to [Gideon] and said, "Go in the strength you have and deliver Israel from the power of Midian. Am I not sending you?"

This verse jumped off the page to me as I was reading the scriptures a couple of days ago. It seems so relevant to where I am in my journey right now. That may seem like a stretch to say, but bear with me.

Amazing, But I'm Not Sure Why

I may ramble a bit here, but I would like to tell you what has me fired up these last couple of days. I just finished the book, Quitter, by Jon Acuff. If you recall, Jon is the writer of a couple of other books, most notably Stuff Christians Like. The point of Quitter is basically, "Don't quit your day job." I, like many, falsely believed the lie that in order to pursue my dream of being a songwriter/recording artist, I would have to quit my steady, full-time job and live on faith and ramen noodles to make my dream come true. In fact, other leadership authors have basically said the same thing. The most clear message I had in my head was "leap and the net will appear". That may be the case, but I think that message is incomplete. It should go something like "leap at the right time and the net will appear" or "build a net, then climb the ladder and leap." Anyway, I told you I might ramble.