Turn the Stuff Off and Have Some Family Fun

This is a photo of me and my two of my grandkids, Daks and Spencer. We are resting from attempting to climb to one of the highest points of the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. 

Climbing the dunes is like facing the obstacles that life throws your way. You have to find the best route and stick with it even when it seems the going is too hard. Stick with it and make the most out of what you have but most of all enjoy life.

We did not make it to the top but we had fun trying and we certainly enjoyed the hike to where we are in this photo. 

With this post I want to plant in your heart the desire to turn off the television, unplug the XBox and sit down and plan a trip together.

I am 60 years old and I have no idea how long God will allow me to live and so this trip to Colorado was important to me.

I also want to warn you not to do some of the things I did while on this trip. I got uptight a couple of times over things that really did not matter. My attitude briefly killed the enjoyment we were having. Chill out and enjoy the time you have with those you love. 

Our last day in the area we went out to eat at Nino's Mexican Restaurant. We had hoped to go to Oscar's but it was closed so we went to Nino's. We ate on the outdoor patio area. Great food and atmosphere. We topped our meal with a large fried ice cream.

I think you can see we had a fun time at Nino's.

Go ahead take the risk and plan a trip with your family and discover what fun it can be without television, XBox or even Ipods. You just might find that you had more fun without those things than you do with them.

I hope my wife, my daughter and my G-Kids had a terrific time and are like me ready to go on another trip together.                                                                                                              

It was tough but someone had to do it.

Are You Guiltyof Adultery?

    I am sure that most of the guys who read this blog, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or whatever have never been involved in committing adultery. Or have you?

    Let's look at the definition of adultery which is found at Dictionary.com: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than his or her lawful spouse.

    Ok, so you and I may not have committed the physical act of adultery but are we still guilty of the thought process involved? Most religions would tell us that it is wrong to have sexual relations with someone who is not our wife and definitely not with the wife of another man. Christianity is no different but Jesus took it a step farther. We find His statement on adultery in Matthew 5.

    Matthew 5: 27-28 "You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt."

    If we look at the Old Testament figure of David who is described as a man after God's heart. we will find the steps involved in committing adultery. 2 Samuel 11: 2-4 One late afternoon, David got up from taking his nap and was strolling on the roof of the palace. From his vantage point on the roof he saw a woman bathing.

    1st: David was being idle and not doing his job. He was King and he should have been off with his men defending the kingdom.

    The woman was stunningly beautiful.

    2nd: David looked upon her beauty. The indication here is he not only looked at her but did a double take.

    David sent to ask about her, and was told, "Isn't this Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite?"

    3rd: David sent someone to gather some more information about her.

    David sent his agents to get her.

    4th: David sent one of his servants to bring her to the palace.

    After she arrived, he went to bed with her. 

    5th: David allowed his admiration of her beauty to become sexual contact.

    Guys lets be honest we notice a beautiful woman. That is not the problem here. The problem is the second and the third look. The problem is after the second or third look we begin to imagine what she looks like undressed which then leads us to imagining having sexual contact with her.

    That is what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5. Once we reach that point we are as guilty as if we actually did have sex with her.

    Jesus makes it clear that the sin does not begin as we undress a woman nor as we have sex with her. The sin begins within our hearts and minds.

    I have to confess I have been guilty believing the lie that the sin is in the physical. Men sin begins way before anything physically is stirred in you. I do not care what religious or non-religious back ground you have you are still capable of falling into this trap.  I encourage you to ask God to send another man into your life who can come along side of you and fight this battle with lust. 

    Note: This post was stirred in me by a sermon given at Vineyard Church by Lead Pastor Mark Warner.