Self Entitlement

Posted on by pastordarryl68

Self-entitlement: when someone deems themselves entitled to treatment, privileges, rights, etc. not extended to others; when someone believes they are the exception to established procedures, rules, guidelines, etc. that provide for order within a community; when someone takes advantage of the kindness or generosity of others for their own advancement.

There are few things that fire me up more than when people profess to be followers of Jesus but behave with self-entitlement. That’s how the Pharisees behaved.

If following Jesus isn’t changing me daily, then I’m not following Jesus.

Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Don’t Surrender Your Children

Posted on by pastordarryl68

I’m so grateful for the godly men and women who teach and administrate in our public institutions, funded by our taxes. It is the greatest and most difficult mission field in the Western Hemisphere today. I pray the power of the Lord our God, KING of the Universe, Creator of our souls over each of them as they return to face a world of darkness, confusion, chaos, and deception in the agenda of the public education system.

Public education is one of the biggest gambling institutions in the US today. Children’s programming on media platforms is a close 2nd.

You’ve got a better chance of winning a million dollars at the slots today than you do of your children NOT being groomed for slavery to the enemy by the curriculum, teachers, actors, animations, and gaming to which parents enable and expose them.

PARENTS: I know homeschooling is not possible for everyone and this is not a condemnation of those who choose to utilize the public education system. BUT…whether you utilize the services of the public education system OR even a private, “christian” school — DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR CHILDREN to their schools and teachers. DO NOT SIT THEM UNATTENDED in front of any form of media.

God entrusts children to parents for a reason: parenting is a RESPONSIBILITY. Nurture, educate, instruct, model, correct, encourage, support, build up, hold them accountable, hold them responsible, advocate for them, stand up for them, protect them. This is all spelled out in scripture as the responsibility of the PARENT.

This was NEVER intended to be the responsibility of a teacher, administrator, actor, illustrator, or writer. Do not put that responsibility on already overwhelmed teachers and don’t enable the wolves that desire the hearts and minds of your children.

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. ~ Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Don’t Leave So Soon

Posted on by pastordarryl68

Am I really THAT strange? Don’t answer that too quickly!

When I’m in good company with people that I love (not talking about a crowd), like with my family, my church family or with good friends, I never wanna leave.

I often observe people that just can’t seem to wait to leave whatever environment they happen to find themselves. They seem to impatiently, always be ready to move on to the next environment and never find contentment and joy in just “being” in the current environment.

I’m not talking about making someone late for their next appt. I’m talking about the person who seems annoyed that their phone scrolling on the couch is delayed by a good conversation they’re not a part of. It’s annoying to have a good conversation interrupted by another who just can’t wait to leave.

Or maybe they just don’t find the company as enjoyable or lovable as I do. Or maybe it’s me that’s not enjoyable or lovable.

Live in harmony with one another. ~ Romans 12:16a

Selfish Ambition

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Philippians 2:3
Do NOTHING from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Have you ever thought of how easily we dismiss the full impact of the simple commands scripture and just slap a “good enough” label on our behaviors and/or thoughts? So much conviction from the painful truth of this one verse.

How many times TODAY have I thought or behaved in a way that was motivated or manipulated by my selfish ambition or conceit???

And yet scripture tells me to do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or conceit. Jesus > me!

A Real Love for Jesus

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“Jesus First”, “I Love Jesus”, or “Jesus Follower” can’t be a slogan or catch phrase that we apply only when the crowd and conditions are convenient.

Those words not only set us apart for His use, they set us apart for accountability and responsibility. Those words are a confession by which we will be judged by both heaven and earth (see Luke 9:23-24).

Isn’t it heartbreaking when followers of Jesus who share similar doctrinal understanding cannot dwell together in unity? When they can’t deal with their differences in opinion, preference, pet doctrines, misunderstandings, control, or conflict the way Jesus taught us to do?

It is not only heartbreaking to the Father but it is in direct opposition to Jesus’ prayer to the Father for us. How is it that we cannot accomplish what Jesus prayed for to the Father and gave us the Holy Spirit to help?

When the Father, Son, and Spirit are all in cooperation toward one goal and it fails, there is only one cause – selfish sin.

“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. – John 17:20-23

According to John 14, this heartbreaking act is due to a lack of love for Jesus. That’s TOUGH but it’s true.

We Must Protect Our Lane

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I believe that the church should not be political. Let’s stay in our lane, but let’s protect our lane.

The problem is that politics has not stayed in its lane. The politicians who run your government of the people, by the people, and for the people, have run roughshod over our God Almighty, our homes, our Bibles, and our churches.

Leaders of the home and the church, it is not only our right but also our responsibility to stand up and protect our lane.

The church didn’t move. The Bible never moved. Your government didn’t just move. It invaded.

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. – Acts 20:28

Be Real

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There are some who have the keen awareness of everything wrong in the world — everybody and everything — and they share it far and wide. They don’t miss the opportunity for a negative review. They are the cloudy pessimists. There are others who only see and/or comment about the good. They are the sunny optimists.

I like to think I’m a realist. There is no life where it’s all roses and rainbows or all gloom, despair and hopelessness, regardless of your station, status or class. I hope to encourage others with edifying statements of positivity, while also acknowledging the struggles and evil in the world, with the resolve to do my part to help eliminate it. We can’t fix what we don’t acknowledge…but it does no one any good to just blast negativity without any constructive solutions and/or lessons learned through those experiences.

Which one are you?

The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. ~ Nahum 1:7

Rejoice and Weep

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There are hard pills to swallow in life.
Sometimes life’s not fair.
Sometimes circumstances don’t fall in our favor.
A storm may ruin one person’s wedding while simultaneously nourishing his neighbor’s crops.
Every race, game, competition, etc. has a victor and one who is not – regardless of how well-played, trained or executed by both parties.
One man’s joyful plans may be dashed by another’s plans for the same.
One man’s savory seasoning is another man’s salt in his wound.
One man’s inconvenience or hardship is another man’s blessing.
One man’s selfish indulgence is another man’s cross to bear.
Maybe it’s just a matter of perspective. Maybe it’s God’s hand of blessing on one and His hand of correction on the other. Maybe it’s for God’s greater glory and results beyond what we can see.
It’s hard to celebrate with others when the same action brings us pain.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

A Good Work Ethic

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You cannot bribe an employee with enough money to develop a good work ethic. A solid work ethic is a matter of character and faithfulness. It’s about commitment to your Creator (or to yourself for those who do not believe in God).

It’s motivated by how you can leverage what you’ve been given—not by what you get from the work or employer. It’s about believing in the work’s importance and quality—not about collecting a paycheck you didn’t earn. A good work ethic is about more than waiting to be told what to do next — it’s about a vision for the finished product that goes beyond the task.

I’ve seen employees give 150% for minimum pay, but far more give 60% effort for way more remuneration than they’re worth. I’ve seen employees give more time to their bathroom breaks, social breaks, and lunch breaks than they give to the work they’re being paid to do.

Too many people are willing to get paid for what someone else has worked for.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:10

The Straight Path

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Do you consistently acknowledge Yahweh? Do you thank him for each blessing he has given to you – salvation, sanctification, life, family, friends, neighbors, etc.? Do you ask him for help throughout your day, every day? Do you praise him for his faithfulness and his goodness. Do you give him the glory in your accomplishments and victories? Do you worship him in song? Do you take time each day to pray with him?

God wants us to seek his kingdom first! Instead of putting our desires first, we should want his will to be done in our lives. Isn’t that exactly how Jesus lived? We should not be in this for our own fame, but instead we should want his fame to increase. We should want to glorify him.

Yahweh calls us to acknowledge him in everything we think, say, and do. In Deuteronomy 6, God’s Word declares that we are to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all of our might. We are called to worship him with our head and our hands. This idea has been referred to as the “mark of the lamb.” He promises that if we acknowledge him in everything, he will make our paths straight.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ~ Proverbs 3:6