A
daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and
exhortation.
Thursday,
December 2,
2021
The Mt Soledad Cross here in San Diego was the source of much dispute for many years with attacks from atheist's groups and the ACLU.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
"The Foundation Of Godly
Character"
Message
summary: Meaningful
godly character development must be focused in the home
and church, daily stressing the timeless truths and
application of God's Word. Indeed, "bad company corrupts
good character." Is your home a "safe haven" from the evil
influences of the world? Are you actively participating in
a Bible-believing and Christ-honoring church?
Note:
We will not be podcasting while we are away from our home
studio. The built in mic on our travel computer is just
not adequate.
"Bad
company corrupts good character" (1 Corinthians 15:33).
"You ought to live holy and godly lives" (2 Peter 3:11).
The longer I live and the longer they're gone the more I realize how my parents modeled good character. My (Stephen's) mom kept a lot of old stuff, of little to no interest to most people including family members, with some exceptions. I regret that I am one of those family members who took little interest in Mom's childhood interests even though that would have meant a lot to her.
The longer I live and the longer they're gone the more I realize how my parents modeled good character. My (Stephen's) mom kept a lot of old stuff, of little to no interest to most people including family members, with some exceptions. I regret that I am one of those family members who took little interest in Mom's childhood interests even though that would have meant a lot to her.
But since
her promotion to heaven over 15 years ago I have grown far
more sentimental. My blasé
attitude for how she held onto that which was of no
value materially has changed to admiration for how she
held onto that which was foundational to her living a
life above reproach.
She still had recognition notes from her grammar school
teachers and, as I perused the material, I observed the
unapologetic attempts to instill virtuous character by the
public education system.
She held on to her 1941 public college yearbook where she participated in a campus group that had three main objectives:
Hope Winchoba, a descendant of a family that came over on the Mayflower back in 1620, was in her golden years when we served in Taunton, Massachusetts. Now with the Lord for nearly twenty years, we recall her telling us how her teacher daily read aloud to the students from the Bible in public school. Due to an infamous Supreme Court Decision in 1963, prayer and Bible reading in school began to phase out when we began school although Brooksyne still remembers it in her early years. She memorized "The Lord's Prayer" because of the daily recitation in Jane Addams Elementary school followed by a moment of silence. Of course at some point even that was phased out lest someone might be offended by it.
Now in most cases even posting the timeless, character building Ten Commandments is considered illegal and deemed unconstitutional! (Have you ever noticed how the word "unconstitutional" is bantered about for just about everything these days even though it usually is something not even mentioned in the Constitution and something the Framers could have never imagined?)
Our lead photo today is of the Mt. Soledad cross here in San Diego which was the source of opposition by a relatively small faction who want to remove the Judeo/Christian influence here in the US, claiming the cross was an establishment of the Christian religion. Several years ago a public school in Pennsylvania removed a posting of the Ten Commandments that had stood since 1957 due to an ongoing complaint from the godless "Freedom from Religion Foundation".* It seems one atheist student and her Mom were "offended". Consider all the evil and nonsense that takes place in public schools these days that offends me and so many others!
But all these years later we now see the rotting fruit of removing the historic Judeo/Christian understanding of character education, although there is now a renewed emphasis on teaching "character". But whose character will be taught and what will character traits be based on? If we understand "character" in both a negative and positive sense as a "way of life" or "moral habits", we see that plenty of character is already being taught. In far too many cases, the message is loud and clear; reject God and established moral authority and do whatever seems right in your own eyes if approved by governmental authority.
Our daily text states, "Bad company corrupts good character". Romans 12:2 commands us, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
By keeping evil company, Christians are in peril of being conformed to the pattern of this world so we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Christians, we must read, pray and apply the Word of God to our lives so that it shapes our thinking, not the evil company of this world. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary)
Meaningful godly character development must begin in the home and church, daily stressing the timeless truths and application of God's Word. Indeed, "bad company corrupts good character", it always has and always will. Is your home a "safe haven" from the evil influences of the world? Are you actively participating in a Bible-believing and Christ-honoring church, living in such a way that you are helping our country return to its biblical foundations? (This would be true for any country you may live in.)
She held on to her 1941 public college yearbook where she participated in a campus group that had three main objectives:
1) To
unite in a desire to realize full and creative life
through a growing knowledge of God.
2) To determine to have a part in making this life possible for all college people.
3) To seek to understand Jesus and follow Him.
2) To determine to have a part in making this life possible for all college people.
3) To seek to understand Jesus and follow Him.
Hope Winchoba, a descendant of a family that came over on the Mayflower back in 1620, was in her golden years when we served in Taunton, Massachusetts. Now with the Lord for nearly twenty years, we recall her telling us how her teacher daily read aloud to the students from the Bible in public school. Due to an infamous Supreme Court Decision in 1963, prayer and Bible reading in school began to phase out when we began school although Brooksyne still remembers it in her early years. She memorized "The Lord's Prayer" because of the daily recitation in Jane Addams Elementary school followed by a moment of silence. Of course at some point even that was phased out lest someone might be offended by it.
Now in most cases even posting the timeless, character building Ten Commandments is considered illegal and deemed unconstitutional! (Have you ever noticed how the word "unconstitutional" is bantered about for just about everything these days even though it usually is something not even mentioned in the Constitution and something the Framers could have never imagined?)
Our lead photo today is of the Mt. Soledad cross here in San Diego which was the source of opposition by a relatively small faction who want to remove the Judeo/Christian influence here in the US, claiming the cross was an establishment of the Christian religion. Several years ago a public school in Pennsylvania removed a posting of the Ten Commandments that had stood since 1957 due to an ongoing complaint from the godless "Freedom from Religion Foundation".* It seems one atheist student and her Mom were "offended". Consider all the evil and nonsense that takes place in public schools these days that offends me and so many others!
But all these years later we now see the rotting fruit of removing the historic Judeo/Christian understanding of character education, although there is now a renewed emphasis on teaching "character". But whose character will be taught and what will character traits be based on? If we understand "character" in both a negative and positive sense as a "way of life" or "moral habits", we see that plenty of character is already being taught. In far too many cases, the message is loud and clear; reject God and established moral authority and do whatever seems right in your own eyes if approved by governmental authority.
Our daily text states, "Bad company corrupts good character". Romans 12:2 commands us, "Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."
By keeping evil company, Christians are in peril of being conformed to the pattern of this world so we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. Christians, we must read, pray and apply the Word of God to our lives so that it shapes our thinking, not the evil company of this world. (Enduring Word Bible Commentary)
Meaningful godly character development must begin in the home and church, daily stressing the timeless truths and application of God's Word. Indeed, "bad company corrupts good character", it always has and always will. Is your home a "safe haven" from the evil influences of the world? Are you actively participating in a Bible-believing and Christ-honoring church, living in such a way that you are helping our country return to its biblical foundations? (This would be true for any country you may live in.)
Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)
Stephen
& Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father, grant us strength and courage
as we face the many decisions to divert from Your
plan of truth and righteousness. May godly
character be that by which we are known, for a good
name is more desirable than great riches (Proverbs
22:1). May the rewards of our good character lead to
blessings for our family, for our country, for our
community and nation (Proverbs 20:7). And may our
children be known by their actions as well, by
whether their conduct is pure and right (Proverbs
20:11). Let us honor and love You in all we do,
through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.(prayer
adapted from
mysunshineroom.com)
*
Here's the article about the western Pa.
school that removed the Ten Commandments monument
that stood since 1957. They also had to pay an
extortion fee of $164,000 to the evil group who
demanded the removal of the Commandments. In fact I
often observe a monetary motive to the "I am
offended" crowd!
Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
This morning I walked along Sunset
Cliffs and saw this interesting camper.
"Less
Like Me" Video Zach Williams
As
longtime readers know this is not the usual
rural view we feature from our home, but this
is right across the street from our temporary
dwelling place. Lots of surfers, walkers, and
dog walkers. Yesterday, much of the day, a
heavy fog spoiled the view that we were
anxious to see, but today it is clear at 7 am.
We will enjoy a walk on the sunset cliffs and,
without a doubt, Brooksyne will take Falcon
and Rosie for a walk. They are the poodles of
our host and they're a lot of fun now that
they're getting familiar with us.
Yesterday
afternoon we got out and walked around Old
Town, the oldest settled area in San Diego,
and the site of the first European settlement
in present-day California.
We
really enjoy eating at this Mexican Restaurant
where the women, usually in their Mexican
attire, make huge quantities of tortillas and
other pastries. Five years ago we ate here in
the evening and were serenaded by Mexican
guitarists who also sang. I (Stephen) had an
interesting experience in this restaurant
yesterday. (See below)
Old
Town which is now decorated for Christmas
features a life size display of the three wise
men riding on a camel, donkey, and ELEPHANT!
The cactus so common in this dry area grow as
tall as trees throughout Old Town.
Finally
today:
Yesterday
following our meal at the Mexican Restaurant I
(Stephen) needed to use the little boys room.
Being a Mexican restaurant some of the signage
was in Spanish so that may have partly accounted
for my embarrassing moment.
I
located the restroom, walked in, and thought it
was rather peculiar that they only had stalls,
but being in California I thought it might be
some new thing. I walked into a stall and lifted
the seat and... then I noticed some women in the
bathroom and it occurred to me I was in the
wrong bathroom. Turns out I'm not a Mujeres!
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Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
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