When a verse is hard to come up with fun motions to help –
rhythm is a great way to help memorization!
Author: Wick
Husband, Father, Pastor, Missionary, Writer, Poet, Friend, reader, coffee enthusiast, hockey Wing-Nut, musical participator, etc...
now what?
Anytime a book has promises of “Prosperity, True Love, Miracles, Peace, Ministry, Destiny, Family” along with the phrase “Activating His Ancient Secrets for Success”, you have to know it’s going to be incredibly entertaining.
This book was no exception.
Remember that show “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, where the puppets sat in front of the theater, discussing the finer points of amazing older pieces of cinema? This is the literary equivalent of many of those fine film classics.
We will skip straight to chapter 3, entitled “Understanding Christian Biology”. With a title like that, I was a little worried that he might actually talk about how we honor God with our physical bodies. That he might discuss how we are literally beings who depend upon breathing, and the Spirit of God can literally be involved in becoming a source just like that even now. Thankfully, he skipped all that theological mumbo-jumbo, and goes right for encouraging statements like:
“Modern science is now proving what God has always said: evil fear is the source of all death in our lives.” p. 46
Amazing. So glad I’ve read this book, and now understand why people get sick and die is rooted simply in the fact that they are afraid of getting sick and dying. How foolish of us not to see it before!!
Just in case anyone would not believe the amazing case built up in this chapter, he includes the references and full text of over 103 passages of scripture (in THIS 16-page chapter alone!!). When you quote that many passages, there’s no denying your knowledge of scripture.
Unfortunately, because quoting 103 passages in one chapter takes up so much space, there is very little he’s able to say from his own wisdom. That’s probably because he’s read his own chapter 10 entitled, “Understanding the Need for Persistence”.
The final hundred pages or so of the book are called “Affirmations”, which basically stands for “Magic phrases adapted from Bible verses that will make everything in your life better – which is what Jesus wants”. Mann points out also on page 167…
“The Affirmations take two and a half to four hours to make, depending on how fast you speak and how much you meditate on them as you say them. The more you can repeat them each day, the better.”
Perhaps as you spend 4 hours a day seeking God’s best prosperity for your life, you’ll be challenged to write a book where most of the content is proof-texting entire Bible passages, and charging people $20 per copy for it…
(There may be a small amount of sarcasm in this post. I really love the Bible, and believe Jesus has an amazing amount of hope to offer us as New Creations. I just don’t believe God has locked up ancient secrets and is snickering just beyond the door while most of us ring the bell…and authors like this try to pick the lock.)
saying no to frosting (sometimes)
I remember when each of our girls turned 1 year old. There’s a tradition that I didn’t even know existed, that my wife made sure we participated in. The entire family gathered around the giant table to light a candle and sing “Happy Birthday.” But then came the addition that I was not aware of. One that part of me continued to happen on our birthday’s until someone was….let’s say….near 30. 🙂
There was a birthday cake, just like any other party. But there wasn’t just one cake. There was another, smaller version of the cake, intended for the birthday girl all to herself. When the time came, we set the small cake in front of her and wait to see what would happen.
Her eyes grew wide as she took in the vision of frosty baked goodness in front of her. Maybe a moment or two of disbelief, as she looks around. Surely this must be a test? This couldn’t be intended for my enjoyment alone? Finally, her true desire is revealed. She has behaved and told herself “no” long enough.
She is transformed into the being commonly referred to by Dr.Kevin Leman as a “hedonistic little sucker of the ankle-biter battalion”. 🙂 I know many aren’t fans of him calling these cute little fluffy babies anything less than angelic. But we all know it to be true. Even as infants, our children are born with a natural self-inclination, and desire for pleasure. No one needs to teach this to them, or any of us. If something is enjoyable or tasty, we want it. (sidenote: I once met a guy who used the word “tasty” in place of “awesome”. I’ve tried to use it also. So far it doesn’t work for me, but I’m gonna keep trying.)
One of our roles as parents, is to teach our children self-denial. To help them experience waiting for what they want. Working toward something. Enjoying something slowly. Saying “no” to something, even when they could say “yes”.
Why?
Because we live in a world of assumed expectations. A culture of entitlement, where the “Pursuit of Happiness” (as defined by any individual) is a basic human right declared in our Declaration of Independence. There are children (and adults) today, who take every day by the horns, wondering how it can serve them.
As followers of Christ, one of our parental responsibilities is to train our children to put others first. To proclaim Christ as Lord, instead of self, or selfish pursuits. To lead them in lives that reflect Philippians 2:4, knowing life will go well for those who appreciate the little things:
“not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”
words from wick 