In I Corinthians 13:3 Paul writes, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” Let that sink in a minute. You can live a life of sacrifice but if you don’t do it in a loving manner, it will mean nothing to God. Simply put, without love the best intentions don’t matter. You can be a parent with good intentions, but without love nothing you do will matter. You can discipline, and discipline until the cows come home, but it will all be a huge waste of time if not done with love.

Even if you do it with love, and it’s not the love language of your child it will be as if you don’t love them. I have heard many stories from children that tell me my parents don’t love me. I know their parents and I know they love their children. The issue is as parents we often don’t know how to speak the love language of our children. Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell in their book “The 5 love languages of children” list the five love languages as: (1) Physical touch, (2) Words of affirmation, (3) Quality time, (4) Gifts, and (5) Acts of service.

Is your child clingy? Do they always seek your attention? If so, it’s likely their primary love language is physical touch. Does your child seek attention, do they ask you over and over how they did. Their primary love language might be affirmation. Do they always want your attention, do they ask you to play cards with them, to throw the ball with them, their primary love language may be quality time. Quality time is when you give your undivided attention. They want you to put down your cell phone and listen to what they have to say.

You can tell your child you love them over and over, but if you’re not using their love language it will all be for nothing. They will still feel unloved and will lead to disciplinary problems. Speaking their love language doesn’t mean there won’t be any problems with your child later. But love is the key to the foundation on which they will enter adulthood.
Parents the greatest tool you have available to you in raising children is love. Not the amount of time you spend running from program to program. Not how fancy their clothing is. Not how many trips you take to Disney.

I want to be clear, knowing your child’s love language doesn’t do away with discipline. But when you discipline explain it to them using their love language. Never discipline out of anger. If you need a minute to gather yourself, take it. Then using their love language share with them why you are punishing them. I remember telling my youngest son once, how much I love him, but like God who disciplines his children, as your earthly father I can’t let your behavior go unpunished. There are consequences for breaking the rules. After I grounded him, and pulled him off of the football team, he knew why. And many years later he told me it was the best thing I ever did for him. Did you hear that, he said this was the best thing “you ever did for me.” All discipline should be for a purpose. To help our children become a better person. To become more like God and his Son. If you’re discipling in a rage, out of control and with no clear purpose, you are causing more harm than good.
Every child needs to receive love from all five of the different love languages. If you don’t know your child’s primary love language or your own for that matter, why not take some time today to figure them out. Doing this might help resolve some current issues you and your family are facing today. It will certainly help in building a brighter tomorrow for your children as they move into adulthood.

Have you ever lost your car keys, misplaced your cell phone, or forgot where you put your wallet? I have, and the feeling is terrible. I can’t focus on anything else until I find them. My mind runs a hundred miles a minute. I will search the entire house until I find them. Nothing is safe. I replay in my mind every step I took throughout the day. I flip the couch upside down and search behind the seats. I check the pockets of every pair of pants I’ve worn. Nothing is safe until I find the lost item.

Did you know there are three stories similar to losing something valuable in the bible. There is the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son in Luke 15:1-32. First there is a shepherd who has ninety-nine sheep and loses one. The Shepherd will not rest until he has found the one lost sheep. And when he does, he throws a big party where his friends and heaven rejoice.

Secondly there is the story of the woman who has ten coins and loses one. She cleans her house from top to bottom until she finds the lost coin. And when she does, she invites her friends to celebrate with her and the angels in heaven.
Thirdly, there is the Father whose Son left home and went astray. The father longs for the son to return home. He watched for him every day. Until one day the Son returns home. The son full of shame begs his father to just accept him as one of his servants. But the father calls all his friends to come and celebrate with him. He puts on a feast. He kills the fated calf; he dresses the son in royalty. And welcomes him back into the family. There is no second place for any child of God in his home. All are royalty.

What was Jesus trying to teach the religious leaders of his day and more important what is he teaching us today? I believe it must have had something to do with the value of humankind. The religious leaders of Jesus day saw no value in anyone who wasn’t of their nationality. They thought their birthright and their heritage made them better than anyone else. However, Jesus shows the infinite value of his creation. Every lost soul is important to God. He loves them so much he sent his Son into the world to reveal who God is, and his unimaginable love for them. And to pay the price to provide a way back home through the cross of Jesus.

Did you know that God loves you so much he searches for you until he finds you? And when He does, he celebrates your return. Like we read in 1 Corinthians 13:5, His love keeps no record of wrongs. The lost son thought his sins were so bad, his father wouldn’t accept him back into his family. But the Father would have nothing to do with it. There isn’t a second or third or fourth place in the Kingdom of God. Your Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10). Everything he has is yours to enjoy. This is something the older son didn’t understand. What a sad thing to be in the Kingdom of God and not recognize that everything God has is available to you. He has given you everything that pertains to life and Godliness. Yet many choose to live as if every day has to be a struggle. We of all people who are saved, should run, and shout and tell all of our friends, I was lost but now I’m found. I’m rich because of who my heavenly Father is. Rich or poor, I lack nothing. I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13). That’s the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. And it’s the story of every believer who repents of their sins and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Father thank you for searching for me until you found me. Thank you for accepting me when I repented. And thank you for restoring me to my rightful position within your family. All who trust in you are a son or daughter in your Kingdom with no shame, no guilt, and no condemnation.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year. 2025 is upon us. I hope you had a wonderful 2004 and are looking forward to an even greater 2025. If you find yourself struggling with difficulties, if there are burdens weighing you down, I pray you will surrender them to Jesus. Matthew 11:28-30 says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus’ invitation is to “learn” from him. In other words, his calling is to all who will accept him and trust in him. If you do that, he promises you rest and peace. What we all need in the middle of our struggles is more of Jesus and less of ourselves. John 15:13 – says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” You will not find a better friend than Jesus.

As 2025 rolls in, what are you going to do to ensure you “learn” or trust more in God? One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and your families is the gift of Jesus. You can learn to love like he loves. You can learn to surrender your burdens to him. You can worry a little less. You can serve like he served. You can commit to never giving up. Oh, you can be assured there will be difficulties in this life. But that doesn’t have to rule the day. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:12-14, “12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

“If 2024 wasn’t all you wanted it to be. Do as the Apostle Paul says, “forget about the past and press on toward your goal.” Press on to becoming what God has called you to be. Nick Saban once said, “undisciplined people do dumb things, and disciplined people do smart things.” He goes on to explain, there will be days when you don’t want to go to the gym, but disciplined people go because they know the only way they will achieve their goal is to be disciplined.

As 2025 rolls in, have you made any plans to increase your commitment to God? When you look forward don’t forget to be disciplined in your efforts to include God. To carve out time for Him. To include him in your activities. If you lack discipline, you will fail to achieve your goal. With the new year closing in, how are you purposely planning to increase your walk with God? There will be competing obstacles screaming for your attention. The enemy will not leave you alone. Putting God first, will not happen without a conscience effort. Undisciplined people make stupid decisions. Remember, you can’t change the past, but you can help shape your future by the decisions you make going forward.

Have you ever allowed others to derail your efforts in doing something good because of their negativity or because of how they have treated you? I have meant many over the years, who have straight out given up because of being treated poorly by other Christians. I’ll bet you have too. In fact, there’s an extremely high chance you are one of the hurt ones.

I love the Book of Nehemiah because of how it teaches us to trust God and to block out others who try to destroy our good work. We must become people who continually stick to the task no matter how much the enemy throws at us. Any time you try and do God’s work, the opposition will come. It always does. The devil isn’t slow to attack those who are doing God’s work. A Church begins to grow, and the complaints begin to roll in. But they aren’t like us. Their kids are uncontrollable. You name it, the devil will use it. Yet Nehemiah refused to listen and convinces those working with him to stay focused with their assignment (Nehemiah 2:18).

How did Nehemiah do this? He knew his success would come from God not from men. He told the Israelites “The God of heaven will give us success” (Nehemiah 2:20). How easy would it had been for Nehemiah to make excuses on why the work couldn’t be completed. He could have easily said, we don’t have enough workers. We don’t have enough money. Why not let someone else deal with the headaches?

Part of the job description of every good leader is to be able to manage criticism. It just naturally comes with the position.
A wise leader must evaluate the voice of those speaking to him. If it’s from God, do what God says. If it’s from the enemy be courageous and refuse to give in. The devil will attack every good leader. A leader’s task is to stay focused and know they are doing what God has called them to do. Opposition will come, but God will overcome.

Eric Metaxas in his book “Letter to the American Church” calls out the American Church for being silent in such dark times. He compares the silence of today’s church to the silence of the German church during the Holocaust.

If Eric is even slightly right, why have so many in the church chosen to be quiet? Will there be blood on the hands of Christians? The prophet Ezekiel records for us these words of warning. “Son of man, I have chosen you to be a watchman over the people of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, tell them of the danger. If I say to the sinful man, ‘You will die for sure,’ and you do not tell him of the danger, and try to turn him from his sinful way so that he may live, that sinful man will die in his sin. But you will be guilty for his blood. (Ezekiel 3:17-18).” And while that was a direct command given to Ezekiel, all Christians have been given the commandment to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus (Mark 16:16).

Can we not see that the fields are ripe? Or are we afraid of the persecution that may come from telling others about Jesus? It’s certainly not because we can’t see that our world is broken. And it’s not the Right against the Left. It’s righteousness verse unrighteousness. And Christians have the manual, the Holy Word of God, the Bible, for shedding light on today’s sinful deeds.

As we look around in our communities today, there are opportunities everywhere to share the truth about the sanctity of life. How life is formed in the mother’s body before birth (Psalm 139:13-18). You and I have the opportunity to share the value of life. How that God created male and female in His image. How God doesn’t create any junk. (Genesis 1:27-29). And while the world chooses to fight over racism, we know that God teaches his disciples to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). When others are fighting over politics, progressive agendas, and other things. We have the responsibility and the opportunity to remain calm because we know our God has given us complete joy (John 15:11; 1 John 1:4). The next time you think about how bad our world is, stop and seek for an opportunity to make it a little better by sharing the love of Christ.

Almighty God, I pray you will open our eyes to see the ripeness of the fields all around us. As the days grow darker in our world, as your approach draws closer, let us all realize the responsibility we have in sharing your gospel of hope. And when fingers are pointed at us, or when worse our lives are in danger, let us stand firm in your truth. Let us not have blood on our hands for remaining silent. And this is Jesse Walker with the Glenwood Church of Christ.

How have you used the resources God has given you? I’m thankful for my father who worked hard to ensure I had a roof over my head and food to eat. I’m also thankful for a mother who loves me unconditionally. I’m especially thankful for my wife who chose to do life with me. Who has been by my side through better and worse. Who knows my weaknesses and refuses to quit on her commitment. These are just a few of the physical resources God has given me. But I am most grateful for eternal life that God has given me through the sacrifice of his son Jesus Christ. The spiritual blessings are too numerous to name.

With that in mind, what have you done with the physical and spiritual resources God has given you? Have you multiplied those blessings? Have you shared them with others? Or have you built bigger barns to store them in? Have you forgotten that life is like a vapor here one minute and gone the next? We must all work while we have time (John 9:4). Time will run out and an accounting will be demanded.

In Matthew 25:14-30 we read about a man that calls his workers and gives them different amounts of money. The first man receives 5 talents, the second 2 talents and the last one 1 talent. As we read on, we learn that the first two men received a blessing because they doubled the resources they had been given, while the man with 1 talent was cursed because he didn’t reproduce any gain. He buried his talent, and, in the end, he lost everything. You might say it’s like the old saying, “user it or lose it.”

We need to become an assembly of believers that find ways to multiply our resources. One reason the man with one talent failed, was because his view of God was tainted by fear and failure. Yet, the God we serve is the God who loves us so much he gave his only begotten son. He’s a God that is longsuffering that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Our God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love (Psalm 103:8).

While I don’t know exactly how God has blessed you, I do know, every believer has received at least one gift (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). As disciples of Jesus, we all need to use our gift or gifts to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10). Otherwise, we might become like the man with one talent and have it all taken away. And this is Jesse Walker with the Glenwood Church of Christ.

Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? If you don’t why don’t you? What else does God have to do to prove Himself to you?

The people of Jesus’s day ask Him the same question. Who are you? Stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us plainly (John 10:24). To this Jesus responded, I already have. Let me ask you a question. What more does Jesus have to do to convince you to follow Him?

There are over 5,000 ancient Greek manuscripts, more than 8,000 ancient Latin manuscripts. There are over 300 prophecies that point to Jesus as the coming Messiah written 1500 years before the New Testament. This is not to mention the occurrences that the bible references in secular history. Or the fact that other contemporary authors wrote about Christ.

Sense the first century after the death of Christ, Christianity has been turning the world upside down. In Acts 17:1-9, Paul and his companions taught that Jesus was the Messiah. Because of this, some of the Jews became jealous and had some of them arrested.

Each of us will have to settle this question of who Jesus is. If you have questions about who Jesus is, why not ask Him. God will reveal Himself to those who truly seek Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 29:13). The key to finding God is an honest heart. Many ask who Jesus is, but it’s not to find Him, it’s to provide them with another excuse for not believing in Him. There will always be another excuse for you to follow. If you want to find God, you will. But if you’re not sincere you will never find God, because God will not reveal Himself to you.