My son has a new friend who lives just down the street.  He had asked me if she could come in and play for a while.  I figured that would probably not be the best idea, and so I recommended that he simply play outside.  It was nearly 50 degrees and the warmest it had been for a long time.

He reluctantly turned around to face the door, dropping his shoulders in defeat, and began to head back outside, but first, he thought, one more try.  On this effort he begged and pleaded for them to come inside, but once again…it was a nice warm afternoon outside which made for the perfect play-place that day.

He turned around releasing a sigh of defeat as if he just lost the war and their would be no more twinkies…just snowballs and a world filled with zombies and one recently dead, Bill Murray.  I digress.

A short while had passed, and he returned with a new request and renewed enthusiasm…, “Dad!” he exploded.  ”Can I go over to my friend, Kristine’s house?”  I knew it would disappoint him, but again…the backyard was a good enough place to explore their imagination…no house needed.  Again, defeated, he returned to his friend awaiting the decision just outside the door.

A few minutes later I turned from my computer monitor in the office to check on the kids and make sure they were still alive and playing well together.  What my eyes caught, I will never forget, for it brought both quite the giggle as well as some disappointment of my own.  I just sat there…giggling to myself…and shaking my head…wondering what he was thinking.

My youngest son, in Ninja like action, was tiptoeing around the corner of the garage, and peeking back to make sure that i couldn’t see him through my tinted glass office windows.  He simply did not realize that i could see him, but it would be difficult for him to see me.  He tiptoed around the garage, holding his finger to his mouth and shushing his friend and her sisters as they carefully followed behind him.  I waited.  I waited a few moments more, hoping that he would come to his senses and be obedient, but alas, he did not return.  I slipped on my shoes and headed for the neighbor’s yard as I watched walk into their home.  Not only was a not in their yard…somehow in his mind when Daddy told him that she couldn’t come in and play, and he could not go over to her yard and play…he had the stones to go directly into their house.  Perhaps it was one of those…I am already being disobedient…this won’t matter…kind of things.

I reached the house and knocked on the door.  The older sister answered, and immediately blamed the whole scenario on my son, who happened to be a few years younger than her.  Nicky came to the door and I asked him to say goodbye to his friends.  What could have been a nice afternoon, was ruined by his disobedience.  I figured, what a teachable moment for the both of us.  I can’t remember how many times I had done the same thing to my folks in direct disobedience, and so I couldn’t be too harsh on him with his punishment…never mind the fact that i was still somewhat giggling at the image of him creeping around the corner as if I couldn’t see him just a few yards away.

We got back to the office and we talked for a bit about what had just happened; if he understood why he was in trouble; what he did; and why it was wrong.  He knew right away what he did, why it was wrong, and why he was in trouble…he did not need me to tell him…so I simply asked him a lot of questions about that learning experience.  He was sent to his room for the rest of the afternoon to clean, make his bead, and put away his toys.  he was allowed to eat dinner, and then to bed early.

I began thinking of how many times I had done the same thing to God; committed the same sin of disobedience and foolishly, in my sleek and sneaky ninja style, crept around his office with the tinted windows where I was absolutely certain that he could not see what I was doing, and so of course i would get away with it.  Of course there he was, watching me the whole time…perhaps with a giggle while shaking his head wondering if I was ever going to learn…and then allowing me enough rope with which to hang myself and knowing that at any time, I could stop, and turn around, and be obedient.  But, our heavenly Father wants us to return on our own, not because he forcefully grabbed our arm and screamed at us.  And still, we hang ourselves with our own rope, again and again, and then the Father swoops in, with grace he cuts us loose, and walks us back home.

19-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.
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by Max Lucado

Previously from this series: The Roof, The Kitchen, The Chapel, The Living Room, A Home for Your Heart

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Our Lord’s prayer has given us a blueprint for the Great House of God. From the living room of our Father to the family room with our friends, we are learning why David longed to “live in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:6). In God’s house we have everything we need: a solid foundation, an abundant table, sturdy walls, and an impenetrable roof of grace.

And now, having seen every room and explored each corner, we have one final stop. Not to a new room, but to one we have visited earlier. We return to the chapel. We return to the room of worship. The chapel, remember, is where we stand before God and confess, “Hallowed be thy name.”

The chapel is the only room in the house of God we visit twice. It’s not hard to see why. It does us twice as much good to think about God as it does to think about anyone or anything else. God wants us to begin and end our prayers thinking of him. Jesus is urging us to look at the peak more than we look at the trail. The more we focus up there, the more inspired we are down here.

Some years ago a sociologist accompanied a group of mountain climbers on an expedition. Among other things, he observed a distinct correlation between cloud cover and contentment. When there was no cloud cover and the peak was in view, the climbers were energetic and cooperative. When the gray clouds eclipsed the view of the mountaintop, though, the climbers were sullen and selfish.

The same thing happens to us. As long as our eyes are on his majesty there is a bounce in our step. But let our eyes focus on the dirt beneath us and we will grumble about every rock and crevice we have to cross. For this reason Paul urged, “Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to the things going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective” (Col 3:1-2 MSG).

Paul challenges you to “be alert to the things going on around Christ.” The Psalmist reminds you to do the same, only he uses a different phrase. “O magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt his name together” (Ps. 34:3).

Magnify. What a wonderful verb to describe what we do in the chapel. When you magnify an object, you enlarge it so that you can understand it. When we magnify God, we do the same. We enlarge our awareness of him so we can understand him more. This is exactly what happens in the chapel of worship—we take our mind off ourselves and set it on God. The emphasis is on him. “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”

And this is exactly the purpose of this final phrase in the Lord’s prayer. These words magnify the character of God. I love the way this phrase is translated in The Message:

You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
Yes! Yes! Yes!

submitted by Mike Cain (The Big MC)

Being A 24/7 Christ-Follower!

In one of the churches I had served as Youth Pastor, I had a  conversation with a student who had attended our student ministry for the very first time. I asked him if he enjoyed the experience and found some students that he knew from his school. He answered, “Yes, I really enjoyed the worship and teaching and I did see a lot of students I knew. They treated me nice! But those same students don’t act like they even know me at school” Ouch!!! This student went on to say that these students act one way at church, but another way during the week at school. I recall conversations I have had about students from ministry groups I have led, who were causing trouble at the school they attend! And I remember asking a student one time about her inappropriate behavior at school, only to have her say to me, “But I don’t act that way at church!!”

What’s the problem in all these situations? We know the right ways to act, especially when at church, but we don’t behave that way during the week. We need to seriously look at becoming “24/7 Christ-Followers”. What is a 24/7 Christ-Follower? They are the ones who live consistently and everyday for Jesus.  I have discovered that it is fairly easy to make the decision to follow Christ. I have seen hundreds of students make those types of decisions at camps, conferences and during youth group meetings. But I have also seen and experienced personally how tough it can be to live that decision in front of friends and family during the week.

We all seem to know how we are to act and talk when we get together at church. We can put on that mask, be friendly to people we may not always be nice to, and be sure what we say is appropriate. But when we step outside the doors of our church or youth group, we seem to easily go back to not being friendly, removing the control button on our mouths and even doing things we know are inappropriate. Being a Christ-Follower is not something we do on Sunday and at our youth meetings and events, and then forget about being the rest of the week. Being a Christ-Follower is a 24/7 adventure, where we live each and every day for Christ. Hopefully, we want people to come to church, and to experience the life-changing message that Christ has to offer. But will they will not want to attend if they see you, a person who is suppose to be a follower of Jesus, mistreat and verbally abuse them and others during the week? Will they feel comfortable at a place with you, who that very week began a rumor about someone, started a fight in the hall or excluded them from a conversation with your friends? I don’t think so! We need to realize how important our day to day lives impact other people, and how are life may persuade or discourage them to attend our youth group, church, and even become a Christ-Follower themselves.

As we approach Easter, and begin to more seriously reflect on what Jesus did for us all at the cross, we may think more seriously about being a “24/7 Christ Follower”! Allow me to challenge you to view the film “The Passion Of The Christ”. It is a movie that will stir your heart and challenge to live for Christ in ways perhaps you never had, and help you take a more serious look at being a “24/7 Christ-follower”! Perhaps when it sinks in, what a huge price He paid for everyone of us, we may reconsider our tendency of living for Him only a few hours during the week. A lot to think about this week!

U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels is investigating the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane and is presumed to be hiding on the remote Shutter Island.

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When the moon is full the legend comes to life.

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by Max Lucado

“Give us this day our daily bread…”

Your first step into the house of God was not to the kitchen but to the living room, where you were reminded of your adoption. “OurFather who is in heaven.” You then studied the foundation of the house, where you pondered his permanence. “Our Father who is in heaven.” Next you entered the observatory and marveled at his handiwork: “Our Father who is in heaven.” In the chapel, you worshiped his holiness: “Hallowed be thy name.” In the throne room, you touched the lowered scepter and prayed the greatest prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” In the study, you submitted your desires to his and prayed, “Thy will be done.” And all of heaven was silent as you placed your prayer in the furnace, saying, “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Proper prayer follows such a path, revealing God to us before revealing our needs to God. (You might reread that one.) The purpose of prayer is not to change God, but to change us, and by the time we reach God’s kitchen, we are changed people. Wasn’t our heart warmed when we called him Father? Weren’t our fears stilled when we contemplated his constancy? Weren’t we amazed as we stared at the heavens?

Seeing his holiness caused us to confess our sin. Inviting his kingdom to come reminded us to stop building our own. Asking God for his will to be done placed our will in second place to his. And realizing that heaven pauses when we pray left us breathless in his presence.

By the time we step into the kitchen, we’re renewed people! We’ve been comforted by our father, conformed by his nature, consumed by our creator, convicted by his character, constrained by his power, commissioned by our teacher, and compelled by his attention to our prayers.

The prayer’s next three petitions encompass all of the concerns of our life. “This daily bread” addresses the present. “Forgive our sins” addresses the past. “Lead us not into temptation” speaks to the future. (The wonder of God’s wisdom: how he can reduce all our needs to three simple statements.)

First he addresses our need for bread. The term means all of a person’s physical needs. Martin Luther defined bread as “Everything necessary for the preservation of this life, including food, a healthy body, house, home, wife and children.” This verse urges us to talk to God about the necessities of life. He may also give us the luxuries of life, but he certainly will grant the necessities.

Trading senseless beatings and revenge for e-fame and deserved family.  Welcome to America!  How may we strip you of your integrity?

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UPDATE: Four teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in Derrion Albert’s beating death.

Silvanus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, all of Chicago, were charged as adults ordered held without bond. Eugene Bailey, 18, was also charged with first-degree murder and will appear in court Tuesday.

Prosecutors declared Albert an “innocent bystander” in the fight that led to his death.

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Chicago police are still investigating the gang fight that erupted Thursday in Roseland that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Fenger High School student Derrion Albert.

Albert was killed in a melee near the school that police believe is a continuation of ongoing tensions between Fenger students that are members of rival gangs.

An amateur video of the brawl shows dozens of people punching, kicking and swinging wooden boards in the street. Albert was struck by blows from one of those boards, Fox Chicago reports, and the video obtained by Fox shows a person getting hit with a board and then stomped on after falling to the ground.

As people rush to help the injured person, a voice can be heard on the video yelling, “Derrion, get up!”

Albert’s mom said witnesses told her that her son “trying to help another student and kind of got mixed in with the crowd of the fight and he was hit.”

A memorial and march planned for Sunday was rescheduled for Monday at 1 p.m., the Tribune reports.

Police are questioning four people in connection with Albert’s death, Fox Chicago reported late Sunday night.

The student who hit Albert with a board is in custody, Fox reports, as police try to figure out why Albert, an honor student whom family and friends said was not involved with a gang, was killed.

Meanwhile, police beefed up security around Fenger Monday as students returned to school the week after the melee that led to Albert’s death.

“We want to provide reassurance to the public that there’s a police presence and they can feel safe in the neighborhood and kids can feel safe at school,” the Tribune quoted Morgan Park District Commander Michael Kuemmeth as saying. (from the Huffington Post)

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Family members of a South Side boy beaten to death a week ago and area clergy asked for calm and donations in the wake of the attack that has garnered national attention stretching all the way to the White House.

Relatives of Derrion Albert, joined by members of the violence-intervention group CeaseFire and several ministers, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., on Wednesday called for greater attention to the crime facing youths, as well as the lack of jobs available to them.

“This is a war zone,” Jackson said outside Sheldon Heights Church of Christ, 11325 S. Halsted St. “You don’t have to be guilty to be killed in a war zone, the innocent die.”

Albert, 16, a Fenger student, was fatally beaten by a group, police said.

The slaying, captured by video camera, has sent ripples across the nation. Earlier Wednesday, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the video of teenagers kicking and striking another teen is among the most shocking anyone can see. He told reporters they should expect an announcement on an administration response to the “heinous crime” soon.

Albert’s great-aunt, Rose Braxton, was asked if she felt any comfort from the spotlight on the case. “There is no comfort,” she said, “but I’m just glad that it’s out there so everybody can see it.”

Derrion’s family also asked that donations be paid through a Paypal account to help the family. Donations can be paid to his family through Paypal.com using the e-mail address derrion jalbert@yahoo.com

The news conference coincided with a community meeting at the church attended by parents of Fenger students, school officials, including Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman, and police to discuss safety issues at the school.

Parent Renee Parson-Bell called the meeting productive but was skeptical that any slowdown in the violence was permanent.

“I guess no fights have broken out because there’s so much police activity around here. But … it’s going to come back up again,” she said.

wlee@tribune.com

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune.

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Fox Video coverage of the beating and death of Darrion Albert:

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CNN video footage of the beating of Darrion Albert:

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Remember the 8 teenage cheerleaders who invited/kidnapped another cheerleader for the sole purpose of videotaping a “fannysmacking” and becoming e-famous on youtube and the rest of the video internet world?

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NAS interview regarding Darrion Albert and his death resulting from violent lyrics in Rap and the HIp-Hop industry:

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submitted by Mike Cain (the Big MC)

If you know what a Sadie Hawkins dance is, or better yet, ever been to one, then you are probably close to me in age. When I was in high school, this was one of the most anticipated events of the school year! It’s when the girl has the opportunity to invite her favorite boy to the dance – and better yet, pay for it! Sweet!

I was invited my senior year by Marianne. She was not my girlfriend, and not particular the one I wanted to spend my last Sadie Hawkins dance with. So I did what most boys in my position and my age would do – I lied and said I had other plans! Actually, I was holding out for a better offer, which incidentally didn’t come!

However, it would not have mattered, because I came down with chicken pox, one week before the dance. A senior in high school with chicken pox? I know it sounds absurd, but it was true! But it probably served me right for being so rude to Marianne. So I spent Sadie Hawkins night in quarantine at home with mom and dad. Great fun!

Fast forward to our Ten Year Reunion! Marianne shows up, and wow had she changed. She had turned in too a total hottie! All the single guys, and I believe even some of the married guys as well, wanted to dance with Marianne. And me….well I told everyone how Marianne had asked me to Sadie Hawkins, but I couldn’t go because I had chicken pox. Well, not the total truth, but it sure sounded impressive.

What was the problem? I was ashamed to be seen with Marianne at the dance, because she was not the cutest girl in the school. I mean really…it could have hurt my reputation, popularity and social standing at school!

But ten years later, after she had “bloomed”, so to speak, I was proud to announce that she had asked me to go to Sadie Hawkins! What a loser I was!

You know……This is real similar to how we may feel about people knowing that we are a follower of Christ. We are sometimes ashamed to admit that we have Him in our lives, and that we are striving to live for Him. Why? Like my situation in high school, we are afraid that are reputation, popularity and social standing could be diminished if people knew we loved Jesus! But know what? When we go to church, a conference or camp, and are with others who love Jesus, we clap, stand, sing and worship in His name. It seems to be ok then, because everyone else is doing it! Kind of like the reunion when Marianne had become the main attraction! She was no longer the outcast, but the center of attention. And I was now quite open to admit that she had been the girl to have asked me to Sadie Hawkins!

Paul said in Romans 1:16, that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it was the power of salvation for all who believed. He didn’t care what people thought or about his reputation. His only desire was to proclaim the Word of God. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26, that if we are ashamed of Him and His Word, that He would be ashamed of us on that final day. How terrible! To be face to face with the Savior of our soul, only to hear Him say these words – “I am ashamed of you”! No thanks! I want to hear my Lord say to me – “Mike, you did a great job. You followed me. And I am proud of my servant”!

In this life, we may find ourselves in situations that may cause embarrassment and shame! Just like my situation at the Sadie Hawkins dance that I never attended! But never be embarrassed or ashamed of Jesus or His Word. He is our Lord, our Savior, our friend and the final judge of our soul. Love Him, follow Him and serve Him. For the blessings He gives us on this earth and our final reward of heaven, are definitely worth it all! And by the way! If your school ever has a Sadie Hawkins dance, and someone asks you to go – go! You’ll be glad you did!

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