Email Spam

Greetings Readers - This morning, I noticed a large amount of SPAM emails being sent from one of our Legacy Dad email accounts.  First, if you are a subscriber to Legacy Dad, I assure you that your email has not been compromised.  Second, if you get an email from Legacy Dad that reeks of SPAM or advertising, please know this is NOT from us. Delete the email and DO NOT click on any links.  This is apparently an "email spoof" which we cannot control, however most spam filters have caught these emails and deleted them.  We apologize for this issue.

Which path to follow

Matthew 24:12-13 (NIV) ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.Proverbs 4:26-27 (NIV) ²⁶ Give careful thought to the^[a] paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. ²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

To be a legacy dad and a follower of Jesus Christ, your life will bear the fruit of the Spirit no matter what.  As an Elder of my church and the men's ministry leader I can honestly tell you that you can look at Christians and know them by their fruit, which is not to say that we will know whether or not that they are saved by Jesus Christ as that privilege will only be known between God and them.  The fruit of the Spirit, though, cannot help but overflow from that person's life if they truly are saved.

There is a transformation, a change, a repentance to go the other way.  That person is no longer guided by self-indulgence, rather, they feel the presence of the Holy Spirit who guides them in which way to go.  Does this mean that we will always get it right?  Of course not!  Does this mean that we will stop sinning and making mistakes?  Of course not!  The one thing that will be is their fruit:  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

When you get to be as old as I am (48 and counting) you can be honest with yourself and say that the Word of God (the Gospel) does offend!  The Gospel tells us that Jesus is the only way.  When you read the Bible (honestly read, and study and meditate) then you will come upon three expressions to your spirit and walk with God:  1) The Word will reveal truth and encouragement and the path that you are taking and you will feel a WOW moment and know that you are on the right path and that you are not grieving the Holy Spirit.  2) When you read, like me, and come across a key verse or passage and are immediately convicted by the Spirit and have un-confessed sin and/or are angry with a brother or sister you are left with a feeling of WHOA, then you know that the Spirit is guiding you in the way that God wants you to go.  3) When you are reading, studying and reflecting on the word and you are immediately given the feeling of WOE and you know that your life is completely out-of-bounds and out of God's will for your life, then you are given two choices:  A) Continue to wallow and sin or B) Repent.  Turn.  Go the opposite way and ask for God's forgiveness.

I think the problem with culture and society is that they are no longer prone to Biblical truth and that their ears become itchy with truth and the way that God calls us to go.  Honestly ask yourself how can a holy God tolerate sin?  Why did God send His only begotten Son to die for our sins if society (and culture) keep re-writing what's right and what's wrong?  How can we say that we need a Savior if there is nothing to be repenting of?  Seriously ask yourself what is right (having a biblical lens on culture and the world) and what is wrong (and sinful?)

1 John 2:15-17New International Version (NIV)

On Not Loving the World

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father^[a] is not in them. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷ The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Psalm 1New International Version (NIV)

BOOK I

Psalms 1–41

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the one    who does not walk in step with the wickedor stand in the way that sinners take    or sit in the company of mockers,² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    and who meditates on his law day and night.³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,    which yields its fruit in seasonand whose leaf does not wither—    whatever they do prospers.

⁴ Not so the wicked!    They are like chaff    that the wind blows away.⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

There are two things that we cannot avoid without punishment:  1) Death and 2) Taxes.  Whether you deny the truth and embrace sin or whether you accept truth and trust God remains to be seen in the fruit in your life.  But ask yourself this question:  Would I rather error on the side of the World or the side of God?  As for me and my house, we will choose to serve the Lord.

So what are my responsibilities as a Legacy Dad and a disciple of Christ:

• Love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, soul and strength
• Love my neighbor as myself.
• Speak truth in love
• Testify to God's truth.
• Leave judgement up to God (we are not to judge - especially harshly
• Lead my family
• Be prophet, priest and king of my wife and kids
• To be above reproach
• To bear the fruit of the Spirit
• To have integrity.

Dare to take this step, trust God and lean on him and not the world's understanding of right and wrong.  Speak truth (by reading the Bible) and show the love of Christ to your neighbor!

Blessings,

Dante

We will remember

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Mr. President, General, the distinguished guests here with us today, my fellow citizens: In America's cities and towns today, flags will be placed on graves in cemeteries; public officials will speak of the sacrifice and the valor of those whose memory we honor. In 1863, when he dedicated a small cemetery in Pennsylvania marking a terrible collision between the armies of North and South, Abraham Lincoln noted the swift obscurity of such speeches. Well, we know now that Lincoln was wrong about that particular occasion. His remarks commemorating those who gave their "last full measure of devotion" were long remembered. But since that moment at Gettysburg, few other such addresses have become part of our national heritage—not because of the inadequacy of the speakers, but because of the inadequacy of words. I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them. Yet, we must try to honor them—not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice. Our first obligation to them and ourselves is plain enough: The United States and the freedom for which it stands, the freedom for which they died, must endure and prosper. Their lives remind us that freedom is not bought cheaply. It has a cost; it imposes a burden. And just as they whom we commemorate were willing to sacrifice, so too must we—in a less final, less heroic way—be willing to give of ourselves. It is this, beyond the controversy and the congressional debate, beyond the blizzard of budget numbers and the complexity of modern weapons systems, that motivates us in our search for security and peace. War will not come again, other young men will not have to die, if we will speak honestly of the dangers that confront us and remain strong enough to meet those dangers. It's not just strength or courage that we need, but understanding and a measure of wisdom as well. We must understand enough about our world to see the value of our alliances. We must be wise enough about ourselves to listen to our allies, to work with them, to build and strengthen the bonds between us. Our understanding must also extend to potential adversaries. We must strive to speak of them not belligerently, but firmly and frankly. And that's why we must never fail to note, as frequently as necessary, the wide gulf between our codes of morality. And that's why we must never hesitate to acknowledge the irrefutable difference between our view of man as master of the state and their view of man as servant of the state. Nor must we ever underestimate the seriousness of their aspirations to global expansion. The risk is the very freedom that has been so dearly won. It is this honesty of mind that can open paths to peace, that can lead to fruitful negotiation, that can build a foundation upon which treaties between our nations can stand and last—treaties that can someday bring about a reduction in the terrible arms of destruction, arms that threaten us with war even more terrible than those that have taken the lives of the Americans we honor today. In the quest for peace, the United States has proposed to the Soviet Union that we reduce the threat of nuclear weapons by negotiating a stable balance at far lower levels of strategic forces. This is a fitting occasion to announce that START, as we call it, strategic arms reductions, that the negotiations between our country and the Soviet Union will begin on the 29th of June. As for existing strategic arms agreements, we will refrain from actions which undercut them so long as the Soviet Union shows equal restraint. With good will and dedication on both sides, I pray that we will achieve a safer world. Our goal is peace. We can gain that peace by strengthening our alliances, by speaking candidly of the dangers before us, by assuring potential adversaries of our seriousness, by actively pursuing every chance of honest and fruitful negotiation. It is with these goals in mind that I will depart Wednesday for Europe, and it's altogether fitting that we have this moment to reflect on the price of freedom and those who have so willingly paid it. For however important the matters of state before us this next week, they must not disturb the solemnity of this occasion. Nor must they dilute our sense of reverence and the silent gratitude we hold for those who are buried here. The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery. One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground, and I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines, and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero and, in my lifetime, the heroes of World War I, the Doughboys, the GI's of World War II or Korea or Vietnam. They span several generations of young Americans, all different and yet all alike, like the markers above their resting places, all alike in a truly meaningful way. Winston Churchill said of those he knew in World War II they seemed to be the only young men who could laugh and fight at the same time. A great general in that war called them our secret weapon, "just the best darn kids in the world." Each died for a cause he considered more important than his own life. Well, they didn't volunteer to die; they volunteered to defend values for which men have always been willing to die if need be, the values which make up what we call civilization. And how they must have wished, in all the ugliness that war brings, that no other generation of young men to follow would have to undergo that same experience. As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. And let us also pledge to do our utmost to carry out what must have been their wish: that no other generation of young men will every have to share their experiences and repeat their sacrifice. [ See APP Note below. ] Earlier today, with the music that we have heard and that of our National Anthem—I can't claim to know the words of all the national anthems in the world, but I don't know of any other that ends with a question and a challenge as ours does: Does that flag still wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? That is what we must all ask.Thank you. Remarks at Memorial Day Ceremonies at Arlington National CemeteryMay 31, 1982 (by President Ronald Reagan)

Thank you all for serving against tyranny and evil men!  Thank you for knowing the cost and being willing to pay it!

Blessings to all who have served and continue to serve this Memorial Day!

The power of Words

If I were to say a few words to you, without reacting, be honest with yourself and tell yourself out loud what emotions they initiate:

• Anger
• Overwhelmed
• Successful
• Accountable
• Reasonable
• Spiritual
• Bad
• Moral
• Realistic
• Good
• Should've
• Forgiveness

Raw emotions when unchecked can cause a lot of pain for some, reactions from others and even some extreme outbursts from a few.  If we were to be completely honest about this, then we would have said (aloud) that some, if not all, these words either had us thinking about something very emotional in our life or about someone else who caused a response in this.

Lance put this quote on his Facebook post that sparked this blog post from me: "When it comes to conflict, hurt and resentment, it is the one who has been wronged who has all the power, not the one who does the wrong. And our power comes in the form of forgiveness. When we forgive, we liberate ourselves to live the life God has given us."

When we look around there is always someone else who has it better or who has it worse then we do - if you are really honest - that is a true statement.  There are some circumstances that have happened to some of us that can never be taken back - they just happened.   On this side of Heaven, I can never try to explain the "why's" or the "why not's" to you on why they happened.

If we are trying to keep record of right or wrongs in what other people have done, let us look first at the wrong that we have done to God - sin!  All of us are guilty, not one of us perfect.

Some verses to ponder before my next post:

• Mark 11:25 "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses"
• Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
• James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
• Luke 6:27 "“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,"
• Colossians 3:13 "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Meditate on these verses, pray on them, ask the Lord to reveal events, memories and emotions and people that you have to give to Him.  Let go and Let God.

Come, let us reason together!  In my next post we will talk about the response that is required of God's disciples.

Blessings,Dante

Words...

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual. 

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.'

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.'

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home.'

Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.'

'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary'

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late. And One Way To Accomplish This Is: Forward this message on.

Colossians 4:6English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

The Mark of a Mature Christian

God’s will is for every man to grow (Hebrews 6:1)  D.L. Moody said “Character is what you are in the dark”

• -A mature Christian is positive under pressure
• -A mature Christian is sensitive to people
• -A mature Christian has mastered his mouth
• -A mature Christian is a peacemaker not a troublemaker
• -A mature Christian is patient and prayerful

Four Marks of a Disciple

• Discipleship growth means two things: increasing the number of disciples and the depth of disciples. God never intended for his church to be a mile wide and an inch deep. Since Christ has clearly defined our goal as discipleship growth let me give you four marks of a disciple. Check and see how you are doing in these four areas.

• 1. Disciples are maturing in their faith. They are growing. They are in the Word. They are not on cruise control. Each day they live in expectancy of what God is going to do through their witness and life.
• The original disciples grew in their knowledge and experience with the Lord. Spiritual maturity was part of Christ’s goal for the original disciples and for us today. Jesus was very intentional about helping His disciples grow into fully developed and devoted mature followers. Are you maturing? Are you growing in Christ? The question churches need to ask is, “are we developing disciples?”
• 2. The second mark is ministry. Disciples care and serve other people. Jesus was very intentional in training His disciples in the lifestyle of being a servant. As we help people grow spiritually, we can only do so by helping them understand the role of serving. A non serving Christian is a contradiction in terms. Are you serving the Lord?
• 3. The third mark is mission. Jesus’ disciples knew their mission. They were to make disciples. Jesus not only taught this He modeled it for the disciples. As a disciple we are on mission. The mission becomes our passion.
• 4. The final mark is multiplication. It is quite obvious that the original disciples understood that multiplying and reproducing disciples was the method Christ taught them. This method turned lose will evangelize the world. Not addition but multiplication.
• Jesus developed a handful of disciples who would reproduce or multiply more disciples who would reproduce more disciples…The ultimate mark of discipleship growth is when a disciple reproduces another disciple.
• How are you doing in these four areas?  We are on mission.  Let’s live like it!

Romans 12:1-2English Standard Version (ESV)

A Living Sacrifice

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[b] 2} Do not be conformed to this world,^[c]but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Colossians 3:1-17English Standard Version (ESV)

Put On the New Self

3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. ³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your^[a] life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:^[b] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ On account of these the wrath of God is coming.^{[c] 7} In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. ⁸ But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.⁹ Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self^[d]with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ¹¹ Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,^[e] free; but Christ is all, and in all.

¹² Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, ¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.