The Imposter of Success

For a teenager, life is all about the moment. He does not think too much about the future. The only ideas most teens have are about temporal enjoyment and friends. Some may have thoughts of college because it is in their near future, but aside from college, and possibly thoughts of career, things like home buying or grandparenthood are far away. So to a normal high school student, his goals in life look something like: "In my future I would like money, fame, power, greate dates, etc. But I'll think about it tomorrow."

The way success is measured in our world today is many times misdirected. Instead of looking at the size of a person's home, bank account, car, or job, we should consider the thngs at which God looks! Such as:

• Is real success a strong relationship with God?


• Is real success a loving home and family?


• Is real success peace in a person's heart, knowing he is living a good life?

Success based on the temporal (non-eternal) things is empty. God made us to yearn and long for a deeper relationship with Him. When we are walking with Him, we are successful even though we may be in a situation that is unfair. When He is our focus, we cannot focus on where we are not.

Because Joseph's focus was on God and His plan for his life, he had principles that kept him on the straight path in difficult and challenging times:

1. To help others and remain unselfish;
2. To always keep a humble spirit;
3. To be forgiving and generous;
4. To remember who he was and how he got where he was.

Thank you to those who learnt their memory verses last week. It really encourages us when the young people take the time to learn their memory verses.

Please feel free to talk to us at any time ... or to leave a comment on this blog.

God bless you

Robin, Dave and Heather

Setback to Success to Setback

Late in the nineteenth century, a boy was born. He was not from high society or a great family lineage. To be honest, his father had two families, each secret from the other, who lived in two different locations.

But this boy had the desire to make something of himself. He worked hard, began giving to his local church, and was faithful in paying his tithes throughout his life. He raised his family in a humble manner - never extravagant. But he applied basic principles to his life - hard work, marital fidelity, faith, and giving. By the time he was forty, he was among America's twenty richest; within another twenty years, he was the wealthiest person int he world. He was John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

What made him special? His business sense, ambition, and opportunities, as well as paying tithes, were all important. Yet others have those qualities without the riches. There is no key factor that proves that a person will be a success with untold wealth - even when he lives whole-heartedly for God. However, it is proven that when we apply God's principles, He will bless us. Joseph's faithfulness provided blessings for his entire family. Consistency, faithfulness and determination to do what is right in every circumstance provide a foundation for success.

We will be continuing our exploration of Joseph's life today, probing deeper into his trials and how he overcame the negative emotions to become the success that he was.

The memory verse for this week is found in Genesis 39:4

And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

Congratulations to Joel who learnt the memory verse last week. Thank you for hiding the Word of God in your heart.

Please feel free to talk to us at any time,

Robin, Dave and Heather

More Talent than Wisdom

We are starting a new unit in our curriculum and over the next few weeks we will be looking at Joseph. He is one of the most popular characters in the Bible. Today, babies are still named after him. His life is one never-ending example of attitude in action. Early on, it was the perfectly wrong attitude in action; however, immediately after his brothers dealt him a setback that would have shattered most of us, Joseph rebounded to become the master of an excellent spirit.

This section does not just skim across the headlines of Joseph's life, but rather investigates the details of the spoiled teenager becoming the spiritual paragon. We can learn from his life and apply its lessons.

Joseph was not about ruling the world but about allowing God to rule his heart. It is no different for us today.

The story of Joseph is one of the Bible's great success stories. The underdog becomes great! The last guy finishes first! The boy who did not stand a chance comes out on top! We always focus on the adult Joseph's success as the great leader who saves and forgives his wayward family, the family who once almost killed him but instead sold him into slaver. Yet often we overlook or underplay his indiscretions as a teen. What made the older brothers so jealous? What would cause them to be so filled with anger that they wanted to kill him? Was it simply their father's favouritism toward Joseph? We will take a deeper look at key characteristics in Joseph's story.

The memory verse for today is found in Proverbs 16:18 -

Pride goeth before destruction and an haughty spirit before a fall

Congratulations to all those that learnt their memory verse last week.

Please feel free to talk to us at any time. Also, if you would like to leave a comment on this blog at any time, you are more then welcome to do so.

Robin, Dave and Heather

Escaping Hopeless Ruts

Many times in life we get stuck in ruts and feel like it is impossible to escape them. However, we need not despair. We can escape ruts of hopelessness. Just as a large wrecker must occasionally pull an eighteen-wheeler out of ruts, we sometimes need a refreshing touch of the Holy Ghost to pull us from the ruts in which we find ourselves. Sometimes, with despair, we find ourselves stuck in the ruts that weave their way between the Orchard of the Flesh and the Orchard of the Spirit.

It is easy to get caught up in the mundane routines of everyday life, and we often do the same in our spiritual lives. This week we will explore some of the spiritual ruts in which we might find ourselves. More specifically, we will talk about some very human ruts - the works of the flesh.

The works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit are incompatible. Because of our inherited nature, the works of the flesh are natural. According to Scripture however, as believers, we can be overcomers, as expressed by the fruit of the Spirit active in our lives

Within ourselves we can do little to escape hopeless ruts because the works of the flesh are a part of our fleshly nature. We will never be truly victorious in our Christian lives as long as the works of the flesh reign as ruthless dictators. However, when we choose to focus on our inward relationship with Jesus Christ and allow His Spirit to bear its fruit in our hearts, we can begin climbing out of the ruts of the flesh. We can break free and live victorious lives.

The memory verse for this week is found in Galatians 5:17

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would"

Congratulations to Nathan for learning the memory verse last week. It's great to see our young people hiding the word of God in their hearts.

God bless you and please remember to come and talk to us if you have any concerns,

Robin, Dave and Heather