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Thanks for stopping by!

Mart De Haan Posted by Mart De Haan
March 9th, 2008
6 Comments » 

If this is your first time to the blog, Welcome!

Got just a minute? Look a around! As you’ll see, there’s a lot to consider together. If you’re short on time now, please bookmark this page and come back when you have more time. I’d love to have a chance to think together about things like:

Unanswered Prayer

Father issues

Abuse

Political Correctness

Hate Crimes

Bible Discovery

Mental Illness

Wisdom

Imponderable questions

And a long list of other ideas that have been on my mind and probably yours’ too. You probably won’t agree with everything you find here! But that’s not bad. What counts in a good conversation is that we be fair in our consideration of one another and the issues that too often divide us.

If together we can grow in our understanding of ourselves, one another, and most importantly our God and his word, our time together will be more than worthwhile.


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6 Responses to “Thanks for stopping by!”

  1. hmschlmom says:
    March 11, 2008 at 6:34 pm

    Re: Been Thinking About: The Wisdom of Motives, I had the thought that if we are so worried that our motives are okay, we could be paralyzed by that and get stuck there. We are SINNERS! – – and that doesn’t excuse us, but I think that God knows our hearts and I think most of us deep down really do want to please Him, even though we are selfish and stubborn and much more. I remember realizing years ago that my love for God wasn’t altogether pure… I loved him for him but I also loved him for me too… for my benefit. But then I realized that there really isn’t anything other than just telling the Lord about it that I can do. I can’t do anything to change my sinful heart, but God already did everything! He has taken care of all of my wrong motives in Christ on the cross, and now sees me complete in Him. I wonder if he just gives us those glimpses of our rotten flesh so that we will praise Him for his death on the cross and his life within us that has already conquered that old thing. God has dealt a death blow to all of those negative things in me so my part is to just say “you”re right God, I agree with your assessment… there is no good thing in me! I see what you already saw and dealt with in me. Lord, help me now to not get tripped up in what was already cared for by Christ’s death on the cross and help me to truly live in the newness of your life.”

  2. celizp says:
    March 11, 2008 at 8:29 pm

    I would REALLY like to know what you think about Satan attacking the firstborn (especially sons) in families? I got to thinking…and reading the Bible stories…and noticed how many prodigals there were! Now look around, and notice how many families are struggling with their firstborn – especially sons!? It is very real in our (very large) God-serving church, and it has become a reality in my own family! Our teen son is spiritually lost, hates Christians and God ‘is a joke’; even his teen sisters do not understand the ‘whys’ – although we all see where the influences have come from (Satan will use ANYTHING). We may not agree on this issue – but what do you think?? Is Satan specifically attacking the ‘firstborn’? And what can we do (besides PRAY)? We have prayed and cried our eyes and heart out…for MONTHS.

  3. ajacks says:
    March 12, 2008 at 10:36 am

    ajacks
    Replying to celizp saying “…Satan attacking the firstborn (especially sons) in families? … how many families are struggling with their firstborn – especially sons!… son is spiritually lost, hates Christians and God ‘is a joke’… (Satan will use ANYTHING)… Is Satan specifically attacking the ‘firstborn’? We have prayed and cried our eyes and heart out..for MONTHS.
    I sympathize with your struggle. I’m an only male child, therefore a first and last born child that has survived 71 yrs. I’ve looked at the constellation of family dynamics and believe the DNA (biblically 5 generations of our birth lines), finding our place in the family dynamics and choosing our behavior from “others” plays a major role in how we turn out. At our time of forming our belief system, what seems to work for others, we surmise, hopefully will work for us, is probably the path of us choosing our path and behavior. True, Satan does steer us in the direction of our heritage destructive DNA and plants questions for our survival through family dynamics, peer pressure, loneness, fitting in, scary situations and a host of other circumstances to lead us on an ungodly path. However, with our intensities of fears and strengths inside us, this does choose our path. Remember, God knows all, the beginning, the path and the end. Yes, we do choose, and yet He knows our choices as we know the choice of a child in choosing vinegar or ice cream. Our life’s journey is to allow God to implement His plan for us in becoming the person He has created us to be. Also, the close trusted persons to us can allow God’s assisting to come through them to us. Therefore, relax, God is in control. Let Him handle the situation; He knows best. Yet, pray like it depends on us, and this part is probably His path for our growth. In the end, after the 1,000 yr. millennium, when we can discuss with each other the outcomes of our life, we will see God’s divine intervention exactly as He what so all parties will be blessed abundantly.

  4. Mart De Haan says:
    March 14, 2008 at 8:07 am

    hmschlmom, I think you make good points about mixed motives and about our need to depend entirely on what Christ has done for us. My point in writing about the importance of motives was not to treat them like a “rule” or a “law”, but rather as a guiding star that can help us to reflect on whether we are presently thinking about aligning ourselves with the heart and purposes of Christ. What you write about is settled by our dependence on the death of Christ for us. I’m writing about the need to gratefully want to depend on his resurrected life living in us now. His Spirit now has motives that we can either pursue or forget in all of our relationships. We can do this not out of guilt for living up to them, but out of gratefulness for knowing him and wanting to know him better. Hope that at least explains what I was trying to do.

  5. Mart De Haan says:
    March 14, 2008 at 8:30 am

    celizp,I haven’t heard about the “first born” issue you mentioned. I do know that countless parents share a heartbreak like yours. In his reply to you, ajacks also touches on complex issues I am not aware of. But I like his words of wisdom about how to wait on God.

  6. jabbathejane says:
    September 10, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    Hello everybody!
    I am a newbie to this site, but not to RBC Ministries. Love it!
    I just want to express my appreciation for the Day of Discovery Video series. It helped me soooo much when I was going through a very very difficult and painful time this past Dec. to present.
    I love the history and the scenery! I am so enthralled by archeology and the past history of our faith, especially from the Imaculate Conception on through 70 A.D. onto the fall of the Roman Emmpire and the establishment of Rome as the head of the seat. The ruins of past civilizations just facinate me.
    Keep up the great work Matt and say hello to Jimmy for me. lol
    I look forward to my next video and the education it brings.
    Thank you so much.

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