Sunday Special Request

My parents have been divorced since I was younger but in the past year my dad has gotten remarried. She is nice to me and my brother and there is no reason for me to dislike her but for some reason I do. I disobey her and treat her with disrespect sometimes. I have been working on trying to stop but I was wondering if you knew of any Bible verses that might help me overcome this? -22pippi

Ephesians 6:1-4 Children, do what your parents tell you. This is only right. "Honor your father and mother" is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it, namely, "so you will live well and have a long life."  Fathers, don't exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.

Mark 12:29-31 Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

The longer that I live, the more I am coming to the understanding that respect is something that is earned, and not necessarily something that is just given.  It takes us giving respect and then being a person worthy of respect as well.  That is why God said that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We have to show them love and respect as much as we have to be a person of love and respect.  When I was 15, my dad remarried, and I found that I had the same problem as well.  I had to learn to respect my step-mom, and it was difficult.  So, why and how did I overcome it?

One of the biggest “excuses” that I used was, “Well, she is not my mom.”   True, but, that is the lamest excuse and a lie right from the devil.  The reason is that she is still a human and deserves the respect that any other human deserves.  I first had to understand that she was a person, and chose to love me first because she knew that I was my dad’s son.  That at least deserved the respect of a person right off of the bat.  Since I knew Jesus as my Savior, I was implored to love her as I love myself.

Second, in time, I began to understand that she too was one of my parents.  No, not biologically, but because my Dad loved her as his wife, she is one of my parents.  I learned that it was kind of cool that I have three parents!  I took something that was not the greatest in my life, stepped out on faith began to respect her and saw that she loves me like her own.  She does to this day!!  Twenty-one years later!   So, she may not be your biological parent, but she can be a parent!  Honor her as such!  Love does things like that!  It is totally cool!

Finally, the way to overcome it is to begin to show her respect by being obedient in her house, around her, and recognizing her in the company of others.  Yes, that will mean that you will have to learn what her rules are, how she likes to do things, and change some of your behaviors.  Either way, in the end it will be worth it.  She will give you another arrow in your quiver of going through life, because she can give you wisdom that only God has given her.  So, take heart, begin to respect her, and you better watch out; you will not only have a new friend, but a pretty cool person that you can ultimately call your step-mom with more love than you can imagine.  May you see that love root in your heart today!

I have a friend who believes in God but doesn't see the reason in going to church. He views himself a good person and tries to do well in God's eyes and he says some in the church are worse than him so he doesn't know why he should attend. I need help in explaining to him why it is good to attend church. - NouNou2013

Acts 2:42-47   (The Message)

The Fellowship of the Believers

That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.  Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.  They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

Ephesians 2:20 (NIV)

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

A few weeks ago, as we were in the midst of Bible Study, I was speaking on, “What does it take to build a church?”  No sooner had I got the words out of my mouth than a three year old said, “Bricks!”  I want to tell you that she is right!  God has had me meditate on that idea ever since.

It does take “BRICKS” in order to build a church.  When a building is built out of brick, the masons will use a cornerstone; this is important because all of the other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.  Same goes for the church in a spiritual sense as well.  Jesus is the chief cornerstone and all of the other bricks will be set in reference to Him.  Each area of this acrostic wraps around Jesus, too.  So, why is church important?  “BRICKS” built on the cornerstone of Jesus, and worshipping an audience of one!

B- Believers devoting themselves.  It says that they “committed themselves to the apostles' teaching.”  You know, it is exciting to see people wanting to be excited about learning, making it a priority, and wanting to hear God’s Word.  That is what it means to be devoted to the Word.  We make it a priority to want to be hearers and doers of the Word.

R- Rejoicing with one another.  Rejoicing with one another is better termed as fellowship.  Koinonia fellowship, to be exact.  It means to have things in common.  Fellowship means to have “two fellows in the same ship.”  You know friends, I would not want to try to live the Christian life by myself.  Just because it is possible, doesn’t make it probable.  It certainly would not help our joy.  It would not help me to rejoice in Christ either.  I love the psalmist when he says, “I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the LORD.'” (Psalm 122:1)  When we meet together, we are all a part of the Kingdom of Christ, and when we see that, we can know that there is cause to rejoice and fellowship with one another.

I- Ingesting in worship.  I used the term “ingesting” because Luke says that they “broke bread together.”   Ingesting.  Eating together!  Supping together!  We are called to do this in remembrance of Jesus and what He did for us.  We think about not only that within the Lord’s Table; we remember the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

C- Communication with God.  A huge part of the early church’s and the church today’s foundation is prayer!  The early Christians spent time in their efforts praying.  They prayed for church growth.  They prayed for one another’s needs!  We have got to take it seriously!!

K- Kindness to one another.  Verse 45 says, “they sold their possessions and goods; they gave to everyone who was in need.”  They helped their own people with whatever they needed.  They showed the fruits of the Spirit to everyone.  They took what they had and made sure that everyone was taken care of!

S- Sharing Jesus with everyone.  They added to their number daily.  We are called to evangelize and tell others about Jesus!  That is really how we build the church and add to her number.

Finally, this is no accident! We do not go to church because of tradition. It isn’t about rules and regulations. It’s about wanting to be there and wanting to build a great church; and that surely is going to take some pretty big BRICKS.  Friends, we are building the house of God both spiritually and physically. This is the place where He lives. It is not about concrete blocks, wood, hay, or straw. It is made of the precious gems of your lives and mine, and what’s more beautiful is that Jesus is the Head, and nothing will ever change that.  These things are why it is so important to attend church regularly!  To be a part of a group of believers who think the same that you do, want to worship God just like you do, and want to encourage one another is what church is about!  Remember, it is about an audience of one!  Won’t you join me in laying some more BRICKS for the cause of Christ today???

*****PS.  NouNou2013- I will answer part two next week!!!

*****If you have a question for the Sunday Special request check out the “Adam’s Corner” on tddm.org, or just fire me an email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

“I struggle constantly with witnessing to my friends. I don't understand how at times I can feel it on my heart to speak, but I can't do it when it actually comes to the moment. What do I do?”  -GodChick

Mark 13:9-11 "And watch out! They're going to drag you into court. And then it will go from bad to worse, dog-eat-dog, everyone at your throat because you carry my name. You're placed there as sentinels to truth. The Message has to be preached all across the world.  When they bring you, betrayed, into court, don't worry about what you'll say. When the time comes, say what's on your heart—the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you.” –The Message

II Timothy 1:7 "God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible." –The Message

Dear GodChick:

First, I want to thank TDDM for a week off of writing.  Life has been a bit difficult with some of the suffering and trials that have been going on.  I did take a week off and go to my parents’ house in Kentucky, and that was delightful.  Thank you all for your prayers and support.

When I first saw this question, my mind raced immediately to one of the funerals that I had performed here recently.   As a pastor, I get to go with the family about an hour before the doors are open to view the recently deceased.  Afterward, I always take a time to go off by myself to think about some of the things that I will say the next day at the service.  This particular time, the thought came upon me and said, “Did you ever tell Walter about Jesus?”  The answer to that question was… no.  My heart sank- what had I done?  This man was dead, and I had not told him about Jesus.  The problem was, every time that I went to visit him while he was in the hospital, I was told, “Do not come here to preach at me; I already know what I believe.”  Did I get the chance?  Had I chickened out?  Then the Holy Spirit came upon me and said, “Adam, you respected that man’s wishes, and that was his choice.  You did show him you loved him and cared.  He did get to see Jesus.”

Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Word; use words if necessary.”  I think that he is right.  One of the first major parts about sharing the Gospel with our friends is to first and foremost live it.  Oh yes, it can be very difficult because there are so many times where we feel like we are not the greatest of Christians.  In that case, I always tell a person that when we try to “conduct ourselves,” no one can take that from us- especially when we get up when we fall down.

Second, how can you speak when the time is right?  Be bold!  Remember that you have a message of Good News that has to be shared.  Now, I am not one to freeze up when the time comes, but I know that there are many that are.  In the chance that they get to share the Gospel, they freeze up.  I also know that there there are those who, like Walter, just do not want to hear it.  We have got to be bold.  We have a message to tell the nations, and our only response is to be bold about it.

Third, let the Holy Spirit give you the words.  Mark 13 talks about the end time; in time people will drag us into court, and they will put us on the spot for our faith.  Friends, if you are put on the spot like this, will you be ready to speak?  What would you do?  Would you accept the call so the Holy Spirit could work through you to reach out to others?  This is the case not only for being put in court, but in all of our lives.  As Christians, we are put to test daily for the way we live our lives.  We have got to depend on the Holy Spirit to give us the words to day.

Finally, we are called to be bold.  Paul told Timothy that he wanted him to “stir up” the gifts that are in us.  Why?  So that we can be bold in furthering the Gospel of Jesus Christ.   Yes, there are those who will turn us down, but remember that Jesus said, “Because they hated me, they will hate you too.”  Friends, that is growing more and more as the days go by.  My prayer is that this will help give you a jump start in your faith that you too will be able to know that you will take a chance to share the Gospel, and will use words if necessary.  May you fight the good fight today!

I love the Lord and do my best to have faith, but I have a hard time trusting God when everyone around me is breaking that trust with me. How can I change that so that I can have a continual love for God? - swimbaby

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

I remember growing up in church, and one of the greatest things that I was taught was the motions to many different songs. “Father Abraham” was one of my favorites because we got to dance around while being reminded that we were all sons of Father Abraham. “The Lord’s Army” was always great, and I love shooting the artillery. “This Little Light of Mine,” though, had to be one of my all time favorites. I always loved being able to point my finger in the air reminding me of the light that we have in our hearts.  When I think about your question, I think about another thing that I learned while I was in Sunday School. As you are reading this, take your hand, and hold it up with your thumb pointing toward your body.  Now, start with your little finger and go to each finger until you stop at your thumb saying, “Never… Will… He… Leave… Me…!!!”   (The exclamation marks are because you need to mean it!) Then go back to your pinky, doing the same motion, and say, “Never… Will… He… Forsake… Me……”

When we know Jesus as our Savior, we can totally stand on that truth! The more and more that I am alive, the more and more I am seeing that putting our trust in people will always find us getting ourselves disappointed. The reason is that humans will always fail us. Oh sure, we can put our trust in our pastor, the director of TDDM, or even me, but in one way or another they will fail us. We as human are always going to make mistakes, and that is why God is so BIG about loving our neighbor as ourselves, and forgiveness.

That is why it is so important for us to remember that trusting in God is safe. The reason: He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us! Oh sure, it may look like that He is when someone who is human does, but we have to remember it is not God, but that person who made the choice to leave.

Finally, be strong and courageous. God gave us the mandate to do so because He is going to go with us wherever we may go. Remember, He will never leave us nor forsake us! I want to ask those of you who may be reading this today, “Do you know Jesus as your Savior?” If so, live in this truth. If you have never met Him as your Savior, I want to encourage you to do so today. Just ask a friend, or check out the "Salvation" page here on TDDM.  May God’s grace abound in you!