Joel Rosenberg has a remarkable blog about this today that demonstrates just how incredible the parallels really are – especially the unlikely involvment of Turkey.

What does this mean for us?  From a concern point of view, we should pray for Israel and its leaders, as well as our own.  If Israel is faced with war against everyone else, we want to be on the side of Israel.  As one listener to the Ryan Rush Show pointed out yesterday, this is certainly worth a call to your Senators and Congressmen.  Contact information to reach them is found here.

From a prophetic point of view, there is always reason for anticipation and excitement when prophecies are being fulfilled before our eyes.  We don’t wish harm to anyone, but we are reminded that God’s promises are true.  If He keeps His promises in the midst of Middle East conflict, He most certainly keep His promises to you!

In the meantime, we trust, pray, and share the Good News…

Rather than automatically accusing the Councilman of an agenda to funnel women to abortion providers, why not respectfully request that the postings become effective for all pregnancy centers in town – regardless of position?  That would be just fine with me.  After all, it would remove the  accusations that NARAL has made that pro-life centers are trying to trick women into choosing life or adoption, and provide a new opportunity for abortion providers to step up and be forthcoming about their own intentions.  (By the way, I spoke with Councilman Spelman on the phone earlier, and he has agreed to call into the Ryan Rush Show on Tuesday or Wednesday and take your questions.)

Before you let the proposal ruin your weekend, I would recommend that you send a respectful email to Councilman Spelman – and perhaps the others on the Council – asking them to consider expanding the proposal to increase clarity for all women.  Something along these lines:

Dear Councilman Spelman,

Thank you for all of the work you do on behalf of our city.  I noticed today that you have submitted a proposal to the Council for a vote next week regarding signs at the city’s pregnancy centers who do not provide abortions.  As you have stated, the signs would not be inflammatory in nature, and are not intended to be divisive, but instead are intended to provide clarity.  Disclosure can certainly be a good thing – especially for those who are facing such a difficult situation.  I want to ask you and other members of the Council to make one adjustment.  Why not require such postings at all pregnancy centers, requiring clarity regarding their abortion services?  That way, a woman could know at the entrance exactly where that center stands.  A center that does provide abortions would have the same-sized signs stating simply, “This Center provides abortions or refers to abortion providers. This center also provide or refers to providers of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved birth control drugs and medical devices.”

As a supporter of area Crisis Pregnancy Centers, I believe that this could help to further enhance everyone’s understanding of the variety of clinics in the city.  Thank you for your consideration of this proposal.

Respectfully Submitted,

______________________

You can reach Councilman Bill Spelman online at this link.   Before you get angry, consider the opportunity this may present.  Have a great weekend!

Deuteronomy 6 is an oft-quoted verse by many pro-family speakers – including myself.  However, I must admit that we all might have taken some of these words a bit off the path of their original destination.

Verses six through nine of this dynamic chapter challenge the families of Israel as to how the wonderful book of the law should be used: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”(NKJV)  In other words, the Word of God should be taught at all times!

Now, here’s where most of us take a bit of a wrong turn.  I can almost hear myself tell a group of families, “Now, don’t you see?  God is making it clear that we should have a specific time of family devotions every day in our homes!  If it’s that important, shouldn’t we set aside a time every day to spend as a family in the Word?”  While the PROMISE of that statement will always be very positive for any family, the PREMISE of it is not the content of those key verses of Scripture.

Let’s look back at the command again – I think you’ll see that there’s more here than simply what we might view as “Family Devotions” – a brief time daily or weekly where parents and children gather and dive into God’s Word – that can only be a part of the story here.  It seems more clear that in fact God is commanding us to make every part of our lives a family devotion – an opportunity to teach and remember the eternal elements in the mundane, day-to-day things of life!

Realizing the breadth of this challenge to families should in no way negate the important need for a structured devotion time.  That time “when you sit in your house” is still and will always be a key component in handing off your faith to your children.  It simply is not, however, the only time to work toward this eternal goal.

Isn’t it always just like God to come up with something simpler, yet far more effective, than anything we can come up with on our own?  When the Scripture says to “teach them diligently to your children,” I have a vivid picture of the commandments of our Lord being the relevant topic of conversation from sunup to sundown – no matter what activities lie in between.  I don’t know about you, but this really gets the creative juices flowing!  I can imagine a hundred mundane activities suddenly coming alive with spiritual truth with just a little fun and some relevant spiritual application!

I could name for you by memory at least twenty solid family devotion books to get you started with a specific, set-aside devotion time (if you don’t do this, you should.  It sure beats television when it comes to raising kids.)  On the other hand, how many resources do you come across for the other 23 ¾ hours in the day?  Fortunately, many more than there were even five years ago – but not near enough for me to be satisfied!  Lana and I have prayed about this very topic, and believe that there are a few simple steps that any family can take to be well on the way to moving from regular family devotions to what we have called “devotions in motion” – learning to take advantage of regular activities in order to teach spiritual things.

You may be saying, “Ryan, you don’t understand!  We lead the most boring existence on the planet!  There is no way to tie in our average day to spiritual things – much less draw some powerful nugget to assist us in our walk with the Father.”  If you’re one of those doubters, lets look together at your schedule for some potential life changing events that you may already be doing on a daily or weekly basis.  Do you or your children:

-         Brush your teeth?

-         Do laundry?

-         Wash dishes?

-         Drive in the car?

-         Work in your yard?

-         Make your bed?

-         Eat snacks or meals?

-         Eat out at restaurants?

-         Listen to music?

-         Answer the phone?

-         Bathe?

-         Play Board games?

-         Do puzzles?

-         Go to school?

Every one of those activities applies to Deuteronomy 6 – and so they all offer opportunities for conversation about God, object lessons about biblical principles, or just developing a stronger connection with the ones you love.

Life is full of WONDERFUL opportunities to share the Word of Truth to one another – really putting Deuteronomy 6 into practice!

As you go about your day today, consider all of the opportunities for devotions with your children… not from a book, but from your life.  After all, it is how you live out the Truths of God that will ultimately be what is written on their hearts.

For the past five years, our church h has been connecting church life and home life using a process we call Faith Breakthroughs.  A Faith Breakthrough is a turning point when a person intentionally moves beyond spiritual barriers to the blessings God has promised.  There is no doubt that our walks with God were never intended to take place in one building on Sundays; yet a large proportion of American Christians find themselves stuck in their faith when it comes to real-life transformation.

The process of a Faith Breakthrough begins with identifying specific “walls” that are holding back the believer.  These walls are barriers of unbelief that keep us from living the life God intended.  Walls are not circumstances, as the Scripture makes it clear that Christ Followers overcame all sorts of circumstances.  Instead, walls of unbelief take the shape of bad attitudes, unhealthy choices, and rebellious acts – all of which hold us back from the abundant life for which we were made.  We’ve seen walls of resentment, of doubt, of anger, of greed, and many more.

We have also seen God tear those walls down, and He always uses the same weapon.  Walls are built by unbelief, and walls are destroyed through a process of believing God’s promises!

Not only do walls hold back people, there is evidence in Scripture that walls can hold back churches as well.  Laodicea faced a wall of pride.  Pergamum faced a wall of compromise.

They are not alone: most congregations have dealt with the reality of unbelief – and the barriers it causes.  These walls keep them trapped inside their internal programs and agendas – distracted by unimportant things that matter little in eternity.  These walls also isolate individual congregations from the Church as a Whole – the Body of Christ in Austin and beyond.

And just as the principle of Walls extends to churches, the principle of Faith Breakthroughs does as well.  The same antidote is available to every congregation: the power of God’s promises.

Almost every pastor I speak to in Austin understands the need for the Body of Christ to cooperate in reaching our City with the Gospel.  No one expects that all of our unique doctrines need to be set aside in order for that to happen; yet we often fail to see progress, I believe, because of the invisible walls that separate.  When I look at the New Testament, I see evidence of three primary walls that churches must address:

1. The Wall of Pride. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul addressed the controversy of the church having moved into “factions” – with some following the teachings of Paul and some Apollos.  The Scripture is clear that we should guard against any teaching that contradicts Scripture, but is likewise clear that spiritual arrogance on non-essential differences is inappropriate.  As Paul summarized his argument in verse 18, “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.”  The wall of pride is overcome by God’s promise that we will be grateful to God, and humble to one another, when we trust Him and focus on the foundations of our faith.  (1 Corinthians 4:6).

1. The Wall of Prejudice. James 2 warns the church against showing favoritism based on economic status, but prejudice extends far beyond this example.  Churches can fall into the trap of prejudice based on education, culture, race, or even location.  In his teaching to the disciples in Matthew 7, Christ demonstrated the connection between our prayers to the Father and our treatment of others.  In verses 7-12, He expressed that the Father stands ready to meet our needs, and that we in turn ought to seek the needs of others:

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

1. The Wall of Self-Absorption. Macedonia, commended for their generosity in 2 Corinthians 8, was used as the positive example of what happened when a church chooses to see beyond their own needs and look outward.  Paul was challenging the Corinthian believer to do the same, and avoid the temptation to pull inward and “sow sparingly.”  Ephesus: The Wall of Indifference.  This is a failure of the church to recognize God’s greatness, and to worship Him with passion.  This wall is overcome by God’s promise to the church to meet our needs when we abound in good works.  Galatians 6 gives God’s promise to overcome this wall: that if we are steadfast in good deeds, we will reap a harvest if we will not give up.

We cannot tear down walls until we acknowledge that they exist.  But once we are willing to admit that these struggles face all of our churches, then we can truly begin to walk in the promises God has given.  Imagine the possibilities if the Body moved passed these barriers?

-         What would happen if my church began to express the gratitude and humility of a childlike faith – recognizing that any wisdom we have been given is as that of a child, and extending grace to those who differ on the non-essentials of the faith?

-         What would happen if we began to acknowledge our own pre-suppositions about others, and sought their needs as God has sought ours?

-         What would happen if we looked outside of our own needs, and really tried to understand the deeper needs around us and among our extended brethren?

I pray that we could see that day come about, and I long to see it happen in Austin.  Never before has the harvest been so plentiful as it is in our own nation right now.  And yet the Bible shares over and over again that our first witness to the world is the supernatural way in which we love one another in the Body of Christ.  May it begin as we claim God’s promises for His church!  And let the wall come down!

It is also amazing how damaging this can be in home life.  When we have an expectation that all should be well in life – with no sickness or financial difficulties, then any time something goes wrong we have to play the blame game.  Is it any wonder that divorce is so rampant among the prosperity preachers on TV?  See Benny Hinn’s latest news…

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=reilly_rick&id=4977305

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to have a lively discussion about Bullying in schools, Austin Police Chief Acevedo, and lots of legal questions for Terry Belt.  Thanks to all who called in!

Great comments from our listeners!  The bottom line – this is not about legalism, but honoring God and not becoming a distraction to others.

One of the reasons we can’t come up with a name for the family/ home movement in church today is because so many of the labels that would seem obvious have been overused, or abused, or just misrepresented.

Family ministry is not counseling ministry. It’s not children’s ministry.  Home ministry is not senior adult ministry.  But every healthy church, over the long term, butter have whatever “IT” is called.  More important than the name, however, is the culture of D6 in the life of a church, and I really believe that we have discovered the secret weapon.

I have found that the Scripture speaks of one element of the Christian life that moves us toward real ownership of the opportunities God has provided.  This is the aspect of faith that always comes up in the family passages of Scripture – Psalm 78, Ephesians 5 and 6, and Dueteronomy 6.  That element is faith: the practice of believing, claiming, and living God’s promises.  Therefore, every Christ follower at Bannockburn is challenged to constantly overcome new barriers in life by growing in their faith.  What is the secret to connecting faith and home life?  It is giving families the tools they need to take ownership of God’s promises where they live.

This growth is a process, and it includes some important life markers along the journey that we call Faith Breakthroughs.

We define a Faith Breakthrough as the point in which a Christ follower overcomes a growth barrier through an intentional life strategy.  Faith Breakthroughs are the key past the “walls” of unbelief that separate, isolate, and stagnate the home lives of many Christ followers.

I have devoted the balance of my life to helping families discover this essential truth.  And I’m convinced that the family can be saved – and must be saved – by the power of living God’s promises.  Faith Breakthroughs is a process and lifestyle that anyone can use, because it is straight out of Scripture.  I’ll look forward to sharing the details in a later post.  For now, though, why not consider how you’re really living the promises God has given you to live?  They’re the key to breakthroughs in the days ahead – and the secret to transforming your home life.

The last time we shared with you about Lily’s medical condition, we told you that we were waiting until January of 2008 to do some follow-up testing on Lily’s kidneys. You might recall that the doctor in Boston gave us hope that there was a small chance that her reflux could improve on its own, and he wanted to give her the rest of the year to try.

On Monday (New Year’s Eve), we went in for a follow up VCUG, and received the results this morning from Dr. Jolet. Here’s what we discovered: when children have grade 4 and 5 reflux (5 is the worst, and Lily had a 4 on one side and 5 on the other), the hope is that over the course of time it might improve to grade 3 or maybe even 2 if everything goes very well . This would allow us to continue in hopes that it would improve on its own, or be treated without having to go through another surgery. She told us that the results don’t just show improvement – they show that Lily’s problem is completely gone! Dr. Jolet said that we shouldn’t be surprised if the doctors in Boston want to re-test because the results are so impossible, but we have no reason to doubt that God has answered our prayers with a miracle!

Thanks to all of you for your many prayers in the last year. The Lord was listening, and we are eternally grateful.

Lily took her first steps on New Year’s Day, and we heard this news on January 2, so 2008 is off to a fantastic start. Hopefully, this will be the last CarePages update you receive from the Rush Family. Nevertheless, I doubt you’ve heard the last of Lily Rush. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for her in the coming days, and it’s only fitting that this chapter of her life would end with something only God could do.