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Hoosier Your Daddy?

John 8:44 “34Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

The Indiana Hoosiers is the best college in the world. Granted, that is probably debatable, but I happen to think that is the truth. The other evening, my family and I were shopping for clothes, and I had the great opportunity to buy some more apparel. On the way home, my wife said to me, “Adam, why don’t all of the athletic teams at Indiana just get shirts that say, “Hoosier Daddy?” I had to laugh at that one because that would be great! Maybe that would put some fear into our opponents. Never know?

Afterwards, the Holy Spirit hit my heart and said, “You a child of God. Who is your Daddy?” We joke around all the time with jokes about this, but I know who my Daddy is.Praise the Lord that I have made that decision! Has God been made to be your Father through the divine adoption? There is no other way. You and I are born children of the King. We were born as filthy outcasts, enemies of God by nature, confirming our exclusion from God's family by our sinfulness. If we do not make that decision to be a child of the King, we are headed straight for the wrath of God, or an eternity without Him.

God has adopted you into his family and made you his very own child. Oh, what a precious privilege it is to have "received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Romans cool That God is our Daddy!

What about you? Have you believed in Christ to become His child? If you have not, then why don’t you believe today? Ask the Lord for forgiveness of your sins and become a child of the King. Then you too will know who your Daddy is too! "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13) May God’s Grace Abound in You.

If It's To Be

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) NKJV.

Not too many people can argue that we live in a society that simply believes this: If it's meant to be, it's up to me. So many people today feel that the only way they can be a success is to depend on only yourself. "I can't trust anyone to get me through my life, I'm the only one that can change anything." This person is partly true. But also wrong.

As we went into the class room to talk strategy before our soccer game, the team was really getting pumped up. This was our last home game, and for me my last home game ever as a senior. So needless to say, we were getting pumped. As coach was giving the pep talk he looked up and in the class room hung a sign that simply said. "If it's meant to be, it's up to me." "Guys, nobody else can help you at this point. You have to go out there and give it your all. Don't look back and keep fighting till the final whistle blows," echoed the coach through the room.

For a soccer pep talk, I agreed mostly with this statement, but as a life application statement I think I would reword it some. Maybe to say something to this effect. "Guys, only God can help you at this point. You have to go out there and give it your all. Always look up and keep fighting till the final whistle blows."

Friends we better get pumped up for this game. There isn't a whole lot of time left and the game is tied. We need to put our whole heart and soul into this if we want to come out victorious. This is a team that doesn't quit, doesn't give up, and will keep pressing forward no matter how many bad calls we get. Because the great thing about this game is we already know who will be the winner. We just have to stick it out with all we have in the meantime. For when the game is over we can go back to the bench, sit down, and have a drink while the coach comes over and gives you a pat on the back and says, "Well done, good and faithful one." May peace be with you.


Your Bro in Christ,
Tony Rhoda

On A Personal Note

Matthew: 19-20 (NIV)
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

The Great Commission, what a challenge Jesus put before us. That is to tell the world that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior. Is that something that you do on a daily basis? Do you tell your friends, family, and peers about what Christ has done for you?

Tonight I had the opportunity to share about what Christianity is all about with one of the guys in a fraternity that I met last week. When you share Jesus with others do you tell them that it is not enough to just know about Him but that you have to know Christ personally. Knowing Jesus is what Christianity is all about. Knowing who He is and living our lives to be like Him. We are not perfect and we will fall, but God forgives those who know His Son, Jesus.

Sharing who Christ is to you and knowing Him personally is only part of the Christian walk. We also need to walk the talk. In other words use the Bible as your guidebook. The Bible is a Christians' direction for life. It tells us how to live our lives. If you don't believe in the Bible you cannot truly call yourself a Christian. We need to live our lives for God and God alone. John 13:25 says "by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (NIV.) It is so true. How we live and what we say need to reflect the same Christ that is in us.

If you don't know Jesus Christ personally as Lord and Savior today, ask I will be more than happy to share the Gospel with you and share with you how you can come to know Christ personally. If you aren't living you life totally for Christ today than ask for forgives and give your life totally to Christ. If you have any questions feel free to email me or any other TDDM staff member. We are more than willing to take the time and answer your questions.

Big Ouch

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

Did you ever stop to think how hard the metal is in a chin-up bar? I have and let me tell you why. When I was in fourth grade, I had a problem, a serious problem. And his name was Owen. I know, but there are actually kids in the world named Owen. Anyway, he loved to make my life miserable. Owen was in 6th grade and he was my official bully.

One day as Owen was chasing me across the playground AGAIN, I thought maybe this time I could actually outrun him. I ran as hard as I could possibly go. I looked back to see if he was still following me. When I turned back around, I found out that they make chin-up bars of really hard metal. The sound of my forehead hitting the bar made a giant thud. This was followed closely by the splat of me hitting the ground. Needless to say, I survived. Although every time I turn on a microwave oven, I bark like a dog and hear someone singing Jingle Bells. Other than that, I’m fine.

You know what I really needed? I needed a savior. A savior is someone who comes to your rescue. The Lord your God is your rescuer. Not just from hell, but from the pitfalls of life. And there are a lot of pitfalls in life. Much of today, I spent watching video of the tragedy at Virginia Tech. My heart is broken for the families of those who were killed. My greatest prayer is that they know the Lord so that He can delight in them, quiet them with His love and rejoice over them with singing. It feels so good to know God is rejoicing over you. All it takes is faith. Faith to believe that He is doing exactly what He said He would do. And just for future reference, that promise is more firm than a chin-up bar.

A Speech That We'll Never Forget

Revelation 5:9 "And they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."(NIV)

Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

....."Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" Martin Luther King, Jr., his speech on August 28, 1963 in Washington DC http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

I really did not feel that the Lord was wanting me to write about a question this week, but rather to write my heart. I enclosed an excerpt of the speech given by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his dream of freedom across this land. I would encourage you to go and read it and ask yourself, "Have we really met the dream of Dr. King in our society today?"

We all have prejudices. At least once in a while if not more often we all make a judgment about something or someone that is simply based on race, creed, color, religion, or belief. We assume and make the first judgment that comes to our mind without really thinking about what Jesus would think in the situation. We all think and have the idea that in some way or another we are better than everyone else. We have come a long way since the day that this speech was given, but are we really having a meaningful heart, or are we tolerating it, and listening to Satan's lies about people and not realizing that God created them like you and me.

I want us to really look at our hearts today and know that God is deeply saddened when we have prejudices in our hearts and lives especially with racism. I would like to hope that Dr. King's dream would one day be met, where we can all look into the eyes of other people no matter what race, color, or creed and know that God made that person, and they need salvation just as much as you and I. As well as knowing that it is all level at the foot of the cross, and that people from all tribes and nations will be in heaven.

In conclusion, I would challenge you this week as we celebrate Black History Month to look at the negative stereotypes that you have in your life, and the people that you may have judged and work on a heart change with a new point of view, God's point of view.

We need to erase those thoughts and replace them with thoughts of love, joy, peace, and kindness toward all people. I would also challenge you to look at the people that you may have hurt because of your judgmental behavior and seek their forgiveness, and may Dr. King's dream truly come alive within our nation. May God's Grace Abound In You.

Eye of the Beholder

"You love him although you have not seen him, and you believe in him, although you do not now see him." (1 Peter 1: cool

Faith seems like such a small word for such a big meaning. We as Christians have faith that God exists. We cannot see him, but yet we pray to him. This is because we see him working through others, and feel his presence even in a kind word said to a stranger.

It is so easy to falter from that faith in God. Yet, we hold tight to what we believe in. The question is why. Why do we have faith in God? Well let me give you my insight. The Bible is a piece of literature that sheds light on the past. It opens doors to the life of Jesus and his work.

Even as a teen, Jesus grew up different from any of us. I mean he did get into trouble with his parents. Yes, I have also been in trouble with my parents. It's a shock I know. Anyway, remember the time Jesus wandered off to the temple courts after the Passover feast when he was twelve years old? Mary and Joseph returned to Jerusalem unaware Jesus was not with them. As in Luke's Gospel upon returning they found him among teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.

Jesus is a rock on which to stand. Even though we cannot see God, we share his word and tell all of the sacrifice God gave, his son. Not every parent could do that. Seeing, is not believing though, but we have heard and read of the wonderful miracles Jesus did. So open your eyes and see God all around you. If you really want to be close to God just pray and believe in him even though you cannot see him.

How Teens and Parents Are Alike

How Teens and Parents Are Alike

Teens and parents alike??? No way, most parents and teens will say. But the adolescent period is when a person is in a growth process to maturity. The word period means this stage won't last forever. Adolescents face changes physically, sexually, emotionally, intellectually, and socially. During this time of change with a teen, we parents need to dwell on the internal changes and not so much with the external.

While most of our teens are going through this life changing period, often very emotional, parents are going through the same sort of thing. Believe it or not when your parents reach around 40 years old they go through an adolescent period also. Often adults think of the teen's adolescence as a period of crisis for them as well as for the parents. Parents go through what is called by many as a mid-life crisis. Well, mid-life is a wide term. At the time you are a teen most of your parents are in late 30's early 40's, some may be older some younger. Knowing and understanding these changes in both teens and parents at the same time really helps some situations. Teens understand that at this period of your parents lives they are going through some "changes." While you are getting stronger and bigger, your masculine and feminine traits are developing you into a man or woman, your parents at this time are changing also, the are getting weaker, and even shrinking, or accumulating some unwanted body changes. Most outward features known to us a beauty are fading. This is why the internal person is so important not the external in both children and adults.

At this time a teen wonders about their sexuality, excited with anticipation of their future in this area. Parents are wondering also, because many loose the anticipation and wonder where all the excitement went. Teens are thinking of the future, career, school etc. Parents are thinking of retirement, pensions and setting up for their "old age." Many teens have taken on the mother/father role with their own parents. Seeing a parent that was always so together, start doing silly things again makes one wonder if they lost their mind. As the parents wonder where the mind of their teens are sometimes.

Parents are supposed to understand and love their children unconditionally. Teens really need to do the same for their parents. When parents don't seem to be emotionally available for you, don't take it personal, maybe they are going through some hard time themselves. Unconditional love and understanding what is happening can really make a smooth transition for both teen and parent. So for many years there can be two adolescents in most homes, the under-eighteen child and the over-forty adult.

Breakdown Express

"Since you are precious in My sight, {Since} you are honored and I love you, I will give {other} men in your place and {other} peoples in exchange for your life." Isaiah 43:4 (New American Standard)

Guess what? Here I am once again in my car. Am I at a bank in the middle of nowhere? No, of course not, I’m on an expressway in the middle of nowhere, half way between school and home. Once again my car is being unruly and not getting me where I need to be. Looks like the clutch just gave out.

You would think, “Geeze, Amber, invest in a new car; something that actually works.”

I think that too from time to time, but every time, I think to myself how life would be without this vehicle. See, my first car was a 1986 Honda CRX, affectionately named Pantera. I loved that car! But it didn’t have air conditioning (which is a must for Florida weather) and every time I hit 65 miles per hour it felt like it was going to vibrate itself apart and leave me sitting on the road with just a steering wheel in my hand. Hence, I bought the 1992 Honda Prelude, affectionately named Carmella: an air conditioned, stereo blaring, solid bodied, 5 speed, sports car. It was awesome, and I got it for a really good deal non-the-less. However, that good deal seems to be costing me more and more and more. I won’t get another car, because there is too much value in this one no matter if the clutch slips, the alternator gives out, or the brakes have a leak in the line. It just needs a little fixing and we’ll be on our way.

Sitting here gets me thinking, “I wonder if God thinks the same thing about us”? We are just like my Carmella, a soul that breaks down from time to time. We aren’t perfect and sometimes we are unruly too, we slip here and run out of gas there. But, do you think God is going to give up on us? Trade us in for a newer and better model? No, we are too valuable to Him. He’s going to put us in situations to fix us and get us going on our way again. The next time you feel like giving up and pulling over on the freeway of life, remember that God is the one behind the wheel. Give him complete control and he will steer you straight.