Good morning, Five Minute Families. Thank you for joining us today. If you would like more information about the ministry we lead at Clear View Retreat, please check us out at www.clearviewretreat.org.

Today we wanna talk about an old saying that has been attributed to a number of different people, so we can’t give proper credit, but the saying goes,

“Good, better, best, never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best.”

In our walk with Christ, through our daily living, interacting with others, ourselves, and God, we should strive to be more Christ-like. Christ demonstrated the best relationships and perfect life for us as our model. It is through the process of sanctification and growth in love, that we can start to think like Christ. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:15 to “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

We start to realize that: Our first thoughts are often not our best thoughts, so, never let it rest until our first thoughts are God thoughts and those are best.

When your child has disobeyed you deliberately for the 5th time that day… what are your first thoughts? what are your God thoughts?

When your spouse has ignored you because of a fight from five days ago… what are your first thoughts? what are your God thoughts?

When you are overwhelmed and tired and still something else needs to be done for a loved one… what are your first thoughts? what are your God thoughts?

You see, Five Minute Families, if we don’t take the time to take our first thoughts captive as God tells us and then choose to meditate on His Word to decide how to move forward or how to respond, we often end up in defeat, irritation, or even condemnation. So many places of hurt and additional challenges will arise if we do not remember that while we are new creations when we have been saved by Christ, we are still on this earthly journey. Our flesh and natural first thoughts will still rear their ugly heads.

One modern example of not giving over to first thoughts can be seen time and again in social media. Averaged across demographics over 80% of adults in the United States have a mobile device and at least half of those – and probably more if the numbers based out of the UK are an accurate reflection – are smartphones. That means that we all have social media at our fingertips. Think about social media and first thoughts versus God thoughts. Facebook asks us, “what’s one your mind?” But, should we always answer that question aloud to anyone but the Lord? We all have at least one friend who spouts off and overshares on social media, often deleting or regretting his or her post. Five minute families must choose to do better.

One way we tried to deal with this in our home was by removing phones, tablets, or computers immediately if the boys got in trouble. Of course, the kids thought this was a punishment. However, that was not our motivation, although continued removal sometimes was necessary for discipline. Removal of their attachments to social media and friends via text and messaging was because we knew as adults their first thought might be to send a frustrated message to a friend or possibly post a rude comment online. Those immediate rants could then later open them up to continuing the hurt or negative situation even after the pain may have subsided or the situation may have been resolved.

Setting our kids up for success in learning how to deal with first thoughts versus God thoughts takes thinking about each past and future potential situation and seeing how we can help them navigate those difficult moments. We must resolve to remind our families about God when we sit in our houses and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down and when we rise up.

Please head over to our blog or facebook page to share with us your ideas about first thoughts versus God thoughts.

We appreciate your letting us be a part of your morning, and we pray that God will fill you with hope as you see the riches of His greatness and glory. Keep finding those five minutes a day to pour into your loved ones. It matters because they matter to Him!

Good morning, Five Minute Families! It is wonderful to joining you this first Tuesday of July 2020. This year has brought so many challenges and difficulties as well as unexpected blessings. We pray that God has shown you His power and might through all the unknowns.

This morning we would like to chat about family freedom. First, let’s define freedom. Freedom means “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.”

So often in life we do not actually have the freedoms we think we do. We all answer to someone, somehow. With July 4th being last weekend, many pastors and evangelists were pointing out the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. He paid for our sins, and we are free from the eternal consequences of them. But, as most of us have found out one way or another, the earthly consequences will, in all likelihood, still come.

Because of the consequences of bad behavior at work or in some public space, many of us do not feel free to truly be ourselves or act the way we want. Thus, unfortunately, many of us “let it all go” when we’re get home. Just as we addressed last week, we give over to our first thoughts instead of pausing and focusing instead on God thoughts.

There is balance to be found between sharing our true feelings and thoughts with learning to pause and respond well in God’s manner. Turning your mind to God thoughts does not mean ignoring all your hurts, needs, or wants. Focusing on God thoughts is not meant to remove the unique qualities He placed in you. God thoughts are meant to better who He made YOU to be, to allow you and your family members the freedom to explore the full meaning of John 8:36, “So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Let us give you an example of what we mean. The other night at dinner one of our sons said something that we both thought was said simply to scare his youngest brother, but the one who said it was so upset by our admonishment that we had to take a step back, figuratively, and ask him if he truly believed what he had just said. He fully believed it; it was a typical false belief about Satan and darkness. Once we realized that we needed to help him understand the truth about evil and darkness, we also knew we needed to repair the damage we had done by the admonishment. We had to explain that we were not upset but glad he had spoken what he believed to be true. False beliefs cannot be explained and reevaluated if they are never brought up and discussed.

God instructs parents to provide love, learning, necessities, and more. One of the things we need to provide is family freedom. This allows both parent and child to grow in their knowledge of each other and for the parent to prayerfully consider the way the Lord is guiding the child and grow to a deeper understanding of God’s purpose and plan for the child. A Five Minute Family must have a home in which everyone is allowed to:

Communicate their hopes and dreams,

Confess their mistakes,

Express their fears,

Ask their questions,

And share what they have learned.

When we encouraged you last week to pause after your first thoughts and work toward only responding with God thoughts, it was not to stifle who you are or to remove the freedom we all so desperately need in life. No, God thoughts give us MORE freedom because we know that those who love us will be understanding and kind when we make mistakes. (Of course, sometimes we laugh, too, but not AT each other, only WITH each other). God thoughts in a family allow us MORE freedom to be ourselves because we know that those around us will lift us up and we know that God has so much more planned for our uniqueness than the limits we place.

Is your family living in freedom? Are you seeking God and His ways – His thoughts – to build each other up? Begin today with just five minutes of mediation on His word and then sharing those thoughts with your loved ones. May you see the power of the Creator and the freedom He provides. Be blessed!

Good morning, Five Minute Families. How has your week been so far? We pray that the Lord meets you today in a mighty and wonderful way so that you know His power and His hope and His glory.

Alongside our key concept of intentional intimacy here at Clear View Retreat, we always encouraging families to disconnect to reconnect. Disconnect from technology and from other distractions in order to reconnect with the Lord and with your loved ones.

A Greek word used several times throughout the New Testament is koinonia which means ‘Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians.’ A few synonyms for koininia are

1. fellowship
2. association
3. community
4. communion
5. joint participation
6. or intimacy

Listen and contemplate these Bible verses. We are going to highlight the koinonia words as we read:

1 Corinthians 1:9 – God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:16 – The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

Philippians 1:5 – because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

Philippians 2:1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any affection and mercy,

Philippians 3:10 – My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,

1 John 1:3 – what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:6 – If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” and yet we walk in darkness, we are lying and are not practicing the truth.

Philemon 1:6 – I pray that your participation in the faith may become effective through knowing every good thing that is in us for the glory of Christ.

What trends are running through those verses beyond the koinonia definition we mentioned earlier?

1. A calling into fellowship and into community
2. Deep communion with the Father, through Christ and in Christ, knowing even his suffering
3. Partnering and participating in the gospel
4. Sharing Christ with one another
5. Being united in the Spirit with intentional purpose
6. And Practicing the truth together

John 13:34 encourages us to love one another as Christ has loved us. And, Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”

Easy, right? How do we even do that? Have any of you chopped wood? Have you ever done it with a dull axe? You wear yourself out using a dull tool. That’s why God uses the analogy of iron sharpening iron. Even in loving we can grow weary and tired. That is normal; that is humanity. So, we must sharpen our axes through the fellowship of biblical community. A favorite quote of mine is from Charles Swindoll: “A family is a place where principles are hammered and honed on the anvil of everyday living.”

Families are on the front lines, and the front lines need and deserve support, encouragement, and koinonia. Essentially, we need and are designed for biblical community. Please note that Christ is the head and connected to our community. He is NOT the priority of the biblical community. He is the REASON for it. He is preeminent. Biblical community based on saints who care and disciple another and who give and receive instruction in order to proclaim the truth.

To connect to one another we must make time for each other. That’s why we launched the Five Minute Family initiative. We must realize the importance of the smallest of moments. Those smallest of moments and those large nuggets of time all take intentionality.

Begin with those five minutes a day and see what God will do. Take five minutes to spend writing a note a church member, or spend five minutes calling the pastor’s wife to see if you can pray for your church leadership. Take five minutes to order pizza for a friend’s family that is struggling right now. Brainstorm ideas to intentionally reach out to your biblical community this week.

Thank you for joining us this morning. We would love to be in greater biblical community with by hearing your thoughts and prayer needs. You can comment on our blog at clearviewretreat.org and our facebook page, too. God bless!