A monthly Spiritgram brought to you by the staff at What Is Your Story - WIYS

VOL. 2, ISSUE 6 JUNE 2018

Stories in this Spiritgram

Father’s Day

It is believed that Father’s Day was first

observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane,

Washington, through the efforts of Sonora

Smart Dodd, a Christian woman and the

daughter of American Civil War veteran

William Jackson Smart. Sonora’s mother died

when she was age 16, and she wanted a day

that would commemorate and honor fathers

like her own, who had raised her and five other

children. Once she began soliciting the idea of

an official Father’s Day, she met some

opposition and even derision, but she

persevered. A bill was introduced in Congress

in 1913, and in 1916, President Woodrow

Wilson spoke at a Father’s Day celebration in

Spokane, Washington, wanting to make it an official holiday, but Congress still resisted. In

1924, Calvin Coolidge became involved, and in 1930 a national committee was formed by

various trade groups in an effort to legitimize the holiday. The battle continued, and in 1966

President Lyndon Johnson made a proclamation for the third Sunday of June to be Father ’s

Day. Finally, it was made an official national holiday when President Nixon signed a similar

proclamation in 1972.

While God’s Word is silent about any day being

set aside specifically to honor fathers, the Bible

does recognize a special place of honor for men

who were leaders or examples of excellence in

certain skills, such as Jabal, who was “the father

of those who live in tents and raise livestock” and

his brother Jubal, who was “the father of all who

play the harp and flute” (Genesis 4:20-21). Also,

when Abram’s name was changed to Abraham,

God told him, “I have made you a father of many

nations” (Genesis 17:5), clearly indicating

fatherhood as a place of honor in His eyes. Thus,

even though the Bible does not mention a Father’s

Day, we can clearly see that God does recognize

the importance of fathers and even gave them

special honor throughout history.

Furthermore, we can follow this theme of fatherhood in the very person of God Himself

through countless scriptures (Matthew 5:45; 6:9,32; Romans 1:7; 15:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6).

There are many instances that speak of Jesus Christ, the Son, honoring His Father and

honoring the will of His Father (e.g., John 17:1 and John 17:5). The apostle Paul taught that

to honor one’s earthly father is not only a commandment but the first commandment that,

when obeyed, has a promise of things going well and living long on the earth. “Honor your

father and mother—which is the first commandment with a promise—that it may go well with

you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3). In light of these verses,

and many others, it would seem to be perfectly God-honoring to celebrate a day in which

fathers, the God-given spiritual head of the family, could and should be honored. Ultimately,

whether or not to celebrate a specific day or holiday is a matter of personal preference. We

have the freedom to celebrate and the freedom not to celebrate if we so choose.

(Source Gotquestions.org)

Page 1 of 5

WHAT IS YOUR STORY

Father’s Day Christian Fathers? Encounter of Bianca’s Word of

the Third Kind Encouragement

WHAT IS YOUR STORY

Christian Father?

The greatest commandment in Scripture is this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Going back to verse 2,

we read, “So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your

God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so

that you may enjoy long life.” Following Deuteronomy 6:5, we read, “These commandments

that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about

them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when

you get up” (vv. 6-7).

Israelite history reveals that the father

was to be diligent in instructing his chil-

dren in the ways and words of the Lord

for their own spiritual development and

well-being. The father who was obedient

to the commands of Scripture did just

that. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6,

“Train a child in the way he should go,

and when he is old he will not turn from

it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction

that a father and mother give to a child,

i.e., his early education. The training is

designed to make clear to children the

manner of life they are intended for. To

commence a child's early education in

this way is of great importance.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and posi-

tive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and

instruction of the Lord.”

The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children

by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority.

Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The

word “exasperate” means “to provoke, to irritate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done

by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness,

cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such

provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their

desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A

wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of

Ephesians 6:4 is

expressed in a

comprehensive

direction—educate

them, bring them

up, develop their

conduct in all of life

by the instruction

and admonition of

the Lord. This is the

whole process of

educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of

faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God's hand. The whole process of instruction

and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His

authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and

conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate au-

thority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose

authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give

the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised

with watchful care and constant training with much prayer.

Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God,

giving both reproof and encouragement, is at the core of

“admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is

learned in the school of Christian experience, and is admin-

istered by the parents—primarily the father, but also, under

his direction, the mother. Christian discipline is needed to

enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect

for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards,

and habits of self-control.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in

righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children

with Scripture. The means and methods that fathers may use to teach God's truth will vary.

As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good

standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.

Source GotQuestions.org

Page 2 of 5

WHAT IS YOUR STORY

Encounter of the Third Kind: I go to Church

I have been trying to make a habit of

striking up a conversation with someone I do

not know whenever I attend church service.

Taking a true interest in where the person is

from, what they do for work, fun, and their

family life is something I enjoy doing… when

I’m not in a selfish state only caring about

myself. Occasionally I fall into the trap of

forcing a conversation out of disinterest

instead of taking an initiative out of love.

There is a big difference. The latter has a

genuine regard for the induvial as one of

God’s most precious creations. The former

is a reluctant obligated chore of talking to

someone.

What is the point of the conversation to begin with?

The ultimate desire I have is to know where the person stands spiritually. This cannot be

done without the right heart behind it. Either I really do care about where this person will

spend eternity or I do not. People can sense love, care, and concern and they can also

sense animosity, thoughtlessness, and indifference.

Once a mini friendship has been established and an opportunity in the conversation rises,

sometimes naturally other times initiated, nothing wrong with either, I ’ll ask the person in

one way or another, “I’m curious on your thoughts, how can someone know if they are going

to heaven?” or “Hey what do you think, how can someone get to heaven?” …etc.

I find this simple question serves multiple purposes. If said in a kind, non-challenging way,

it shows the person that you are truly interested in his/her thoughts on the matter. It also

allows the person to share their personal belief and that they know their words are being

heard. Quite often we assume where someone is at in their spiritual walk and start blabbing

without truly getting to the heart of their personal matter. It is in the times of listening where

we can really comprehend where the person stands with God and then address issues, if

any, out of wisdom.

The moment they begin to answer is very exciting to me. Perhaps their answer beautifully

articulates Jesus’ sacrifice as being the only way to heaven. Or perhaps they eventually

stumble out half sentences involving words like cross and forgiveness. Or perhaps the boat

is missed completely. There may be as many ways to articulate the biblical answer to ever-

lasting life as there are Christians but in the end there is only one biblical answer, which is

the gospel, through Jesus.

Now, granted, there can be a few who missed the boat completely in their answer but actu-

ally have Jesus as their savior. Often it will be that they have been so mundane and medio-

cre in their faith lately that it caught them off guard and do not have a clear answer; either

that or they are tired from last

night’s Bingo extravaganza and

stuck in a day dreaming haze

about their next big win. On the

contrary, there can be a few

who hit the nail on the head

and recite the good news of

Jesus in a verbatim answer but

truly do not know Him personal

as Lord of their life… the ol’

regurgitate information routine.

Ultimately only God knows

someone’s heart. However at

least by asking them this ques-

tion, depending on their an-

swer, we can conclude that at a

minimum they have then mental assent to understand and acknowledge (not necessarily

believe) the gospel message.

On a particular occasion this month, at the end of a church service, I got chit chatting with a

nice elderly volunteer. He has been attending and volunteering for the last 10 years at this

particular church. When I asked him how someone can get to heaven I received an answer

that I unfortunately receive all too much. It comes in different formats but essentially the

answer was ‘try to do our best’, ‘show up to church as much as we can’, ‘treat our families

right’, ‘and get baptized.’ These are all great things in of themselves, sadly that is not what

God says on how to get into His heaven. In these situations I try and make several at-

tempts to lead the person to the biblical answer by asking more questions; this allows me to

get more of an idea where they are at and to fully understand what they are saying. “How

will I know if I’m good enough or did enough right things?” “Does everyone go to heaven?”

“Can we ever know for sure if we are going to heaven?” “Is baptism a requirement for heav-

en?” This is not a time to argue with the man but to get down to the root of his belief. As

matter of fact arguing and telling people that they are flat out wrong does not help the cause

nor does it show the love of Jesus. Upon hearing more of this volunteers answers my heart

began to break. I was given an opportunity to share my thoughts and I started quoting what

the Bible says about eternal life: how we cannot earn our way to heaven, how it is only by

faith that Jesus took our punishment for our sin. After a few explanations the man still stood

by his belief of ‘if you just try hard enough.’ Continued on page 4

Page 3 of 5

Encounter of the Third Kind: I go to Church (continued)

The man suggested we talk to a minister to set me straight. I happily followed him, pray-

ing in my head that a pastor at the church would not just form his own opinion on a whim but

agree with what God says in the Bible…I mean after all, it is God’s heaven, He made it,

you’d think God would tell us how to get there. Sadly, no pastors could be found nearby

that were not busy. The volunteer seemed to want to get me the right answer which I ap-

preciate. So we made a plan to find a pastor to talk with us next week.

Before we shook goodbye, the volunteer made a statement that summed up where he

stood, “No one knows for sure on how to get to heaven.” I pointed to his personal Bible that

he had been carrying around this whole time, “That book says we can know.” (1 John 5:13)

mic drop :) I look forward to seeing him next Sunday.

It deeply troubles me to know that there are people who come to church week

after week and don’t know the God of the Bible let alone someone who has

volunteered for the last decade! Are we to shun them? No. We are to loving-

ly, gently guide them towards the truth. If anything we should be kicking our-

selves for not finding out sooner where a person stands with God. Satan is

crafty, we can’t just rely on a pastor’s salvation message to strike every per-

sons heart in the room. We have a duty too. Make no mistake about it. Jesus said himself

there will be those around us who call him by name but it ’s as if he never knew them

(Matthew 7:21-23). People can sit and not listen, or just show up for some music, or listen

and not grasp, or play tic-tac-toe every time the pastor opens his mouth.

For those that know Jesus personally, I highly encourage you to make an effort weekly out

of love and concern, ask someone every Sunday “How do people get to heaven?” Or any

kind of conversation starter that God prompts in your heart in order for you to know if the

person sitting next to you has eternal life. There probably isn’t much better of a mission

field then that of people attending church. How much easier can it get?! They are right

there! In your environment! Lovingly show them the true gospel and if you find someone

who is saved, then encourage them to ask someone the next Sunday. Now there ’s two of

you. So on and so forth. Most of all, if you are not a hundred percent certain where a fami-

ly member stands with God then ask them, and I’m talking about your spouse and kids that

have been attending church even since birth. Make sure and encourage them to ask their

friends and their friend’s friends, etc… Statistics show an alarming rate at which people

believe they are going to heaven by attending church and doing good when biblically speak-

ing that is not the case.

Scared about talking to people? I am too! Until we can trust God more

then we will continue to fear. Brush up on a way for you to lead some-

one to Christ. If a person were to walk through your front door and ask

you how they can get to heaven would you be able to lead them in the

repentance of sin and acceptance of eternal life through Christ Jesus?

If you can, great, continue to do it. If not, find out what is stopping you.

Do you have unconfessed sin? Caught in a habitual sin? Lazy? Don’t

care? Scared of saying the wrong thing? We all fall into traps from time

to time. We are sinners too. Not sharing our faith is not right. Knowing

how to get out of ourselves and believing by faith that our hearts can

change for the lost is key. Holding on to truth, the Word of God. En-

couraging one another daily. If you feel like wetting your pants when

you are making an effort to talk to someone about Christ then find someone you know who

is more comfortable and ask for help or ask them to come with you for support.

If you are reading this and do not know God personally or have no idea about anything I just

said then hear me out. We have all done things that were wrong and God still loves us; but

God cannot allow someone into heaven who has not had the punishment for sin taken from

them. God would be unjust if that were the case. Heaven would not be heaven, God would

not be God. Sin carries a punishment, a penalty, a cost, a consequence, a price to be paid,

however you want to say it. Either you will pay that price or Jesus will for you if you let him.

What is the price of sin? At the end of our lives it is death, not just physical but eternal

separation from God in hell, sounds scary, blunt and harsh? Yes, and it

totally sucks and I don’t like it any more than you do. There is the great

news and hope; Jesus can take that cost for you. He can save you and I

from our own penalty. He can save you and I from hell. God is just but

he is also full of grace. So much so that He sent his son Jesus to take

our death penalty for us. So that our sin won’t kill us. A free gift of eter-

nal life. Our sins wiped clean and paid for; forgiven. No one can earn

their way into heaven. No matter how good someone is they still have

sinned at some point in their life and a price needs to be paid for it.

That’s just how it works. It is only by accepting the sacrifice that Jesus

made for your sin. You can be sure right now that you are going to heav-

en by confessing to God, asking for forgiveness and accepting the gift by faith that Jesus

paid it all for you.

Here is your assurance. Jesus rose from the grave 3 days later after being buried; conquer-

ing death and proving that you can have eternal life with Him. How do I know this? Be-

cause everything I just said is written in a book inspired by God, the Bible. Eyewitness ac-

counts were recorded. People that talked and walked with Jesus, and people that actually

saw Jesus after he rose from the grave. The evidence is overwhelming if you are at all

curious about the authenticity of Jesus even from non-biblical sources. It is amazing how

much is confirmed just surrounding his death and resurrection alone. Write us if you have

questions. You know there is a God. I know you know there is because my Bible says that

since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-

have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are

without excuse.

Humble yourself and go to God and accept his free gift of eternal life, he

loves you and wants you to know his love on a personal level, he wants

to give you an abundant life, not condemnation. This is between you

and God, you have a choice. Again if you have questions we are here to

love on you, encourage you, pray for you, and point out any resources

you may need. Verse reference for the above: John 3:16-18, 1 John 1:9, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, 1 John 5:13, Romans 10:9-10, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Matthew 25:46, 1 John 1:7, Ephe-

sians 2:8-9, Romans 1:20

(Jeremy) Page 4 of 5

WHAT IS YOUR STORY

Bianca’s Word of Encouragement

Proverbs 20:7: “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.”

Father’s Day is just around the corner! Take time to celebrate your Father and encourage him

to pursue characteristics from our heavenly Father. Father’s are under a lot of pressure and go

through a lot to provide for their families, leading their wives, being a Father, working, and just

being a man. A godly father delights in, loves, corrects, instructs, disciplines, provides for,

leads and contributes a legacy to his children. It is for any one or all of these attributes that we

honor our courageous fathers.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines

integrity as, “the quality or state of being

complete or undivided.” Scripture teaches

that the double-minded man is unstable in

all his ways (James 1:8). Conversely, the

man who is single-minded and confident in

the promises of God has clarity of thought

and great stability. Being obedient to “one

master” (Matthew 6:24) rather than serving

two—or three—displays to children the

concept of loyalty and obedience. True

leadership is having the integrity to practice

what you preach and do what you say you

will do. This Father’s Day, encourage your

Father to grow and to take on the challenge

of being a mighty man of God.

(Bianca)

About Us:

We are a team of Christians (followers of Jesus) who's desire is to share the gospel (good

news) and build relationships with whoever we come in contact with! Whether someone is a

visitor or resident of Las Vegas, we love to hear their personal story and know where they are

at in their life. We love to pray, encourage, and point out resources no matter where someone

stands with God or what they are going through, good or bad.

Have a question about the Bible, advice, resources...? Need to share something in confidence

or have a struggle you need help with? Simply email us and one of our members will be in

touch with you promptly. Please pray for our ministry as we go about sharing the word of God

and strengthening believers.

WIYS - What Is Your Story?

Whatisyourstory.lv@gmail.com

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Jeremy (Right)

Bianca (Middle)

Michael

Daisy

Sean (Left)

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