Steve Sikes Blog  

When I was a teenager, there was a family that would come over to our house to visit.  They had several young children (more than three) who could destroy a house in just a matter of minutes.  I’m not proud of it, but my brothers and sisters and I had a name for them – “The H.W.’s” (Home Wreckers)!
. I distinctly remember one night shortly after the H.W.’s arrival to our house.  I walked around the corner into a bedroom and witnessed one of our “young guests” putting the pronged end of a fork into an electrical outlet.  Almost simultaneously I saw a puff of black smoke emit from the outlet, heard a loud crackling sound of electricity and witnessed a young electrician running down the hall screaming bloody murder! 

Paul exhorts us to put down our “electrical forks” and be spiritual HOME BUILDERS NOT HOME WRECKERS when he says, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:1-3). 

God Is Good All The Time And All The Time God Is Good!—- GIGATTAATTGIG!
. http://GIGATTAATTGIG.blogspot.com
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He thought it was funny.  It wasn’t!  He lied to me!  He told me I could trust him, even if I didn’t have a helmet.  He said he would just take me around the block on his new motorcycle and bring me back to the church parking lot.  He didn’t!
. I was 19 and naïve; he was 23 and our new youth minister.  When he took off, I knew I was in trouble, but there was nothing I could do to stop him.  He sped out of town and picked up speed exceeding 110 mph.  He was laughing and I was holding on for dear life!  When he finally brought me back to the church parking lot, I hopped off his cycle angrier than I’d ever been; I could have been killed!
. In 1Timothy 4:11-12, Paul exhorts young Timothy to set an example to the believers in 5 areas: speech; conduct; love; faith; and purity.
. My point: if we want our teens to mature in these areas, we must (as adults) live out these same character traits!  Expecting our teens to become spiritually mature without our own maturation is like … asking them to ride on the back of our motorcycles as we speed down life’s highway at 110 mph!  Somebody could be spiritually killed! 
. Nehemiah might not have been riding a “HOG” in Nehemiah 2:12, but by his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity – I’d sure trust riding behind him!  God is good. 
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In our first men’s group meeting this past Thursday, we went over a number of things, one being Portia Nelson’s autobiography in 5 short chapters.
. If you were to write an autobiography what would you say?  By definition, an autobiography is “an account of somebody’s life written by that person.”
. Years ago I came across Portia Nelson’s autobiography and discovered that I’m in it!  Interesting.  How can I be in someone else’s autobiography I’ve never met?  Go ahead.  Take the challenge and see if you can find yourself in one or more of her life’s five chapters!
. AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS by Portia Nelson
. Chapter 1:  I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I fall in.  I am lost ... I am helpless.  It isn’t my fault.  It takes me forever to find a way out.
. Chapter 1I:  I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I pretend I don’t see it.  I fall in again.  I can’t believe I am in the same place but, it isn’t my fault.  It still takes a long time to get out.
. Chapter 1II:  I walk down the same street.  There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I see it is there.  I still fall in ... it’s a habit.  My eyes are open.  I know where I am.  It is my fault.  I get out immediately.
. Chapter 1V:  I walk down the same street.  There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.  I walk around it.
. Chapter V:  I walk down another street.
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