Dobra Family Ministry

Overcome Evil with Good – Where are the Men?

“I will not stand by in the presence of evil,” Alita Battle Angel

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
Proverbs 25:26

Where are the men…

Who is responsible for the safety of your family? Hint: it’s not the government or the police. It’s you. You are the man!

How much time do you spend training? Is it more than you spend golfing, playing video games, or watching tv?

Have you trained for a mass shooter incident? Do you know what to do?

It’s time to take responsibility. This culture needs good men willing to confront evil.

Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows. After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
Nehemiah 4:6, 11, 13-15

“The grey man is one who simply blends in to any scene or situation. He does not stand out. He does not boast about his skills or abilities, but he is ready to use them the instant they are needed. He is hidden in plain sight but is ready for action. You have seen the grey man; you just haven’t noticed him. That is the way it’s supposed to be.”
us concealed carry grey man

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/blog/you-have-seen-the-grey-man-you-just-dont-know-it/

Safety and Security – Duty to Protect

Education and the community of the called

Church, ecclesia, (Greek) to call out.

“The community of the called.”
Stuart Briscoe, Maranatha 2019

Church is not somewhere you go.

Church is not something you do (on Sundays).

Church is something we are.

“through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.”
Eph. 3:10

Homeschool community: Joining together our role as the church, the community of the called, “members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19), and our role as parents bringing our children up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Education – Family

We have a saying here in the Dobra household, “the family is God’s smallest battle formation.”

God did not create the executive, then take a rib from the executive to create the legislative, and the executive and legislative did not conceive and give birth to the judicial.

In other words, government is not God’s signature creation. People are! And the family unit, father, mother, and children, reflects God’s love and creative design.

Education decisions should be made with the centrality of God’s authority and design in mind.

HSLDA, Home School Legal Defense Association, “The Home School Court Report” vol. 35 no. 1 hslda.org

Before any governments or churches, God ordained the family!

“Haven’t you read,” [Jesus] replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Matthew 19:4-6

“The natural family, creation of God, is the fundamental human community, based on the life-long marriage between a man and a woman, in which new individuals are conceived, born and raised.”
– World Congress of Families. The Warsaw Declaration, 2007.

The Family is God’s smallest battle formation!

“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature…

The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man…

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
Genesis‬ ‭2:7, 20-22, 24-25‬ ‭ESV
https://www.bible.com/59/gen.2.7,20-22,24-25.esv

Education – American Foundation

Faith and reliance on God was the “sacred fire” that motivated the American colonists. And in the midst of the struggle they prayed for the Education of future generations.

Pray that God would take all of the Classical Conversations groups, all homeschool families, and all “schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand” so that students might know God and live to make Him known.

“[Samuel] Adams’ faith-filled and prophetic encouragement was followed by the announcement that British General John Burgoyne had surrendered 5,800 British troops to American General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, New York on October 17, just two weeks after Adams’ impassioned plea to look to God for deliverance. It was a turning point in the war. Motivated by the victory, Congress adopted a proclamation on November 1st to declare Thursday, December 18th, [1777] ‘a day of thanksgiving to God…’ Many refer to it as ‘The First Thanksgiving Proclamation in the United States’. The Proclamation closes by requesting prayer for God to:”

take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety, under his nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth “in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

From: https://www.frc.org/prayerteam/prayer-targets-samuel-adams-despair-faith-independence-day-is-md-still-a-free-state-more

https://billofrightsinstitute.org/educate/educator-resources/founders/samuel-adams/

Education – destiny of the republic

Education, to educate, is neither good nor bad. No virtue can be assigned to a verb, but who is teaching and what is being taught is where virtue can be measured.

“That depends on who keeps the school and what is taught there. The schoolhouse May become a place for polishing fiends and graduating outlaws.”

“‘What you sow in the school you reap in the nation.’ Correct principles sown in the soil of the young mind… and ripened by the sun of gracious Providence… will sacredly preserve the past and guarantee the glory of the future.”

Source:

“Christianity and the American Commonwealth” by Bishop Charles B. Galloway, 1898, American Vision, inc. https://americanvision.org

Church Members – Ephesians 4

My message on church membership.

2019-05-new-hope-community-church-1 Download

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
The New Life
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
https://www.bible.com/bible/59/EPH.4.ESV

Independence Day Blues

I feel a bit like a hypocrite during Fourth of July celebrations.

Americans have collectively been giving away their liberties for the past 60 years or more. In 2019 we have actual socialists running for president.

And a large portion of blame is on my fellow citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven for abdicating their worldly civil duties to the shame of our eternal King.

“Sadly, it seems that far too many Americans have come to take the blessings of liberty and proper government for granted and have become more like the proverbial boiled frog than most would ever dare to suppose.”

“Liberty Rising: One Cowboy’s Ascent” the murder of LaVoy Finicum as told by his daughter, Thara Tenney http://onecowboystandforfreedom.com

“I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means, and that posterity will triumph in that day’s transaction, even although we should rue it, which I trust in God we shall not.”
– John Adams to his wife, Abigail, dated July 3, 1776

“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
– George Washington, October 3, 1789

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance.”
– Psalm 33:12

John Adams on Education

Excerpt from wall Builders 2019 Fathers Day email…

“John Adams, signer of the Declaration of Independence and America’s second President, was the father of six children. During the War for Independence he spent much time in public service and away from his family. Not wanting to neglect his children, he and Abigail Adams wrote letters to each other about how the children’s education should proceed, including these suggestions:

wallbuilders.com

Education – Sacred Enthusiasm

Teach to make God known, so our children might grasp their “divine purpose” and “sacred enthusiasm.”

“The divine purpose… the ancient method by which from age to age mighty nations… have comprehended their heaven-appointed missions… and rendered themselves illustrious in human annals.”

“Let a man grasp, in honest conviction, a real thought of God, and spend his days in striving to realize it, and he is on the highway to glory, honor, and immortality.”

“The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States” by Benjamin F. Morris, 1864, American Vision, Inc. americanvision.org

Devotional Thoughts June 29, 2019

Socialism…

“By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.”

As the wicked schemes increase we know God wins…

”When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.”

Do not fear the wicked laws and accusations of men, trust in the Lord…

”The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

Socialism is rooted in idolatry, looking to human rulers as if they were gods…

“Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭29:4, 16, 25-26‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/59/pro.29.4,16,25-26.esv

The HOLY ONE!

“Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know! Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”

Be honest and content…

“Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

Proverbs 30:4-5, 8-9 ESV

https://www.bible.com/59/pro.30.4-5,8-9.esv

Find an excellent wife…

“An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.”

Don’t judge based on charm or looks, but on her love for the Lord…

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.”

Proverbs 31:10-11, 30 ESV

https://www.bible.com/59/pro.31.10-11,30.esv