Author: oscarlikes2write

Short version for those with short attention span (i'm one of these!): Christian/Husband of 1 wife over 30 years/Father/average guy with big God & dreams/Cancer survivor/Many Goals yet to achieve- Writer/Mentor/Leading home fellowship in SoCal Long Version for you patient ones: Hello, my name is Oscar Roca and I welcome you to my new blog. I hope that when you are here reading my posts, you will find a sense of enjoyment and also of truth… but before all that, I would like to take the time to tell you a few things about myself: 1. I am an average Christian guy whose faith is growing every day and who serves a mighty God. 2. I am a husband of 1 wife who has put up with me over 30 years (She serves a huge God who has given her much patience)! 3. A father of 2 lovely young ladies who surprise me every once in a while with their decisions on faith. I have also added a son to our family. He is a good husband to my oldest daughter and I could not be happier with her choice. 4. I am a cancer survivor going on 4 years and hence, this blog (I’ll get into detail even more a few numbers down). 5. I am serving God with a home fellowship and continue in my studies in Biblical Theology. 6. I am not wasting time and I don’t worry about the small things anymore. After the cancer, I realized that life is very precious and that what we do here on earth will have an impact on our kids and their kids. 7. I am writing 3 books, One which is done and getting the final editing; two books that are in their early stages, and a hundred ideas of what the next few books will be on! One day, I had a Selah moment. Selah moments are those moments that just make you stop everything you’re doing and really think about whatever it is you’re thinking or reading or looking at. The word Selah is used a few times in the Book of Psalms wherever the writer wanted to get something across that would have you stop reading the Psalm and just chew on or meditate or think of the sentences or verses you were reading. It was meant to have you stop everything and concentrate on those life lessons the Psalmist was trying to get across. My Selah moment was just after my cancer operation. I knew I needed to reevaluate a bunch of things that were not really important to me. Things that I was doing that needed to be deleted from my life. I also thought of other things that needed to get priority in my life. Some of those I will be posting and the new ones, such as writing are the beneficiaries of that Selah moment. So please, I invite you once again to read my posts and come back to get some of those Selah please be still moments.

I wish Siri Had A Please & Thank You Button |LETTERS TO MY KIDS

 

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  • Please and Thank you…Those wonderful almost extinct words that are going away like the cassette recorder, the landline phones, and prudent public education.

Gone are the days that I hear kids asking for something without sounding like dictatorial commands. I see it everywhere. I see it in this millennial generation but they are not the only ones. People my age are beginning to be affected. It’s like one of those zombie movies which starts out by patient zero contracting a deadly form of virus. Then turning patient zero into a walking dead like person moaning and groaning at everything without any form of intelligible words coming out of them.
When I hear a person barking out orders to people in public, it makes me cringe. Especially if they have kids around them. We are becoming the Siri and Alexa Commander Generation.

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I wish Siri and Alexa had a special button that would make everyone asking them questions say please before their services could answer anything. Then in order for Siri or Alexa to take the person asking to the links or information, they would have to say, “Thank you, Siri,” or “Thanks, Alexa!”
Imagine a world where you go to order food or grab a coffee, and you hear every single person saying those two precious words!

  • When I do hear those tow precious words coming out of someone, I hear angels in heaven rejoicing because another angel has earned their wings….okay, not really but it’s almost like that in my mind.

Believe or not, when I do hear those two words being used by a family, I will go by and thank the parents for doing a wonderful job in teaching their kids those two very small but hugely important words.
You see, without the constant training of kids asking, there is no humility. Without kids thanking, there could be no spirit of gratitude.

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So parents, adults, and everyone in between; let’s please get back to having a spirit of humility and of gratitude…Thanks and God bless you all…

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Godly Wisdom v.s. Street Wisdom |Letters To My Kids

“Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
” The Book Of Proverbs— Chapter 1 verses 1-3 NLT

 

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Wisdom of the world or God’s wisdom.

Kids, I want to let you know what happens when God is with you and you have found favor with God. No, there isn’t anything you could do about this. You see, God loves us so much, that He calls out to us even before we understand that it is He who is calling out to us.

  • Poppa did not always have Godly wisdom. He grew to know who God was at a young age but still did not learn enough to understand the purpose of His teaching…

I grew up in a neighborhood with different ethnicities. I hung out with everyone and quickly realized there was a difference in the way kids acted. I learned that certain neighborhood kids were feared, and looking for trouble. Those were the kids that would be in my life for a few years. I did not pick them, they somehow picked me.  Yet, I knew, hanging out with them was not a good thing.

  • No one had to tell me this. A still small voice kept whispering in my thick-headed brain that this was not the way that I needed to go.

Back then, I had a choice, to talk to everyone or just the kids who wanted me in their gang. I chose to talk to everyone but hang out with the gang kids. To me, they weren’t gang members but kids in school and close to the neighborhood who played in the same park I did, were coached by the same coaches I was, and had the same skin color I had. So when they needed my help, I was there for them.

I won’t tell you the details of those times, because they are not important. What I do know is that by the grace and protection of God, I am still alive. A few of those neighborhood kids ended up dying too early, not by choice.

God had put Godly families in my life to pull me away from the kids I would call friends for a bit.

  • God knew better than me and knew that I would need extra instruction and discipline in choosing the right kind of wisdom.

Yet throughout all the years that I hung out with the wrong group of people, God was working in my life, instilling His wisdom and not the wisdom of the kids I hung out with.

  • You see, there is a big difference in being street-smart and God-smart.

— Street-smart is the way of the world. You are never too young for me to instruct you in what the differences are. Street-smart is what you think is right in your own mind. It draws you in, promising you fake stuff in order for you to get drawn into a life that little by little, turns down that still small voice of right and wrong, until you hear another voice. The voice that tells you lies and only gives you advice that makes you think you are smarter than everyone else. That voice will tell you to do things that are not right until you give into this “other voice” and do the things you know are wrong to do. You will know the street-smart voice because you will not be able to sleep at night. You will not be able to feel a peace. The peace that you once had will no longer be there. You will start lying to your parents when they ask you how your day was. The nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach will be a sign that you are listening to the street-smart voice and not God’s wisdom.

— Godly wisdom is the opposite of street-smart wisdom. It makes you stop hearing yourself and start depending on God’s instructions.

  • Godly wisdom brings you peace, it will encourage, uplifted and make you hopeful.

Hopeful that with God, you can conquer anything you set out to do. Why do I know this? Because with God all things are possible.

You can read about Godly wisdom in the Bible. Start in the Book of Proverbs. Read one verse a day to start. Then when you are away from your parents and get into a situation where you here the peaceful small voice whispering out to you,  ask yourself what Proverbs says. Remember to ask your self these three things:

1. Is what I am about to do the right thing to do?

2. Is this the just (Fair) thing to do?

3. Are the consequences worth doing this?

  • The short version—Is what I am about to do a right  and good thing to do? Or will I be in trouble for doing it? What does God say about this? Will Poppa give me the look?

I’ll explain more next….

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Groaning for Home |Not Of This World

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This week my wife and I found ourselves taking some time off to babysit our grandson. His parents were going to the hospital for delivery of their second child. We are always joyful for the opportunity of taking care of my him.

As the days passed and my grandson would only see his mom and dad a few hours at a time, I saw his mood changing. He loves his Nana and Poppa, but I noticed he had a burden in his little heart. No one had to tell me what it was. Because when I was a kid, I had to go and live with my aunt for about a year. She and my uncle were always great with my siblings and me, but they were not mom or dad. I still feel that separation and know my grandson is going through some anxiety being away from his parents. He loves to be here always, but his place belongs with his mommy and daddy, and now baby sister.

  • We as Christians should also be looking towards our precise destination. We love God’s creation but groan inwardly for our real home. The home that Christ has been preparing for us since the foundations of earth.

You see, this home that we are looking for had already been built once, in the garden for the first humans to live and thrive. It was a perfect paradise with everything needed for a beautiful and productive life. God was active in His guidance with the first couple, but the first couple was not ready for what was coming. They were duped into doing something that went against their Creator God. So God being who He is, had to expel them from His perfect paradise setting. He could not have imperfect people in a perfect place.

  • Fast forward to the time where God Himself would provide the perfect way to reunite humans with their Creator.
  • His Son Jesus’ death would suffice the price Adam and Eve would have had to pay for their sins, and the sins of all humanity.

Like my grandson who is happy and well-adjusted here in our house, yet wanting to be reunited with his parents and new baby sister, we as Christians also live in this world but want something more. That something more is being reunited with our Lord and Savior Jesus, who has promised us a safe and incredible place to live when our bodies no longer can live in this world…

If you don’t know what I am talking about, get to know Jesus personally. All you have to do is ask Him to come into your life and change you from within. Here’s how:

Links to knowing Jesus Personally:

How Can I know God

Steps to Peace With God

Know God

References to verses:

John 17:14-15 and Philippians 3:20-21
John 14:1-3
Jesus paid the price for us

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Don’t Crack Their Eggshells! |Faith to send them out

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There’s a story of the kid who kept raising eggs for them to hatch. His dad was a fourth generation farmer and told his son not to crack the eggs to help the baby chicks, since they would have to do all the work themselves in order to come out healthy.

  • This little boy had a huge heart and wanted his baby chicks to have an easier time going through the process of hatching.

He would see the cracking of the eggs and then start cracking the eggs more. The more he did this, the more the baby chicks were dying on him. After a few months of this, and with the last couple of chicks dying on him, he ran back to his house and cried himself to sleep.
His dad went in to talk to him and asked what was wrong. The little boy told the dad what he would do for the baby chicks.

  • The dad reminded him of what he had told his son months prior, “Son, by helping the baby chickens come out of their shells, you are hurting them. You see, the babies have to crack through their eggshells on their own. God has made the process automatic for them. Their instinct is to fight to get out and to know when to get out. When they are ready, they will come out without anyone’s help. If you try to help them, it may cause some damage to their system, and they may bleed to death. Listen, son, God has the little ones covered under His protection. Why don’t you let God do the final work and allow the chicks to fight for themselves?”

The boy didn’t believe any of what the dad was saying. He couldn’t understand all of the logic, but his heart was too broken not to listen.

Screen Shot 2018-09-23 at 7.30.49 AM.pngA month or so later, the boy saw the cracking of the eggs, with his dad’s big ol’ arms around his shoulders. The boy looked up and walked away, checking every once in a while to make sure the process was indeed happening. This boy was so nervous, thinking the worst, but having faith that God would help the baby chicks.
A little over half a day went by when the boy started seeing the chicks breaking through their eggshells. One by one started chirping away. Sunset had set in, and the last egg was finally broken through. All the baby chicks had hatched and were in excellent health…
Parents, if you genuinely believe in God, don’t break your kid’s eggshells. Don’t do the work for them. Let them crack through their battle in life so they can break through without your help. How, you ask? Let them go out to experience what rent, car payments, and budgeting are all about.
Or do you want them in their eggshell for the rest of their lives?
I have always taught that kids need the tough breaks and obstacles for them to:

  • First, learn to depend on God in everything they do.
  • Second, learn to trust that what God has for their lives will always be better than what we, their parents have for them.
  • Third, we parents need to learn to share our faith with our kids. I don’t mean sitting there sharing the gospel with them but to have our children see that we indeed are allowing God to work in their lives without our meddling.

Let them scrape a knee, break a bone, get some scars mentally and spiritually.
Don’t be like the farmer’s boy who tried to help the baby chicks breakthrough the egg shells.

  • Are we parents rescuing our adult kids so much that we have killed their dependency on what God has for lives?
  • Are we like that boy, breaking the eggshells of our children’s lives and short-changing the fight within them?
  • Are we short-changing battles that will make them get stronger mentally and spiritually by depending on God and not mommy or daddy to bail them out?

 

Referenced Verses:

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Isaiah 40:30-31

 Philippians 4:13

Chicks Hatching

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2 Men 4 Men |As Iron Sharpens Iron Rules

I am starting a new series for men only. But women are not excluded! They are needed. Why? So they can keep their husbands accountable.

In the years I have been in ministry, I have noticed a trend. Men doing their hardest work in ministry but forgetting what God truly wants from them; serving their spouses, kids and working even harder in their jobs.

Over the years, I have had wives complain about their husbands to me. One time I had a wife and the kids watching the dad cleaning the church restrooms.

  • The wife looked right at me and said,”I wish he would do that at home. I can’t get him to lift a finger inside the house. He takes care of us, but he does not do any of the stuff he does for the church.”

I wish I could say that I was stunned or at least surprised. But, more and more, I see people, specifically men, who will go out of their way to be respected at church but not care what their wives and children think of them. The story below is about a man who was not yet married to this woman, yet he served her from the start of their relationship. You will have to read all the story of Ruth but it is a wonderful story of a man who works hard, and yet has time to serve his future wife. We see a story of a man who redeemed this woman to him. He loved her enough to take care of her even before the two-way relationship and benefits were in full view.

“”…Then Boaz said, “Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he told her, “Bring the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl. Then he went into the city. 16 When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked her, “How did it go, my daughter?” Then Ruth told her all that Boaz had done for her.…”” Ruth chapter 3 verses 14b-16 Berean Study Bible

Men, when was the last time you washed dishes just because? Or did the laundry so your wives would not have to? These chores are not just for women.

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  • These chores are an extension of loving your wives when you see that they are tired and need a little help. More importantly, these little things that you do in serving your wives, redeems them to have a deeper love and respect for you.

The redeeming rewards will be your children seeing how the husband loves his wife. Your kids in turn will love and respect their mom and have a profound love for the way they see you treating and redeeming their mom!

  • Serve at home before you go and try to at church. That should be your motto. Serve here before there!

You will find the blessings that come from serving your family and you will be fulfilling the qualifications of a true leader or Elder. These qualifications are in short supply and are highly needed in the modern church.

  • There are too many men who want to be respected at church but are failing miserably where it’s most needed, in their homes…

More on this next post in this series.

 

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