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Parents: It Is Not About Your Agenda

God has not called you to implement your agenda, but his. Anger is an indication that your desires and your agenda have become too important. Human anger must not characterize your discipline. If it does, you have made discipline about satisfying your requirements. As a parent you are granted authority to enforce God’s commands, not your own preferences. Your authority is derived, not earned. Human anger and biblical discipline do not mix. Man’s anger will not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (James 1:20) The key phrase is the righteous life that God desires. God did not give you your children so that you could teach them to follow your desires and wishes. When you make parenting about […]

Rejoice In Judgment!

To rejoice in judgment seems a strange idea. Normally judgment carries the idea of revenge or retribution for evil. For those who have done wrong judgment is something to fear. And as we examine our own hearts, even though we may attempt to avoid the thought, we know judgment is coming. Then as we look around our neighborhoods, our cities, our country, our world what is good is overshadowed by what is evil. Even the creation itself suffers under godless disregard for the treasure that it is. Judgment is inevitable. So, again, why rejoice in judgement? If you or I were to judge, there would be no reason to rejoice. If the judicial system in our country were the ultimate […]

Does the Bible Light Up Your Eyes?

This past week, Cubs fans across the country were aglow with joy over the World Series victory. There was light in their eyes! How many things bring light to your eyes? One of those things should be the Bible, specifically the commands of the Bible. The psalmist describes it this way: The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8 This is stunning – God’s commands bringing joy to the heart and light to the eyes. Is this your experience? Are God’s commands radiant to you? This week there was no difficulty in identifying “Cubbies”, they were easy to spot. But finding people […]

Next Week God Will Raise Up a New President

After all the maneuvers, plots, polls and intrigue, next week God will raise up his choice to be president. Daniel 2:20-21 and Colossians 1:15-20 make this much clear. You will then be commanded by the Holy Spirit to be in thankful prayer for his choice whether you voted for the winner or not. God has work for his people to do. Because he is the one raises up and disposes human leaders as he pleases there is nothing that will be happen in this election that will prevent you from following Christ. Your job remains the same: be a light for the gospel! If you want to have a positive impact on the next election, begin to live out the […]

Heart Protection

Three thousand years ago a father urged his son to get wisdom at any cost. Both his father and mother cherished him. The young boy was God’s gift to his parents after his older brother died in infancy. This father, with the events of the loss of his son, with the words of God’s prophet indelibly etched in his memory, made a passionate appeal to his son to embrace God’s wisdom. His message: “Love wisdom above all else.” This conversation so impacted his son that he repeated it to his own son. The words of the grandfather were handed down to the next generation. Read the power of these words: Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep […]

From Post-Modern To Post-Authority

The modern drift away from authority has had a negative impact on Christian families. Scripture says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” Our culture is suspicious of this truth. If man is only the result of a random series of bio-chemical events, then the idea of being responsible to a divine authority has no validity–in fact, it is absurd. This is the mindset that today’s parents have been raised with. Here are some questions that are a reality check to see if your parenting reflects the culture’s view of authority or God’s. How many times do you have to ask your children to obey before they do so? Do your children respond pleasantly when you […]

What Does Monday Mean To You?

What does Monday mean to you? Do you look forward to this new week? Or, perhaps, are you wondering if this week will be as overwhelming as last week? Or maybe you think this will be just another week—nothing special or worrisome to look forward to—just another week. God has given you this new week to do things for him. First and foremost it is God’s week, not your week. Acts 17:26-28 tells you that God has determined that where you are now, on this Monday, is exactly where he wants you to be. He has placed you where you are so that you would reach out and seek him. In addition to having you right where he wants you, […]

Do You Tell Stories?

If you are interested in your children living a life of faith, you need to tell stories! The Psalmist wants God’s people to vividly remember the great deeds of God in redemptive history. Then, he pledges that his children will hear these stories: We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders. (Psalm 78) “We will not hide these truths from our children.” This is an important step towards raising children who will live for God. You do this by intimately knowing the rich biblical narratives that tell of the faithfulness of God to his people. Learn the context of […]

Repentance Or Regret

One day a man returned home exhausted and famished from a hunting trip. As he neared the camp he caught the smell of a meal that his younger brother was preparing. Convinced he was about to die, he pleaded with his brother for some food. His brother was an enterprising sort, so he offered to exchange the food for the birthright, the blessing which belonged to the first born. Driven by hunger, the older brother greedily accepted the offer. It was a decision he lived to regret. Esau, the older brother was filled with regret, but there was no hint of repentance. He regretted losing his inheritance in exchange for filling his empty stomach. We are told he wept bitter […]

Five Senses

Every day is an opportunity to be invested in something more than what our five senses tell us. More to the point, our senses fail to tell us what makes life worth living. Life lived for sensory input alone cannot deliver the spectacular promises that each sense evokes. Our eyes show beauty, our ears hear music, our tongues tempt of delicacies, aromas bring memories, our bodies long for warm embrace. With each sensual encounter we long for more, but satisfaction is only for the moment. Our senses lead us to wonder or fear, but can do no more. Praise God that there is more to life than our senses offer. As wonderful as our senses are, they are not enough. […]