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Do You Have the Courage To Be Gentle?

A gentle response to an angry or defiant act seems weak and out of place. The Holy Spirit has a different perspective: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1) The Hebrew word for gentle here means the quality of being tender, soft, delicate in substance. This is not exactly the first response that comes to mind when someone you know or your teenager opposes you. There are two natural responses when this happens. Both are equally wrong and destructive. The first is to fight fire with fire, to let others know you won’t stand for their behavior. The second is to be hurt and withdraw either in fear or humiliation. But the […]

Shepherd Press announces Counseling One Another!

Dr. Paul Tautges has written a book for every believer. Preorder it for great savings. Order now Here is an excerpt from the book: Believers in Jesus Christ must be taught and trained to be richly indwelt with the Word of God, to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to be driven by the gospel, to express dependence on God through prayer, to be motivated by love for God and neighbor, and to be moved with compassion to help one another make progress in the ongoing work of sanctification. This is authentic biblical counseling. Therefore, in this book, counseling will be presented as a targeted form of discipleship , an intensely focused and personal “one-another” ministry aimed at […]

Familiar words, distant thoughts

Psalm 73 tells you that the nearness of God is your good, or how good it is to be near God! These are familiar words. No doubt, they often bring an “amen” when they are read or spoken. However, how deeply do these words take root in your heart? How often do difficult circumstances and events drive these words far away from your mind? Do these familiar words bring joy to your soul or do you wait to use them as platitudes when times are rough? What the psalmist describes in this Psalm is the conflict of faith and experience that is common to all of us as God’s people. You believe in God’s goodness, but your experience is marinated […]

Can Your Teenager Trust the Bible?

Here is what the Bible teaches about how it was written: God gave man his words through the direction, inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Man then expressed these words accurately, in his own voice, under the supervision of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit oversaw the collection of these inspired writings so that they became the Bible we have now. This, in short form, is what the Bible teaches about how it was inspired, written, and complied. However, this makes no sense if your teenager doesn’t believe the Bible is true and is the word of God. Faith is essential to be able to trust what the Bible says about life, reality, and the way it was written. So, your […]

Love Your Middle Schooler: Become an Epic Listener!

It is important not to miss the struggles your middle schooler faces each day. She is beginning to function without immediate and constant parental supervision. New and sometimes dangerous influences enter his life. This is the scary part for parents. It is no secret that sex, drugs, pornography, bullying and even gambling have made inroads into middle schools. So what can you do to shepherd your middle school children without giving them a lie detector test each afternoon and attaching a body cam and GPS to them? Here is one answer: Become an epic listener! Here are some practical ways to become an epic listener: Fall in love with Proverbs 18:13,15 Listen for what is not said, in addition to […]

The Debate Insanity

The political debates pretend to talk about important things. Yet they ignore the one issue that supersedes all others. The debaters, the commentators, the analysts all ignore that God actively rules the world and the universe! Don’t misunderstand; God is not a politician. He is not limited by the feeble thinking of men. He is not for a particular political party. He is “for” his own honor and glory. He is accountable to no one, especially not to public opinion and votes. This is what the debates don’t get. As Paul told the thinkers in Athens, minds among the most formidable in the world, we all live, move and exist because of God. Yet the debaters and moderators ignore this […]

S.N.A.P.

Regardless of your method of schooling your children will have schoolwork to do at home. How you interact with your children while they are doing schoolwork has a huge impact on your relationship with them. Here are some positive ways you can interact with your kids and their schoolwork. Schoolwork issues generally fall into one or more of these three categories:  speed, neatness, and accuracy. Undergirding these three categories is the truth that all things must be done to the praise and glory of God. Here is an acronym you can use to help guide your children in doing their schoolwork: Schoolwork is a S.N.A.P. Speed means that work must be attacked diligently and consistently without interruptions. Neatness is a […]

Mercy: the opposite of fairness

We desire God’s mercy while we expect, and even demand, to be treated with fairness. Desiring fairness is a black hole that leads to anger, frustration, disappointment, and struggles in relationships. Where would you and I be if God treated us fairly? In pride, I want to say I don’t deserve unfair treatment. But such thinking is not sound. To demand fairness is to live without the fear of God. To demand fairness is to live like a fool, to live as if there were no God. Yes, we must treat others with fairness but it is not something that we should demand for ourselves. Rather we must trust God to be our advocate. If we obey God’s commands and […]

God’s Message In the Snow For Washington, D.C.

For years the government leaders in Washington, D.C. have passed laws, written executive orders and made legal judgments without regard to God and his laws. These leaders have gone so far as to say it is illegal and unconstitutional to obey God in many areas of life. Because these same leaders have chosen to ignore the teaching of Scripture they fail to heed God’s direct word to them. For example, tonight a massive snow storm has totally shut down the nation’s capitol. This is seen as an inconvenience and will bring calls for more efficient warnings and snow removal. But the most important message, God’s message, will be dismissed by politicians and the media. The Holy Spirit in the book […]

Choose Love – part 3

Here is the third and last post about choosing to love your children biblically from I Corinthians 13: Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth… Faithful instruction and correction can easily be misunderstood. This is particularly the case when parental authority is being exercised. When correcting your children you can give them the impression that you are delighting in their failure. Since disciplined training in righteousness must be thorough and ongoing, a child may think that the only purpose a parent has is to delight in telling them how wrong he is. This is where you have to look at your child’s world through his eyes. It is huge that in the process of correction, your words […]