If you are a grandparent and have been following this series of posts, perhaps you have wondered if we were ever going to talk to you rather than about you. Well, your time has come. Psalm 78 addresses grandparents directly. In is a powerful and dynamic passage, the first seven verses of the psalm envision passing the Word of God from generation to generation. The psalm speaks to parents when their children are young. It speaks to parents when their children grow up, and it speaks to parents when their children have children. This section culminates in verse 7 with both a plea and a proclamation that grandchildren should trust in God and not forget his deeds and commands. 1 […]
Yearly Archives: 2009
157 posts
Despite your best efforts, there are times when things don’t appear to go well. You attempt to be encouraging, but your words are received cynically. You back off from communication to ease tensions, and you are perceived as being aloof. Whatever you do is taken to be the opposite of what you intended. Such scenarios sometimes occur with grandparents. Because your children's grandparents are also your parents or parents-in-law, these tensions may have existed for years. You believe that giving up is not an option, but that is the only thing you are certain about. So what do you do? Thankfully, biblical principles are available about conducting relationships. You cannot control what your parents do or say, but by God’s […]
In the last post on grandparents we looked at a scenario in which visiting grandparents is an occasional event. That is, perhaps you visit back and forth once or twice a year. This post deals with more frequent contact, such as when grandparents live close by or there is a visit lasting several weeks or more, which means contact on a daily, or nearly daily, basis. The principles we looked at in the post on visiting grandparents also apply here, but it is even more important to have good clear communication lines established when there is regular contact over a longer period of time. You should still do the four column worksheet mentioned earlier. In addition, you and your spouse […]
These days everyone is talking about bailouts. Whether on the economic or social front, things seem to be falling apart. Whether you are catching the headlines on Drudge, or the details on Fox News, or USA Today, the message is all the same. There is no way out without a bailout. As you watch, read or listen to the experts in these amazing times, the most important factor is always missing from the analysis and reporting. Talk show monologues, no-spin comments, and the latest from the financial markets—all have a message of catastrophe. But no one talks about the One who controls it all. While man panics, God works his plan. There is a message to be heeded in these […]
The first scenario I want to visit in this series is Visiting the Grandparents. That is, on a regular or semi-regular basis you pack up the family and head for your parents. Such visits can be blissful or stressful. But most important for you, the parents, to remember is that your children depend on you for stability and evenness. The guiding principle in your planning must be to discern what will make the visit a success from God’s perspective. By implication, that means you must be more concerned about the relational aspects of your visit with the grandparents than with the logistical aspects. What happens logistically, that is, the actual things and activities done during the visit, is important, but […]
The Bible speaks of a vision for the truth being passed from generation to generation. Psalm 78 speaks of children learning the truths of God and being part of the chain which includes their children and then children's children who are yet unborn. Grandparents, then, have a significant role to play in this powerful vision. However, like every other aspect of the Christian life, making this vision play out effectively takes careful planning. The successful implementation of this multi-generational vision depends on the folks in the middle—the parents. Yes, I know grandparents can be either too controlling or just the opposite, not caring enough. And I realize there are concerns about how the children will respond. Thus, parents may think […]
James 3:17 has been the focus of the last few posts. The verse provides a summary of the wisdom that comes from heaven, "wisdom from above." We began with the first three components of this wisdom and then moved to the centerpiece of being open to reason. Now we will focus on the last three components. Here is verse 17, highlighting each of the seven components. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. The fifth component is to be "full of mercy and good fruits." Think about this from the perspective of your children. Do they see a parent who is full of mercy, […]
We have looked at the importance of being open to reason. At this point let's take a quick look at James 3:18, the last verse in the section on wisdom from above. The verse reads: "And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." The goal of being open to reason is to make peace. Often in the middle of the confusion of family disturbances, the goal of peace is lost. Instead, winning is substituted as the goal. The opportunity for a harvest of peace is lost. Damage is done. To underscore the importance of peace and peacemaking, I have selected several passages that speak of peace. This compilation is by no means comprehensive. Not […]
<p>et_final.indd</p> We are looking at the sharp contrast that the book of James makes between two kinds of wisdom , earthly wisdom and wisdom from above. The difference is sharp and distinct. This, of course, has to be the case since the source of earthly wisdom is demonic and the source of wisdom from above is the Holy Spirit. James does not offer a third type of wisdom, wisdom from the middle. It is only one of the two. That means the stakes are high. One type of wisdom leads to war, the other to peace. Read this section in James again in that light. Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his […]
In the middle of the seven components of wisdom from above listed in James 3:17 is the phrase that the ESV translates open to wisdom. Other translations translate the same words as submissive, willing to yield, compliant and reasonable. In any dispute, a charge you will not hear brought against someone is that that person is open to reason. It will be just the opposite; he won’t listen to reason! And yet here it is clearly listed—open to reason. To be open to reason, you must be both wise and confident. The wise person is comfortable with God’s word. This means that he knows where to go in the Bible for help. He knows that the Bible has everything needed […]