The heart is what drives us. Author Tedd Tripp has had a huge impact on how to raise children by stressing the importance of the heart. This quote is typical of Tripp’s insight: “Evil thoughts, theft, malice, lewdness, arrogance, and folly; we see it all in our children from time to time. We ask one another, “Where does he get this stuff from?” The Bible tells us it comes from the heart.” This truth applies to more than raising children. Others have also understood role of the heart. The heart is the most powerful of all human weapons. Class warfare is driven by the heart. History has shown that class warfare cannot be controlled by laws or even armies. The […]
Monthly Archives: July 2013
38 posts
News headlines provide daily opportunities to tell your children about the King of the universe and how he runs his world. The announcement of the verdict in Sanford, Florida has made headlines. How do you interact with your children about this verdict? There is already anger, frustration, and calls for violence. Others are adamant that we must abide by the laws and by what appeared to be a fair trial; they say it’s time to move on. But, these two perspectives are not the only ones and perhaps not even the most important ones to consider. There is a cultural / historical component that is intertwined with the verdict. There is also the perspective of God’s faithfulness to honor his […]
Like Samuel of old, we become focused on outward appearance. We devote a great deal of time to the outer man, but God is concerned with the heart. Our children will never interpret life correctly until they understand that it is the heart that directs all of life. The adjectives used to describe the heart in the Bible: The heart is variously described as adulterous, anguished, arrogant, astray, bitter, blameless, blighted, broken, calloused, circumcised, contrite, crushed, darkened, deadened, deceitful, deluded, devoted, disloyal, envious, evil, faint, faithful, far off, fearful, foolish, grateful, happy, hard, haughty, humble, mad, malicious, obstinate, perverse, proud, pure, rebellious, rejoicing, responsive, righteous, sick, sincere, sinful, steadfast, troubled, unfeeling, uncircumcised, upright, unsearchable, weary, wicked, wise, and wounded. No […]
Without eternity your worship makes no sense. As you worship this Lord’s Day how much of your focus is about things not being right in your world? Yes, this is an important consideration. But if you can’t factor in eternity and have it dramatically change your perspective, you fail to grasp the wonder of the cross. In other words, if you are not able to make eternity the focal point of your worship, your worship is without hope, meaning and power! Here is a quote from Paul Tripp’s book, Forever. It helps to place eternity in its proper perspective. This something that I need. It is also something that you and your children need. “Without eternity Christianity makes no sense. […]
Four-year-old Andrew is running through the house. Michelle is on the phone as he flies by the kitchen table. He stumbles, piling into the table and knocking off a plastic cup full of water. Michelle picks him up, makes sure that he is okay and tells him not to worry, it was only water that spilled. He smiles, Michelle smiles, gives him a pat on the head and resumes her phone conversation. Even though Michelle told him not to run through the kitchen a million times before, she doesn’t mention that to him this time; after all, it was only a cup of water, and she’s in the middle of a conversation. The next day Michelle is again at her […]
A patient wakes up from surgery and hears the biopsy is normal. A parent with a car full of children narrowly avoids an accident. A football player learns that his injured knee is only a mild sprain instead of a devastating ligament tear. A college student unexpectedly does well on an exam. A family realizes the tornado has not damaged their home. The promotion at work finally happened. All of these events often have one thing in common. Many, if not all, of the people involved will utter some form of gratitude to God for their survival or good fortune. These moments provide an opportunity to speak of Christ. Careful, concerned questions may be asked that can lead to the […]
Moses cried out to Israel to impress the things of God upon their hearts. Moses knew the words of God would bring Israel close to God. He reminded them that these words of God that he had spoken to them were their very life (Deuteronomy 32:47). Moses knew that if God’s words were spoken and taught every day to God’s people, life would flow abundantly. Moses knew that if Israel would love God enough to talk to their children about Him wherever they were, the nation would remain faithful to God. Solomon’s words capture the impact of parents who take every opportunity to talk about God and His ways. The parent who faithfully follows Deuteronomy 6:7 can quote Proverbs 1:8–9 […]
Matthew records that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for being able to interpret the signs of changes in the weather but not being able to interpret the signs of the times. Similarly, today, the church is slow to interpret the changing morality of the culture around her. I am not talking about the obvious Hollywood elements of the culture. Those are too glaring to miss. Rather, I am talking about the parts of our culture we consider safe: education and sports. In the book, Instructing a Child’s Heart, Tedd and Margy Tripp argue that we need to understand the influence of the dominate, majority culture around us. We need to use formative instruction to prepare our kids to live in a […]
Asking God to treat you fairly is an invitation to disaster. If God were a God of fairness, we would experience a horrible life and spend eternity in hell. Fairness has to do with justice. Fairness implies that there is something good in me; somehow my good deeds will balance out my bad deeds. Fairness works if you and I are the only ones who matter. But we are not. God matters. If I was fully aware of the awfulness of my sin I would spend every minute of my life pleading for mercy, but I often care more about fairness than mercy. That is tragic. My most recent post is excerpted from the portion of Get Wisdom! that deals […]
Mercy is showing kindness to those who are weak, sinful, and needy, because Christ loved me first when I was his enemy. Prayer to be merciful: Father, thank you for being merciful to me all the time, when I never deserve it. I want to be merciful too, but I often care more about fairness than mercy. Help me to be quick to forgive or overlook an offense. Help me to have compassion for those in need. In Jesus name, Amen. From Get Wisdom! by Ruth Younts