Is this what your children think is the reason for obedience: to stay out of trouble? If this is true then your children will not know the power of hope. You see, children are just like every other human, they require hope to thrive. Perhaps the greatest enemy of hope is trusting in performance. Trust in your own ability to perform is the great enemy of the gospel. But aren’t we supposed to perform well? Aren’t we supposed to do our best? If children are to obey their parents, how can we not talk about performance? These are exactly the right questions! However, the answer may surprise you. To be distinctly biblical, obedience must be connected to hope, not to performance. […]
Monthly Archives: March 2014
34 posts
Parents sometimes have heated arguments with their older children and teenagers. I know this is not exactly breaking news. But, here is something to consider. A heated conversation is a bad time to form lasting opinions. For example, a father has concluded that his son is totally rebellious and has no desire to do anything he is asked to do. This is because in a heated argument his son appeared to refuse to do obey. Let’s look at both sides of this particular argument. Scott, fifteen, was furiously finishing up a text message with a friend. He was trying to hurry because he knew he needed to get the grass cut. He was almost finished when Dad saw him in […]
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29 NIV From the context of this verse, it is fair to say that what Paul considers to be an unwholesome word is any word that does not benefit the hearer so as to build him up. This covers much, much more than just four-letter words. It includes all those words that tear down. Paul’s direction to you, parent, means that you must understand how your words will impact your child. Are you aware of speech patterns that you have that will exasperate your child? Will […]
Did you pay your dues at church today? This is a ridiculous question, isn’t it? Of course it is. Yet, it is easy to miss the most obvious implications of our faith. As Paul tells the Ephesians, we have been saved by the gift of grace. There is no room for boasting. Even though we believe this to be true, we can still attempt to pay dues. How does that work? If you go to church when you would rather be somewhere else, you are paying dues. If you go to church because you want others to think well of you, you are paying dues. If you go to church and donate your time and money, hoping someone will notice, […]
God determined to display his faithfulness in the form of cancer in the life of my wife, Ruth. Last October, God demonstrated his faithfulness in calling Ruth home to be with him. In God’s gracious plan for Ruth he brought the most lethal type of brain cancer into her life – Glioblastoma Multiforme. The Lord severely restricted her ability to write and edit. Her short-term memory was impacted. This is striking because she was among the most literate and articulate of anyone that I have known. Ruth fully understood that the skills that she most valued had been removed from her by the God that she loves. When she was troubled, she was comforted by knowing that God was actively, […]
Scripture is your connection to the wonder of eternity. The Bible is the only source that you can trust about what is to come. The plan of the enemy is for you to think that your life on earth is all that is real. However, life on earth is meaningless if it is not connected to eternity. The freedom of being liberated from the limitations of this life is the hope of eternity. What happens here is not all that there is. The day will come when we are no longer bound by time. The day of eternity leaves the darkness of night behind. We will bask in the literal glory of God. Night and time will be […]
As a parent you are familiar with all kinds of practice. For example, there is piano practice, soccer practice, play practice, choir practice, target practice, etc. But what about wisdom practice? If your children are going to practice anything, it should be wisdom. In Proverbs 4:7 David tells this to his son, Solomon: The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. No, the first line of the verse is not a typo, even though it may sound awkward. The idea is the first step in gaining wisdom to go for it, that is get wisdom! If you want to be wise, nothing else can matter. Proverbs teaches us that wisdom is a […]
Gossip is a sin that is rarely confronted. Gossip destroys families, close friendships, churches, and reputations. It ends careers and shatters lives. All that is needed to set gossip in motion is this enticing setup: “Did you hear about…” These words are an invitation to destruction. Don’t allow yourself to be part of an ugly communication chain. Perhaps this illustration will help make things clearer: Someone comes to you and instead of saying “did you hear about…” he says: “Let me tell you about the marriage I am helping to destroy.” Or, how about this one: “I am going to tell something that will absolutely devastate a good friend of yours. I don’t know […]
At this moment Russian troops are positioned around Ukraine. There is political upheaval and violence within the former member of the Soviet Union. International tensions are high. Russian President Putin has declared that his country would be within its rights to use force if the need arises. Your children are hearing about these events. What do you tell them? They will have questions or concerns or in some cases, fears that need to be addressed. One thing your children will not hear in the media coverage is who is really in control of this crisis. It is not President Putin or President Obama. It is not the United Nations, NATO, or the European Union. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, offered some […]
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Ginger Hubbard about her new book, Guiltless Living. Ginger shows the courage of her faith as she is open about her walk with God. Her story will encourage women who want to live for Christ. Here is the second part of the interview. Q: Does guiltless living mean that we don’t engage in sin? A: Whether we admit it or not, we are all serial sinners. We are told in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As sinners, we simply aren’t capable of keeping the commands of God. Does this mean we should throw up our hands in defeat and accept that we will always […]