Flowers and gifts on Mother’s Day are good things. But there is more. When we read the exhortation of Proverbs 31:31 to honor mothers and wives for all that they have done, we are not rating their performance, but instead, we are honor them with gratitude simply for who they are. Motherhood is part of the plan of God to bring glory to himself. For Christians, we have the additional blessing of honoring our mothers for who they are in Christ. Your mother, like any other mother, has not been a perfect mom. However, she is living out her role in bringing new life to the earth and nurturing it. She provides warmth and encouragement to her family when no one […]
Monthly Archives: May 2014
30 posts
Here is an example of a conversation with a dad and his 15 year old son. Dad has discovered his son is viewing pornography online. The conversation is a composite one. It might take several talks to get things resolved as they are in this example. But the content and the responses are drawn from real life situations There are consequences for the son as well as Dad presenting Christ. “Justin, we have to talk about the images you were viewing on the computer.” “Dad, I really don’t want to and I am not going to – it is really none of your business.” “I think I understand why you would say that. I didn’t want to […]
There is a problem with consequences in dealing with behavior. They are not enough. They will not bring change to the heart. What your children need is the gospel – they must learn Christ! That is the point. Severe consequences may yield a change in behavior, but darkness will still rule in the heart. Let’s be clear. Paul says there are only two ways of living or thinking. One way is to follow the natural path of darkness that all people are born with (Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19). The other way is to learn Christ. This is the point that must not be missed. The phrase learning Christ appears only once in the New Testament. In Ephesians 4:20, Paul says that […]
Kirk Cameron is committed to his family and to God as are many Christians. He thinks like many of us do. Kirk says things that you and I often say. Kirk is also like the rest of us, he is a sinner saved by grace. But there are things that are different. Many more people hear what he says than what you and I say. There is another difference. Most people and the media do not know who you and I are. So what we say about the God we love and the Bible is not published across the internet and media headlines. But Kirk, that is a different story. Kirk’s words, often the same words that you and […]
A young child may reason that a cookie will make her happy. The desire for the cookie overrides the command from mom not to have the cookie till after supper. On the surface this appears to be a simple matter of behavior. The desire for the cookie wins out over obedience. However, on the heart-level, complex patterns are at work. We are born with a nature that is at war with God. Romans 1 also tells us that this sinful nature actively suppresses the truth of God. The unseen and often unperceived heart battle goes something like this: “I want that cookie. I will not submit to God’s law or what mom wants. I deserve to have that cookie because […]
Perhaps you are one of the millions of Christians who has been horrified at a thought like this: I don’t have a conversion story, I must not be saved. I sin too much so I can’t be saved. I don’t pray or read the Bible enough, I couldn’t possibly be saved. I think God is mad at me. I just don’t think God can forgive me. I am mad that I keep sinning. I am depressed. I have failed too many times as a parent. I have a nagging sense of guilt. If you fear that you might not actually be a Christian, join Todd Friel and Pastors RW Glenn and Brian G. Hedges as they gently lead you through […]
Life is often like a pressure cooker. If you put tight schedules, time deadlines, interruptions, your own mistakes, and troubled relationships into a pot, put a lid on it and turn up the heat of daily life, you will have your own personalized pressure cooker. Inside this pressure cooker God seems distant. You find yourself saying things like,“I know God loves me, but that doesn’t seem to help right now.” Pressure leads to a disconnect with the problems that others face, even in your own family. Pressure wrongly places the focus on circumstances. Here are three promises from God that help put pressure into a biblical perspective: First, God is committed to discipline you to be more and more like […]
Worship is centered in the heart. God is not interested in sharing heart space with anyone or anything other than himself. A heart where the splendor of God shares space with the worries of life is a divided heart. God commands that his music is to play in your heart. Colossians 3:16 is not a suggestion, it is a command. Ignoring this command is just as destructive as ignoring the command not to steal. When you engage in corporate worship, when you engage in day-to-day worship the word of Christ is to dominate your heart. His music is to lead you to gratitude for his constant mercy. So, if you find that God is distant to you, in whatever the […]
Marijuana Changes Brains: I Told You So! It is time once again for my semi-regular harangue on the subject of pot. I have several blogs in which I have risked the wrath of those who believe it is their libertarian free born American right to smoke dope, I mean pot.J I have also been chastised by those who believe that it should be their right as a Christian to smoke marijuana if it is not against the law. Somehow they think whacky tobacchy (as a friend of mine once called it) fits well in the Paul’s Romans 14 construct of Christian Liberty. I have consistently warned anyone who will listen that there is little to nothing good about humans smoking marijuana. I’ve spent […]
Do your kids think that God or you will only be pleased with them if they obey him and obey you? Do your kids think that the gospel means that they must be good so God will love them? Do your kids think that they must be good for you to like them, for you to love and delight in them? Listen to your children talk about their understanding of the gospel. You may be thinking that children seldom, if ever, sit around and talk about the gospel. Actually, they do. Listen to your children talk. Listen to what makes them happy or sad. Listen to what they say about how you love them. “Mommy, I’m sorry I […]