Paul encourages children to obey their parents so that it will go well with them and that they will live a long life on the earth. These words echo the fifth commandment, found in Deuteronomy 5:16. We know that the gospel is all about grace and receiving things we do not deserve. Yet in Ephesians 6:3, Paul appears to add a caveat to grace—if children obey their parents, they will enjoy a long and favorable life on earth. Is this a formula for works being woven into the gospel? The answer is no! To understand Paul’s admonition to children, we must remember how Paul previously describes obedient living to the Ephesians. Here are two examples: …For we are his workmanship, […]
Yearly Archives: 2014
347 posts
In the context of our various trials we need wisdom to know how to function in those trials and circumstances; it is available from a giving God, and we are to ask for it (James 1:5). Our need is no different from Israel’s. We need not only the power of God to overwhelm our obvious enemies but also the wisdom of God to detect our subtle enemies. Unfortunately, the church too often craves God’s power while it ignores God’s wisdom. Dale Ralph Davis
The state of California is experiencing its worst drought in 100 years. According the NBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles, Governor Jerry Brown has declared a drought emergency. The station also reports that the governor has identified Mother Nature as the state’s adversary. Note this quote from Channel 4’s website: “I’ve called for a collaborative effort to restrain our water use,” Brown said. “This is a call to arms. This is not a partisan adversary, this is Mother Nature.” Doing battle with “Mother Nature” will lead to frustration. “Mother Nature” is not the adversary, God is. Rain falls at the pleasure of God and God alone. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that God sends rain upon the just and […]
The major investment firms are frequent visitors in your home. No, they aren’t invited guests. They attach themselves to the popular television shows and sporting events. So, just after your team scores, the President of one of these companies shows up on the screen encouraging you to make wise investments using his brokerage firm. Just after he says goodbye, the owner of another firm flies by in his helicopter to let you know how his firm makes investing affordable. These visits are then followed by a commercial for a luxury sports sedan. The message is clear: security and peace of mind come from making wise investments and making your money grow. These things provide access to comfort and stability. While […]
Explanation as a method of training is tied to the belief that teaching children is based on information transfer. The idea is that if I explain to my kids how they should behave, what they did wrong and how to change, then they will behave differently and for the better. The problem with this method is that it misses the reality that behavior flows from the heart, not just from a correct understanding of the situation. Explanation must transcend information transfer and become instruction that reaches the heart. Deuteronomy 6:5-7 forms the paradigm for how this is done. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that […]
Explanations often lead to monologues, especially with teenagers. This is not a helpful communication pattern. The goal for good, biblical communication with teenagers is the combination of questions that lead to dialogue. But these questions must come from a genuine interest in your teenagers for who they are, not for what you want them to be. In this context, let me ask you a question. When you need help with a problem, do you look for answers from any random person? The answer is obvious. You ask the people whom you trust and respect, someone who will really listen to you. Let me take this one additional step. Suppose a friend from church calls and asks you for advice on […]
Sleep does not always bring rest. Here is a prayer to focus our hearts and our thoughts on the goodness and glory of God as we sleep: O Lord God, who has given man the night for rest, as you have created a day in which he may employ himself in labor, grant, I pray, that my body may so rest during this night that my mind cease not to be awake to you, nor my heart faint or be overcome with apathy, preventing it from adhering steadfastly to the love of you. While laying aside my cares to relax and relieve my mind, may I not, in the meanwhile, forget you, nor may the remembrance of your goodness and grace, […]
God has not called parents to explain but to train. Explanations often lead to frustration and anger for both parents and children. Children are not in need of lengthy, compelling explanations. What they are in need of is the understanding that God must be obeyed. Ephesians 6:4 addresses this issue: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Explanations tend to focus on getting someone to agree with you. The logic for explanations runs something like this: If I can just get my children to understand the reason for my direction, then they will be more likely to follow my instruction. While this may sound like solid reasoning, […]
A conversation between a mom and her 12 year old daughter. “Hey, Mom.” “Yes, Erin.” “You have a minute?” “Sure, what’s up?’ “I watched another program on the Science Channel that was talking about how life began on earth. I’m good with what you and dad have told me, but I just want to make sure I have it down. Can you help me by going over things again?” “No problem, glad you asked! You remember that there are really only a few ways that modern science thinks how life could have begun?” “Yeah, uh, one is that over a long time, like billions of years, stuff that was all organic…” “Erin, […]
Your children were born to worry, just like you. If you allow the issues of each day to dominate your life the result will be worry. Believing you alone have to care for your needs each day leads to worry. This means you will model worry for your children. Defensively, you and I might respond like this, “oh, I am not an obsessive worrier. I don’t worry about dirty doorknobs. But I am concerned about the things that are really important, like our meals and other basic important things.” Nice try, but this can still be worry. If Jesus instructed you to ask God for your daily bread, then you can trust God to provide. By reading the verses […]