School has started. School is about performance. Report cards and grades are the measure of success. There are tests to be taken and teams to tryout for. But evaluating performance is not the true measure of a child’s worth. No child can bear the weight of thinking he has to measure up to a standard in order to be appreciated and have worth. Academic pursuits are not a true measure of worth. Neither is academic excellence. Do your children know this? Do you believe this? It is one thing to say that your children are a blessing to you and that you delight in them. It is another for them to actually believe this. Don’t misunderstand, failing to discipline and […]
Monthly Archives: August 2016
18 posts
Looking out onto my back lawn the sun is shining brightly and deep rumbles of thunder mix in with the sound of falling rain. Rain, sun and thunder. Each has valuable lessons to teach you and your children about how the world works. Paul told people in Lystra who were trying to offer sacrifices to him and Barnabas about the God that they were neglecting to worship. He told them that the God that he served had shown his kindness to them in ways that made the difference in their everyday lives. He brought them the rain and sun-light to grow their crops so that they would have food to eat. Often we take the rain for granted except when […]
Your view of obedience controls how you give directions. Strange as it may seem, the way your garbage is taken out can reveal your functional understanding of obedience. The goal is to learn how to give holy, everyday directions that please God and bless your children. Let me begin by asking you two questions: Do you want your children to obey your directions and take out the garbage? You might be thinking, “That’s a strange question; of course I want my children to obey me.” That leads me to the second question. Assuming you want your children to obey you, do you act as if you expect them to take out the garbage? Now you are sure I am asking […]
Life is about competition and winning. Or at least it seems that way. The Olympic Games show the drama and stunning capabilities of athletic achievement. But in the end, all eyes are still on the gold. This fascination with athletic success is a human thing. Tedd Tripp puts it this way: “That is why we enjoy watching sports on TV. We love to marvel at amazing feats that ordinary mortals cannot accomplish. Whether football, basketball, ice skating or skiing, we love to be dazzled by athleticism.This is uniquely human. There are no diving competitions for penguins in the Antarctic. They dive from massive ice floes, barely breaking the water, and yet no one scores them. At the end of the […]
There was a moment when there was no universe to observe. There were no light years to measure because there was no light. There was no way to measure time, because there was no time. There was no gravity, no radiation, no black holes, no stars, no planets, no comets, no asteroids, no moons to be observed. The physical universe did not exist. Or did it? Before there was light, time and galaxies, there was God. This same God asked Job a question whose answer gives the difference between creature and Creator: “Where does light come from, and where does darkness go? Can you take each to its home? Do you know how to get there?” Of course, Job could […]
If we conducted an opinion poll of children raised in Christian homes not many would list parental authority as a blessing. This is a sad reality. Authority is a gift of God to his people and especially to families. Authority is often abused on the one hand or grossly neglected on the other. However, it is important not to frame your view of biblical authority based on abuses. Parental authority is a daily object lesson that all of creation is under the authority and rule of the Lord of the Universe. However, viewing authority as a gift requires an attitude adjustment for many. Authority is said to curtail imagination, stunt creativity, restrict freedom, and diminish individual worth. This misconceptions have filtered […]
Most of life’s problems that you and your children will face are not caused by a lack of information. Most problems arise because of a lack of sound judgment. After Joshua died Israel became a train wreck. Why? They knew about God but they didn’t know God. Here is what Judges 2:10 says about the time after Joshua’s death: “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. As you read through the book of Judges it becomes apparent that the people knew about God. You hear him talked about all the time. But they weren’t talking […]
One of your friends just posted a less than complimentary comment about a politician. You reply back with a similar comment. This touches off a mini-flurry of comments and links that are all centered on the stupidity of anyone even thinking that there may be something good about this person. You sign off with a few emojis thinking it was a good exchange. Is there a problem here? Actually, there is. The problem comes when interactions on social media are viewed as private exchanges between you and the people you are responding to. But that definitely is not the case. For example, say there were 5 people that participated in the news feed exchange mentioned above. This means that potentially […]