What about tomorrow? People live as if they know that tomorrow will come. However, God has not promised that tomorrow will come for you, for your children, for your country, for your planet. Yet, we live on, acting and believing that tomorrow will come. The truth is that the arrival of tomorrow is connected to the purpose and plan of God. Here is what Jesus says: Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25-26) Notice Jesus says we are unable to do a very little thing like adding an hour to our lives. Amazing. At the direction of the […]
Monthly Archives: January 2018
12 posts
We often refer to patience as something that we can lose – as in “you are really causing me to lose my patience.” But how would it sound if you were to say “you are really causing me to lose my love for you?” If love is patient, then “losing” patience can be equated to losing love. Said this way the idea of losing patience is not a pretty one. Have you ever said something like this to your kids? “Sorry I was upset. You know that I love you, but I am just so frustrated right now!” The words, “I love you,” are buried in the middle of this defense of angry behavior. They may well be familiar words. […]
It seems like such a simple thing. You ask your child to do something and in response, he quietly keeps playing with his toy. You decide to press on, so you ask again, this time a little more firmly, and then one more time. Your four-year-old grudgingly, slowly does as he was told. You breathe a sigh of relief, no harm done, at least he obeyed. But actually this little boy has taken a step down the road to self-hatred. Solomon warns that those who disregard discipline despise themselves. What appears to be an inconsequential delay is actually a step towards self-hatred. The Holy Spirit provides a wake-up call in Proverbs 15:31-32: Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home […]
Parental authority has fallen on hard times! Authority is seen as something to question, not respect. Unlike our culture, however, the Bible makes a big deal about obeying parents. The Holy Spirit does this from two different perspectives. One is blessing. If children obey their parents as Ephesians instructs they will be blessed and do well in life on the earth. In contrast in Romans, being disobedient to parents is included on a list of sins that indicates intense hatred of God. This list includes sexual perversions, inventors of evil, and murders! Indifference to your authority is indifference to God. Your child’s well being is directly connected to his obedience to you! This may seem a bit unfair, since your […]
The character of God, the wonder of God, the holiness of God is not dependent upon the recognition of man. Just because people may dismiss the Person of God and the truth of Scripture does not in any way the detract from the greatness of both! Joshua Bell, world class violinist, played for 43 minutes at the Washington DC subway. During that time over 1,000 people passed by where he was playing. 7 people paused to listen, 7! Does this mean that Bell is not a great violinist? The fact that people do not acknowledge God’s greatness or the Bible’s veracity does not change reality. Don’t trust the opinion of people who dismiss God. It is a fatal error. Don’t […]
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, I think you mean inorganic.” “Right, inorganic, that means not […]
Law and delight — these are two words seldom seen as companions. You can have the law or you can have fun. Young people excited about God’s laws is not exactly the first thought that comes to mind. Instruction over iPads? I don’t think so. These comments are both comical and sad. Why? Because they both ring true. We don’t typically expect our young people to be excited about obeying God. And you can agree there is sadness connected to this fact. So how do we address this? Allow me to suggest one way. You can’t expect your children to delight in God’s direction for life if you it is not something that you also delight in. Jesus says the […]
Manipulation is a subtle trap that will lead you and your children away from the grace of God and the gospel. Jesus delivers a subtle warning in the Sermon on the Mount about the danger of manipulation. Look at Luke 6:32-33: “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that…” Manipulation is doing good to get something good. If your parental discipline is primarily designed to make things at home go more smoothly, you are doing good to get good. The rich young man in Matthew 19 […]
You care about your children. You want to protect them from harm. So you take the obvious precautions: you use car seats, you dress them in warm clothing, you install a security system, you take them to the doctor, you do everything possible to keep them physically safe. The same care must be given to protect their hearts. You want to protect them from the deception of the world, the flesh, and the devil. However, it is only God’s word that can accomplish this! Solomon says as much when he says: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 1:7 It is the fear of the Lord that will keep your […]
You often say that God is good. You often hear that he is good. For these statements to be relevant, especially for your children, you must know why he is good. It is a potentially unsettling to believe God is good based upon your interpretation of the circumstances of your life. God is good because that is who and what he is. He remains good regardless of how circumstances appear. His goodness is determined by his own character and nothing else! You and I may affirm his goodness, but we do not determine his goodness. Why is this important? Because any attempt to understand the goodness of God without reference to his character will leave you with a twisted view […]