Monthly Archives: July 2018

8 posts

Short Answers

You observe your teenager talking non-stop with friends. Then you think about the typical conversations that you have had with your son or daughter. Instead of a lively back and forth your attempts at conversation tend to collapse into strained monosyllables.: “Did you have a good day?” “Sort of.” “How was your test?” “Okay.” “Do you have homework?” “Maybe.” “Do you have plans this weekend?” “Not sure.” “Is anything bothering you?” “No.” “Did you clean your room?” “Not yet.” “I thought maybe we could talk later on.” “Why?” “What did you think of the sermon?” “It was okay.” “Why are you so hard to talk to?” “Aw, mom.” You attempt to support your teenager with a well-intended comment of encouragement […]

Three Heart Attitudes Of a Faithful Parent

Parents, if your desire is to see your children’s hearts become responsive to the gospel, the place to start is with your own heart. There are 3 core heart-attitudes to cultivate that will help mold your heart to be God’s  instrument for presenting Christ to your children.  The first attitude is humility.  Humility is the source of the power that you need to represent Christ well to your children.  Humility means that you trust God and follow him. Pride means that you trust yourself and refuse to rely on God’s truth. When you don’t rely on God’s direction for parenting you become from friends with the world. In Chapter 4, James warns that this friendship makes you an enemy of […]

Stress and Self-Trust

Stress happens. Stress is a fact of life. What happens immediately following stress is what determines whether you will know peace or experience more stress. There is no way to avoid stress. But what you can avoid is the pain and disorientation of continuing stress. In the midst of stress you can either turn to God and his word or you can rely on your own judgement and watch the stress and confusion grow. Trust in God and his ways leads to peace. Like oil and water, trust and stress do not mix (See Matthew 6:19-34). When you attribute short, curt answers and a contentious spirit to stress, you are demonstrating that the stressful situation has overcome you. There is […]

Authority And the Gospel

Parents, your authority is established by what you honor. What you honor, what you value is a window into who you are. And the people who are looking the most closely through that window are your children. What you value the most is shown most clearly by your actions and not your words. The thoughts of what you value most are more transparent than you realize. These hidden thoughts are a huge factor in establishing your authority as a parent. Why? Because being driven by what God says is good and righteous centers your thoughts and brings honor to God! But, if honoring God is not uppermost in your thoughts something else will be. It is this replacement that will […]

Trust

The world is a scary place. Life is full of things that you and I cannot control. You cannot will your children to safety. You cannot wish cancer away. You cannot remove the drunk driver from the road. You cannot force world leaders to be wise and responsible. You cannot stop dangers on the playground or even in your backyard. You cannot stop the hurricane or earthquake. In short, you cannot eliminate the things that bring fear to you and your family. In these difficult times, God calls you to trust him. Here is what the Holy Spirit says to you from Psalm 56:3-4: When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in […]

Realities Unseen

The most significant parts of life are those that are unseen. If your view of reality is limited to what you can see, your understanding of life will be ill-informed. The culture tells us that life can be measured by what is seen: how much money do you have, stock market reports, opinion polls, how healthy we are. Thus, our assessment of these measurable things becomes the basis of our security, and more importantly, the basis of our fears. However, such thinking is unsound. As Elisha said over 2,500 years ago, Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Elisha’s young servant was afraid. He saw a large army of […]

Celebrate Your Dependence 

Regardless of laws, judicial decrees, executive orders and public opinion, independence from God is not possible. Isaiah reminds us of God’s total control and man’s total dependence on him in Isaiah 40:21-23: Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. The prophet’s words are as true today as they were 2,800 years ago. It is […]

Be Quick To Listen

Jesus tells the story of a father and his two sons. The father asks his first son to go work in the vineyard. The first son responds with a defiant no. So, the father makes the same request of his other son. This son, in sharp contrast, respectfully says yes, he will go. On the surface of things, it appears one son is rebellious and one is obedient. This much is true, but not in the way it appears. In the story Jesus quickly adds that the first son changed his mind and actually did as he was asked. The other son never went to the vineyard. After telling this story, Jesus asked his listeners which son did what his […]