A man was walking in a field and came across something that was buried in the ground. In a moment his life changed forever. What he found caused him to dispatch all of his personal wealth and then buy this field with its great treasure. This is what happened to Paul. He was willing to give up everything to know Christ. His life overflowed with the joy of that choice. He didn’t give up his respected position of religious leadership and then look back and moan over his loss of prestige. Like the man who bought the field, Paul considered knowing Christ the greatest of all treasures. What do your children think is your greatest treasure? Would […]
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Tim Challies has recommended the LifeLine mini-book series. You can it check out the article by clicking here. You can view all of the available titles in the series by clicking on the image below.
It is true. God gives many commands. As parents, you must not be selective about what you choose to bring to your children. The apostle Paul is a trusted guide to help you see just how to present God’s commands to your children. By faithfully following what he teaches you can be confident to know how to present all of God’s commands in a way that is consistent with the direction of the Holy Spirit. That being said, we must not be selective about which commands to present. Ephesians 5 provides an example for you to follow. The Holy Spirit is concerned that Christians avoid sexual sin! I will not go into all the specifics at this point. There […]
What if you could see Jesus standing next to you? What if you could physically see Jesus next to you when: you participated in corporate worship? you argued with your spouse? you disciplined your children? you were upset about being treated unfairly? you were tempted to lust? you had the opportunity to read your bible or watch your favorite TV show? well… you get the idea. Would your typical responses to any of these scenarios change if you could see Jesus Christ standing with you? If the answer is yes to any of these then your faith and your belief in the Bible is seriously lacking. These are hard words for me to write because they […]
Complaining is the opposite of patience. Complaining puts the focus of your life squarely on one person – you! There are many ways to complain, some subtle and some painfully obvious. Ultimately complaining means that God is unreliable and not worthy of trust. Ugh! Not a pretty picture. Complaining indicates that you know what is best about what should be happening in your life. The truth is that you do a really poor job of caring for yourself. So when someone says you need to take care of yourself first, you are getting really bad advice. So instead of being consumed about what is wrong with your life, your world, your job, your spouse, your children, your sports team, your […]
There is nothing safe about the path leads to safety. Following God requires courage and boldness. There are enemies on every side, both spiritual and earthly. Living as children of light angers the forces of darkness. Jesus says that before we can live, we must die to ourselves. Raising children can be a wonderful blessing, but the journey is not a safe one. The pursuit of God is not safe, but it is only way to safety. It was not safe for the Israelites to be circumcised just before entering into battle with the Canaanites. The whole army was in pain and vulnerable to attack because they obeyed God’s command. Becoming complacent, desiring to be safe, […]
Here is an excerpt from a review of the recent title by Shepherd Press, The Home Team. “Author Clint Archer definitely likes sports and so there are a great many sport-like analogies and stories told to communicate his key points. If you are not a “sports person” don’t fret; I am not a sports fan and I had no troubles whatsoever with his stories. I never felt like he was “going off” about a game but skillfully used games and certain athlete’s performances to teach how each family member ought to act to benefit the whole unit. His sports analogies/stories were short, to the point, and directly applied to the information that he was trying to pass along. Absolutely do […]
Not too long ago, I was shopping at the grocery store. An eager three year old started to go down a different aisle than where her mother was headed. The mother spoke to her child in a calm but icy voice. She said something like this, “I knew it was a mistake to bring you shopping. If you don’t come here right now, I’ll never take you shopping again.” The little girl sadly turned back to her mother with her head down. She was being treated as her mother thought she deserved. Mom seemed pleased that her power play worked. Often this tactic does not work, but for this little girl, earning her mom’s approval was all that mattered. For […]
by Tedd & Margy Tripp Here is the difference between formative instruction and corrective discipline. Formative instruction should be happening all the time. Discipline should be applied only when behavior needs to be corrected. If the only time we instruct is when our children need discipline, our children will not listen to our instruction for fear of the discipline. They will also interpret discipline through the culture’s view of discipline—as abusive, dictatorial, a violation of personal rights, archaic and fanatic. Our formative instruction must teach that discipline is part of God’s essential way for parents to provide protection, direction, safety and blessing to children. Discipline alone is not adequate instruction. Corrective discipline is understood when it is […]
Relationships based on the fear of the Lord bring safety and security. Men who fear God will honor, cherish and understand their wives. Women who fear God will be able to recognize men who do not fear the Lord. This awareness offers women protection from relationships that may lead to exploitation, insecurity and abuse. Your daughters must know this. Weak men find their security in having women fear them. This is indeed ironic. These men put themselves in the place of God. They demand to be held in awe and reverence. Exploitive, abusive men will often at first appear to be caring, even to a fault. But their motives are far from pure. As the relationship progresses the […]