When young Joseph was confronted with a willing and eager temptress, he had the means and the opportunity to sin, but not the motivation. His love of God and his honor protected hm. The love of God and his word planted deeply in the heart is only protection that can be fully trusted to yield godly motivation! Teenagers face powerful temptations. Parents want to make sure that consequences are in place to help protect their children. It is good to put deterrents in place for behavior that is unacceptable and sinful. But, for your teenager, it comes down to that moment of decision; will the consequence make a difference? For example, Kevin, a young teenage boy has an opportunity to […]
Blog
2441 posts
Children quickly learn that tears are powerful motivators. If tears are not properly understood they can become weapons of manipulation and deceit. A young child wants to play with a toy that his brother has. He becomes so sad that he feels sorry for himself and tries to grab the toy. When his attempt fails, he begins to cry. Amazingly, the tears allow him to have the coveted toy. This little boy has just learned a lesson he will not forget. “Tears can bring me what I want.” Then he learns that tears will get him out of responsibilities that are unpleasant to him. Finally, he completes the trifecta by learning that tears can actually make others feel sorry for […]
Suppose your mouth automatically repeated everything that you thought? Imagine your deepest thoughts on display for everyone to hear and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Not a pleasing idea, is it? Embarrassment. Shame. Guilt. The truth is that all of your thoughts are on display, not to other people, but to the Lord of the Universe. Even knowing that God knew all of his thoughts, David rejoiced in this reality. Why, because he had experienced the lovingkindness of his God. When you go to worship, rid yourself of the pretext that you have any value apart from the mercy of God. Your God knows your thoughts, all of them! But instead of burning wrath pouring out […]
Do your children see two types of parents? When things go well do they see parents that are content and pleased that things are under control? However, when things enter the twilight zone of disobedience and chaos do they see parents who are upset and whose only focus is to get things back under control, no matter what it takes? Kindness seems out of place in this twilight zone. But if God’s love for you is your model, kindness is always appropriate. Being kind does not mean you don’t discipline or correct. It does not mean you roll over and give your kids control of the house. It does not mean lowering standards. Being kind means that you show God […]
Even if your child never sees any television or movies, he will still be exposed to the world’s concept of sexuality. He will hear it from the children that he plays with. Talk about sex is a part of every school situation. Suppose you attempt to cut your child completely off from the world? As unwise as that would be, there will still be contact. There is more than enough information in the form of short comments, quotations in books, pictures on billboards, stories and pictures in magazines and catalogs to influence your child’s concept of sex. Whether you like or admit it, your child is hearing from the world about sex. That is why God wants you to talk […]
Pictures of infants and toddlers are adorable. These pictures appear to represent every thing good about life: joy, beauty, innocence, vulnerability, potential. They fill us with hope that this sweet, precious child will somehow not be scarred by the harshness of life. However, there is danger in these photos. They can also blind us to the hidden reality of the dark heart lurking beneath the surface. We are stunned by that first lie, that first blatant act of ugly selfishness. Where did that come from? The temptation is to say who did this to my baby?!? To be sure, outside influences are significant. But there is another, more significant source of the problem. The real enemy is within. If we […]
Something sounds a little off about the title of this post, doesn’t it? Yet, this idea resonates with our modern culture. Somebody is going to do something negative to you, so make sure you do it to them first. In other words don’t let someone else get the upper hand. Thankfully, God’s ways are not our ways! Here is what the Bible commands instead: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 Jesus makes this stunning declaration at the end of his Sermon on the Mount. These words challenge you and me to the limits of what it means to have faith in God. […]
by Paul Tripp One of the interpretive problems that gets us into trouble in midlife is that our typical cultural categories for organizing human life are woefully inadequate. We tend to organize the full range of human development into only four categories: child (0-12), youth (13-20), adult (21-65), elderly (65+). When you examine these categories it doesn’t take long to uncover their inadequacy. The categories of child, youth, and elderly are relatively brief spans of time, while the category of adult encompasses forty-five years! Consider for a moment the massive differences between a man twenty-one and a man who is sixty-four. Or, let’s narrow the scope. Consider the remarkable difference in maturity between a person who is twenty-two and […]
The setting is in any one of the high-crime areas of several major U.S. cities. The time is approximately 10:00 p.m. A loud, sharp bang gets everyone’s attention. A young child turns to her mother and asks, “How many gunshots is that we have heard tonight?” “Two or three.” “Mom, do you think maybe somebody got shot?” “I don’t know baby. I hope not.” “Why do people have to get mad and shoot each other?” “You know the answer, sweetheart.” “I know, it is because of sin. But I still don’t like it.” “I don’t either! But when people turn from God, bad things happen. Do you remember when we read about Noah and the ark in the Bible?” “Yes. […]
In his first epistle, the apostle John speaks of the world as a hostile place. This hostility, however, is masked by deception. The world does not present itself as a hostile enemy. Rather, the world offers itself as the ultimate source of pleasure, fulfillment and satisfaction. The success of this deception is evident in the lives of many children from Christian homes who have been savaged by the world. Too many have repeated the cry of Proverbs: “Afterward you will groan in anguish when disease consumes your body, and you will say, “How I hated discipline! If only I had not demanded my own way! Oh, why didn’t I listen to my teachers? Why didn’t I pay attention to those […]