God designed your emotions to protect you. However, for most people, emotions are not a source of protection. Instead, they are often a source of trouble and temptation. Why is this? Your emotions are shaped by what you value and the things that you believe. Thus, Solomon teaches that the fear of the Lord, an emotion, is the beginning of wisdom. Job feared God and turned away from evil. Job’s emotions protected him because he valued honoring God. Therefore, biblical wisdom works best when emotions have been informed by truth. True wisdom is not an exercise in cold, detached, analytical thinking. True wisdom produces a passionate desire to bring honor to God. Bruce Waltke’s translation of Proverbs 4:7-9 captures the […]
Godward Orientation
188 posts
Humility and power are seldom connected. Humility is associated with peace, passivity and keeping a low profile. A humble person is not considered a person to be feared. When your kids are out of control, humility is probably not the first thing you pray for. In our culture humility does not inspire awe. However there is a different way to look at humility. The most courageous, loved, feared and hated man ever to walk the face of the earth described himself as humble. This man began his life on earth in a stable because there was no room for him anywhere else. But while his birth was ignored by people the heavens above erupted with mighty angels praising his birth. […]
Sin is devastating. An eight-year-old tries to be kind to his older sister. She responds with, “That was stupid!” Michael is crushed. He tried so hard to be nice and got trashed in return. Michael is tempted to engage in self-pity. Thankfully, Michael’s mom observed the confrontation and took quick action. After Mom addressed the poor response of his sister, she asked Michael this question: “How cool would it be if you and your sister were happy with each other?” Michael responded, “I would love that.” “Michael, that’s wonderful! Did you know that Jesus wants you to ask him for that very thing; that you two would be happy with each other?” “I guess, but that would never happen!” “Michael, I […]
Your middle-schooler wants to hang out with friends that are not a good influence for her. She is unhappy. Your teenager is frustrated with restrictions that you believe are wise. He thinks you are being unfair and has no problem letting you know about it. In response, you don’t want to communicate you are ultimate authority. You just want to be a safe refuge for your kids. But you know the choices your children make are not always the best ones. And you know that God has tasked you with the responsibility of leading your children to follow his word. You know that is what is best for them. You know that parenting is not about you and what you […]
God’s wisdom is not pledged to make us happy in the fallen world or to make us comfortable in our weakness and petty heart idolatries. God is at work with exquisite wisdom to continue his work of grace in us, by transforming us into people who will love him, honor him, praise him and delight in him. So he is at work with wisdom in the wonderfully ordered and complex events of our lives to make us grow in grace and the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sometimes that glorious work will bring us through times of affliction and trial as he unrelentingly chisels at us like a gemologist would cut a diamond to make it more beautiful and more valuable. […]
The suffering that comes to us is not random. It is not just the flow of chance events that careen along without a plan. It is not crazy coincidence. It is not haphazard and undirected. It is easy for us to see suffering as blind chance, or bad luck, or what others are doing to us. It is not karma, bad things are not coming to us, because we have been bad to others. God makes it clear that all suffering comes according to God’s purposes in our lives. God is at work even when we cannot see him at work. Related resources:
Holding your head high is a good thing, something that the human spirit longs to do. At the same time the human spirit is also plagued with pride and self-importance. We want to be honored for who we are, but the tragic irony is that who we are is often less than honorable. We want to think well of ourselves regardless of how we choose to live. Thus we become offended or outraged that others do not honor our pride. It has been like this since Cain. Think about it. You want your children to honor and respect you. You want your spouse to value you. You want your work to be recognized and rewarded. You want your desires to […]
As Father’s Day approaches, families prepare to honor their fathers. For me, as a father, it is a time to reflect on the meaning of fatherhood. The Apostle Paul’s observation about fathering in 1 Thessalonians 2 is a good place to start. Paul observes that he had been like a father both by example and his instruction. As for his example, both the Thessalonians and God were witnesses of how holy, righteous and blameless he had been toward them. Holy refers to him in relationship to God; he was a devout, pious man, intent on pleasing God. Our families must see the integrity of walking with God. We will sin, but they must see a Dad who walks with integrity […]
If your children frequently praise God for the events that happen each day, you can know that a good foundation for life is being built in their hearts. However, If you hear your children frequently complain or grumble, they are becoming a slave to their own desires. This means there is trouble ahead. Sin feeds on the demand for immediate happiness and gratification. That is why a child can go from seeming bliss to outrage in an eye blink. One moment everything is fine. Then he sees his brother with a toy that he wants and he erupts with a howl that sounds like he is being tortured. Why? Because he doesn’t have what he wants, what he thinks he […]
When Moses was giving his last words to Israel, he told them that loving God was first, everything else was secondary. He equated the person of God, Deuteronomy 30:20, and the word of God, Deuteronomy 32:47, with life itself. Not only was God their life, he was to be the love of their life. Who God is and what God said were to be met by Israel with a heart of love. The success of the individual families and the nation as a whole was directly connected to loving God first in all that they did. Hear the urgency in Moses’ challenge: Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey him, and remain […]