Modern culture has an aversion to pain. But if avoiding pain becomes a parent’s bottom line, peace and hope are lost! Consider Hebrews 12:11: For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. There are three important parts to this verse. First, discipline is painful rather than pleasant. Discipline is meant to highlight the unpleasantness of sin. Discipline, must not be confused with retribution. A child ought to be motivated to avoid discipline. It is important that parents respond with pleasant, even words in the course of discipline. This is because it is pleasant words, and not anger, that promotes instruction (Proverbs 16:20-24). Second, […]
Gospel
Biblical Christianity is equated with hatred in this world. While God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and church are easily dismissed, Jesus Christ, the Savior, is a real problem in the world your children will inhabit. Redemption is said to come from within. So, you just forgive yourself for what you have done. But others will not see the need for soul-searching. Since we live in a world determined by evolutionary currents, there is nothing left but to go with the flow. In contrast, Jesus Christ means we are guilty and there is not a thing any human can do about it apart from the grace of God. Thus, your children will enter a world that has […]
Parents want children who obey. But obedience is more than just coming when called. Obedience is about loving God. Obedience is not a way plea bargain with God, or to appease him, or to make yourself worthy in his eyes. Only the work of Christ can make things right with God. Obedience is simply a response of love and worship to God. With the psalmist your goal is to have your children say: The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8 Understood in this light, obedience is not something to use to gain a reward – obedience itself is the reward. Obedience is a […]
There are troubled hearts in Charleston, South Carolina, not to mention the troubled hearts all across the country. Once again, what appeared to be safe, was not. The time of the Fall can only disguise it’s ugliness for a season. The enemy of our souls is engaged in non-stop attempts to make us think that this world is good and has all that we really need. Then this myth is shattered by an event like Charleston. Not even churches are safe. This reminds us that the world is not all it is promised to be. However, Satan’s deception does not end when tragic events occur. He is also a master of offering solutions based on human philosophy and traditions. He […]
As you prepare to go to church each week, do you consider this to be an act of courage? Well, if you go to a church that believes that God is holy, that salvation comes only through Jesus Christ, that the Bible is the inspired word of God and must be obeyed, then going to church is a an act of courage! When you go to church and you affirm your belief with other Christians in these core doctrines of historic Christianity, you put yourself at odds with those who view such beliefs as a threat to personal freedom and choice. Serving and following the Lord of Scripture used to be fashionable. No longer. Our communities are being pulled apart […]
Obedience is not something to use to gain a reward. Rather, obedience itself is a reward, a great privilege, honor and joy. Just as I cannot make myself more acceptable to God by my obedience, neither do I want my children to think that I will be more accepting of them because of their obedience. “Excuse me! Would you mind saying that again?” Sure. Your children must not think that you will be more accepting of them if they obey you. I know, saying it like this seems awkward. So much of your life is about training and teaching God’s truth. But the truth is that one’s own obedience does not make him acceptable to God. The last thing that […]
The gospel is about what God has accomplished for you. It is not about what you did for God. If you make the gospel about others serving you, you distort its message. If your children see that you are upset because you are not being served, you distort the gospel message. When you and I distort the power of the gospel we fail to show its power and we fail to show the beauty of Christ! Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. Job has received another of the horrible curses handed out to him by God. All that he could do is scrape himself clean. In one of the most compassionate outbursts of eloquent care ever given from a woman to her husband, His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” A little context is helpful to grasp just how ugly these words are. Job is in agony. She is saying that is obvious God has completely abandoned him. Stop acting that God has anything to do with all of this except to mock you and humiliate […]
As parents we rightly focus on teaching our children to obey God. But, we must be more focused on teaching our children to love God first. This is where it is easy to turn away from the gospel in parenting. Whether you read Deuteronomy, Matthew or Colossians, the first thing that God desires is that he is to be loved. Too often, when it comes to raising children, loving God is tacked on as an after thought to obedience. The thought process may run like this: “I can’t force my children to love God, so I will teach them to obey, because I can require that.” Teaching obedience appears to be a more doable task than teaching the love of […]
You will celebrate the resurrection this Sunday. As think about this it is probably something that you hold dear. Jesus died for you. He was resurrected for you. He gave you life. He gave you the opportunity to tell your kids how special he is to you. Do your kids know how special he is to you? Here is a way to let them know. You have caught your middle school child in a lie. You have confronted him with his lie and he has admitted it. Then you tell your child something like this: Justin, I know what it is like to lie. When mommy was a little girl, I used to lie when I didn’t want to get […]