Loving God enough to end rage, anger, inner seething, and resentment is not a matter of simply saying no to bad behavior. If you or your children have been controlled by patterns of anger, there is only one way to address this attitude of the heart that will bring lasting change. When anger becomes a way of life you know It is wrong. You can deeply want to change. You know your anger hurts others. But just knowing these facts will not remove anger from your heart and life. In the last post we looked at Ephesians 4:31 and 32 as a model for addressing anger. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with […]
Shaping Influences
117 posts
As we saw in the last post, manipulation of behavior obscures the beauty of the gospel. Manipulation also builds walls that relationships cannot penetrate. So, instead of identifying with our children in their battle with sin, we stand apart from them and critique their failures. We may even discipline faithfully. But if we discipline without coming along side our kids and showing them that their struggles are the same as ours, we hide the gospel. In the previous post Tedd Tripp used the issue of selfishness to show how you can connect with your children and make the gospel practically real to them. Using his thoughts as a guide consider how many ways you can identify with your children […]
Jehoshaphat and Peer Pressure – Part 2 God Blesses a Foolish & Stupid King The narrative of King Jehoshaphat and King Ahab in 2 Chronicles 18 provides insight into the dynamics of peer pressure. When you or your children yield to peer pressure you are, in effect, dividing your loyalties between God and man. This double-mindedness simply does not work. It results in decision making that is not sound. Many sins that young people become entangled with begin when they yield to peer pressure. The story of King Jehoshaphat demonstrates that young people are not the only ones susceptible to this problem. As we noted in the last post, Jehoshaphat should have realized that forming an alliance with […]
Parents, if you are going to talk about God’s control it is vital that you encourage your children to trust God’s goodness when difficult things happen. For children and their parents losing a pet can be a shattering time. It is also an opportunity to trust God when life really, really hurts. The Bible beautifully explains the closeness we can have with our pets. Nathan describes this closeness in a way that touches our hearts: “…but the poor man had nothing except one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up, living with him and his children. It shared his meager food and drank from his cup; it slept in his arms, […]
Not all schoolwork issues are complex. The previous posts have addressed some of these complexities. Here are some basic goals that may help with the everyday challenges of schoolwork. It is important to be clear with your children about what you expect of them regarding schoolwork. It is not wise to assume anything. Develop clear easy-to-follow procedures about when and where schoolwork is to be done. Then, don’t just assume they will do it. Follow up. By teaching biblical motivation in doing things for the glory of God, using pleasant words, looking for troubling complicating issues, and providing clear steps to follow about when and where to do schoolwork, you will have addressed many of the reasons why […]
The sky displays the glory of God for those who long to see it. Those who don’t know God reject the testimony to God’s power and greatness; they have no choice but to suppress God’s truth. But Christians have no such restriction. We can freely gaze at the amazing power of God in the sky each day, appreciating its awesome display. But most of us are too busy to take much notice of the daily display of the glory of God. When we’re on vacation, we are more likely to notice the work of God above us if we are in some scenic spot. But what about Monday morning? What about today? Moms, Dads, kids, teenagers—all of us will be […]
As you may have gathered from the previous post on bullying, the essential element needed to handle this issue biblically is communication. This communication must take place on several fronts—none of which may be neglected.
Most Christians know Hebrews 4:12, which states that the word of God is living and active. Also, most Christians long to know more of the power of the sword of the Spirit. Access to this power comes through faith. While there are many ways that faith can be described, one is that we trust the Bible to provide us wisdom, even when we can’t see all the benefits of obedience. Living by faith and not by sight includes engaging in discipline by faith. Let me explain. Let’s go back several years in Sean’s life. Perhaps you recall from his story, told in an earlier post, that the bullying that he was experiencing was painful and fearful. After four weeks, he […]
Before we return to Sean’s story, let’s take a look at the biblical perspective regarding Sean and his family. There are certain principles that must be referenced, and one goal that must be foremost in responding to this situation. The goal, of course, is that God must be honored in the way Sean and his family respond. This is true for all of life and particularly true in this case. Having reaffirmed this most important of all responsibilities, it is then appropriate to consider which principles apply regarding the bullying that is being inflicted on Sean.
Sean is in sixth grade. He does well academically. He is not particularly athletic, but he isn’t clumsy. He likes to read. His parents, who are very conservative, keep close watch on his social life; as a result, he is not active on the social scene at school. He does go to social events for his age group at church. He is kind of quiet and average in physical size.