Do you live as if heaven is real? The Holy Spirit has guaranteed you an inheritance, which includes your place in heaven. What a huge blessing this is! The most wonderful and spectacular destination any human can have has been secured for you by God’s Holy Spirit. If you were going to take the vacation of a life time would you be silent about your upcoming journey? Would you plan for it? Would you think of all the great things you would do on this once-in-a- lifetime trip? I think the answer to these questions is obvious. Now let’s compare this grand earthly journey with the one you will take one day. Actually, the two are […]
Worldview
586 posts
Amos prophesied God’s judgement against the northern kingdom of Israel for her corruption and social injustice. At a time when Israel was prosperous and complacent, he warned that the Chosen People were not safe from God’s wrath. The book of Amos was written to Israel, the norther kingdom. The church today is not the northern kingdom. The people of America are not the Chosen People that Amos prophesied to. Yet, we would be foolish not to see the parallels. We, too, live with an abundance of possessions and provision. We too live in a culture complacent in its sin. And, we also suffer from a famine of hearing the words of our Lord. Love your children enough […]
Your Rules or God’s Light Here are two ways to view the Bible. Which one is more likely to be the view your children have of scripture? View #1 The Bible and worship are “…nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” Isaiah 29:13 View #2 […]
An unexpected temptation arises. Should you go along or say no: this is the dilemma of having to decide right here, right now. You were not planning to have to make a potentially life-changing decision, but the moment has arrived whether you wanted it or not. What do you do? You can frame this question based on the immediate circumstances before you. In this case your question will be something like, “What am I going to do?” Or you can move the issue to a larger stage and ask, “What does God want me to do?” Two questions: “What am I going to do?” “What does God want me to do?” King David chose to […]
We have looked at the parent/child relationship as well as the husband’s relationship to the family. Now let’s take a look at the role the wife is to play in the marriage. In Genesis 1:27-28 we read that God created man, a creature unique in all of creation; he created man as male and female. Humans are unique because we were created in the image of God. Both male and female were given the same mandate at creation, the same mission statement. God did something else distinctive with the creation of man: He delayed the creation of the woman, Eve, until after Adam was created and had been given specific tasks to accomplish without her. By doing things in this […]
Whether you watch the Super Bowl or not the game is important to you as a Christian parent. This annual spectacle tells you a great deal about the world your children will inhabit. Proverbs 7 shows a father looking out his window at the culture around him. This father used the view from his window to instruct his son about the dangers of life. The window of your television affords you the same opportunity and obligation. In addition to the game you can learn much about our culture from the commercials. These commercials cost 4 million dollars for a 30 second spot, and that does not include the production costs. The companies who sponsor these commercials spend a considerable amount […]
Marriage has fallen on hard times. Many of you reading this have experienced divorce, either directly or from the impact of someone close to you. When divorce is a part of your family history, your daily conversations must reflect God’s healing power and your focus on serving Him now, rather than the problems of a troubled past. This poses a particular challenge for blended families and parents who must continue to interact with each other after a divorce. Shattered relationships may remain shattered. Hurt may grow over time, instead of fading. Because a one-flesh relationship has been ripped apart there are many rough edges and raw emotions. It seems for every situation where divorce does not cause lasting pain, […]
Americans are fascinated by fame. This attraction is fatal. Romans teaches that the pursuit of fame leads to a great exchange. God’s truth is exchanged for a lie. Man worships and serves things which are created instead of the One who creates: They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator… Romans 1:25 By making this exchange man becomes less of what he could be, not more. If we chose to ignore God, then all that is left is the praise of men. In this setting, man becomes self-absorbed like the inhabitants of Babel: Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a […]
In all of the ease and comfort of modern life it is easy to forget what the world is truly like. It is easy to lose sight of the need to prepare your children for a world which is not their friend. It is easy to love the world. It is so easy that God has given you a clear and dramatic command not to love it. The world has only the appearance of beauty, not the reality. But the appearance of beauty is alluring and powerful, even though it is false. Satan is hard at work putting an appealing, beautiful veneer over the horrible world that he rules. Never underestimate the danger of false beauty! Paul describes the […]
This post was excerpted from Chapter One of Instructing a Child’s Heart, by Tedd and Margy Tripp. This section provides you with keen insight on the importance of formative instruction. We must actively teach our children, and live the reality, that God defines life. He tells and shows us the truth about what is valuable, what is worth living and dying for, what is worth doing and being, and what gives our lives significance. Rather than simply fixing short-term problems, we parents must have a vision for formative instruction from infancy to adulthood. These realities are summed up in Matthew 22:37–39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. […]