Monthly Archives: May 2017

You Choose

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Twelve leaders. – Just like us.
“And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel” (Numbers 13:3).

All saw the same things. – We have equal opportunity to be used of the Lord.
“So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath” (Numbers 13:21).

Two trusted in their God, but ten were afraid. – What will we choose?
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we” (Numbers 13:30-31).

There are always dissenting voices to listen to. Victory belongs to those who will trust and obey. 

Steve

Summer is Coming – Child Boredom Cure

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Possibly one solution for bored children is to let them watch movies or TV and play video games or sports. I didn’t say these were good solutions, merely possibilities. Based on popularity, however, it appears that these solutions rank at the top of the list.

Depending on our goals for our children, we can take a  hint from God’s provision for Adam in the Garden as to a cure for boredom. “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Purposeful work is needful for each of us. If we are discipling children to be adults, then might we want to train and guide them with that end in mind?  

Might the popular solutions for boredom be the reason why our nation is plagued with entertainment addicts?

What are your goals for your children? How you guide them should not be based on popular choices or even their preferences but their ultimate good. That will be consistent with God’s direction.

“Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49). 

Steve

True Account

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At a recent conference  Teri and I were sharing about how critical it is to establish peace and order in the home. One dad turned to his wife and whispered to her, “Honey, that sounds like a really good system, but I love the way our home is running, so let’s just stay with what we have.” She smiled and whispered back, “Babe, we’re doing their system!”

“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Your Slice?

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If you look up someone on Wikipedia, you will find their birth date and date of death. Next will be a summary (slice) of their life. 

How would the slice of your life read? How would it read if written by your wife? What about each of your children? What if a lost friend of yours wrote about you? 

“If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors” (James 2:8-9). 

Great Healthy Bread

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Regularly Steve and I are asked if we think parents should make their children have personal Bible time. Our simple response is, “Of course. Don’t you make your children eat healthy food?” Our goal is for our children to leave home with an ingrained habit of having daily, personal Bible time by their choice as adults. “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

We want to give them time in their schedules each day for it. We also desire to model it for them. We think we should express our joy and excitement over being in the Word, and teach them to grow spiritually through their nourishment from the Word.

When we say parents should require their children to have Bible time, they might reply, “But won’t that cause them not to like Bible reading and choose not to do it when they are adults?” Hopefully not. It hasn’t been the case with our children. Our goal in feeding our children healthy food when they are children is that they will develop a taste for the healthy food and choose it when they are making their own food decisions.

Since we know that healthy food isn’t as enticing to the taste buds as junk food, we will also be educating our children about the benefits of the healthy food versus unhealthy food. Similarly, we will be teaching our children how to have a Bible time where they are learning and growing spiritually and also sharing with them about those benefits. We will be talking to them and warning them of the pull of the flesh and how that will want to rob them of their spiritual nourishment.

In our home, we didn’t have to mandate daily Bible time. Instead we simply incorporated it into our schedule. It was what we did at the specified time. It was a positive part of our days, so much so, that our younger children were eager for the day when they could read on their own and then get up early enough for personal Bible time like Dad and Mom and their big brothers and sisters.

Fast forward, and we are delighted to see our three married children continue their habit of daily, personal Bible time. The benefits in their lives have drawn them to continue it now that they have families of their own. As a bonus, they are teaching their children (our grandchildren) to have personal, daily Bible time. It’s very exciting for us to see the power of the Word go from our lives to our children’s lives to our grandchildren’s lives.

So back to our opening question. Yes, absolutely, we think it is important to teach children to read their Bibles every day—not that it is an item on a checklist to be marked off. That benefits no one. But rather, it is our daily spiritual bread, the nourishment for our souls—helping us know and discern God’s will, filling us with the fruit of the Spirit, giving us all things that pertain to life and godliness. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Who wouldn’t want that?

Can You Resist?

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Self-discipline is an ugly word with many today. The saying “I can resist anything but temptation” seems to be quite accepted. However, on the flip side, fans “Ooh and Aah” over the physique of athletes and ignore it was self-discipline that achieved those results. 

Saying “No!” to things is critical and followed by the need to be able to say “Yes!” to the right things.   

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:5-7).