"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psalms 119:11)
Maybe you've already chosen something to do as a family this year. Maybe it is reading the Bible through in a year or reading it chronologically. If you haven't, here's an option for you. It is a schedule for memorizing the scriptures. Put the word in your heart and in the heart of your children and you'll never regret it!
"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." (Psalms 119:11)
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Recently there have been several families with whom I have been able to spend some time. I have seen some common characteristics in these families. They have each left the church and have similar attitudes. These attitudes are becoming prevalent in our society and we need to counteract them in our homes. I haven't put an extensive amount of time into this yet, but I wanted to share with you these destructive attitudes that are coming into the home. Hopefully in future posts, I can deal with each of these specifically. Dangerous attitudes that are destructive to your families faith: 1. Scripture is open to any interpretation. This is one of the most scary to me. If we can't KNOW what God meant, then we will be floundering in a sea of unknowns. How insecure would that make one feel? “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20) We HAVE to be able to know what God meant or chaos and lack of faith ensues. 2. There is no absolute truth. This one is closely related to the first. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) Notice that Jesus said “THE truth”. This indicates there is one truth. 3. Everyone has their own path to God/Heaven. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7) 4. Jesus was just a good man who taught good things about how to live. You only have a few choices here. Either Jesus was LORD, the Son of God as he claimed to be and every word He says is true OR He was a LIAR OR He was a LUNATIC, or He was just a LEGEND. If you pick and choose what to believe out of what He said, then you are saying He was lying about some things. Either believe every word He says, or none at all. You can't have it half way. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:15-16) 5. The Bible is just a book of myths like the Greek fairy tales or other books of myth. Honestly, this is one that I've had to take a pretty hard look at in the past. But, when you consider the fact that the Bible was written by about 40 men over about 1500 years and has no discrepancies, it is pretty amazing. No other book can claim such a thing. Also, if you read some of the other books of myth, they are similar to the Bible. In most cases, the Bible came first and is in my opinion the place where some of the myths were taken. 6. Evolution is a fact of science. This one is being taught in the schools and many children are taking it hook, line and sinker. When actually studied, these facts won't hold water. We MUST be diligent in teaching our children the truth about evolution. This is just the tip of the iceberg. The attitudes that I find sometimes astound me. It seems to me that people who are immersed in this type of thinking are searching, yearning for truth yet they tell themselves there is no truth. We must be active in keeping these attitudes from the home and countering these lies with the truth of God. I recommend books like Convicted, magazines like Think or Discovery Magazine for the younger ones. There are many others. Know the truth yourself and diligently teach your children as well.
On a whim last week, we decided to take the girls to see 'Santa'. As the girls and I were standing in line, a young mother with a boy about three years old came and stood next to us to wait. The other mother and I began to make small talk. In a way that couldn't be overheard by her son she said, "I wish we didn't have to lie to them." I looked her straight in the face and said, "We didn't. Our son asked when he was three and I told him the truth. From then on it became more fun to play 'Santa' and give gifts to others." Lying to your children is a dangerous thing. How will they know to believe you when you teach them about God? They can't trust you when you tell them that drinking alcohol or taking drugs is dangerous. It is no wonder that so many children turn away from the faith of their parents when they are grown. They can see our hypocrisy. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:" (Ephesians 4:15) "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;" (Colossians 3:9)
I'm planning to do a full review when I've finished the book, but I wanted to share with you this great book I've been reading! Game Plan by Joe Wells really gives you insight into the younger generation. So far it has been very helpful in understanding the differences in youth of 100 or 150 years ago and today's youth (even our own teen years). If you have someone left on your Christmas list who has a teen in their life (child, grandchild, niece/nephew, neighbor or church family) then this book is what you should pick for them!
Lets all lighten up! With the new year coming, most people want to cut the fat from their diet. I suggest that we should 'cut the fat' from our houses too. We live in a society that is living high on the hog. There's so much stuff in our houses sometimes I wonder how we live and move! It certainly helps our attitudes to have less stuff. I'm sure we've heard it before, but let me share it with you again: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26) What are we teaching our children? Do we have 'stuff-itus' or are we teaching them that things are not important?
“Commit thy way unto Jehovah; Trust also in him, and he will bring it to pass.” (Psalms 37:5) It seems to me that each child I give birth to, is a learning experience in trusting my God. With my firstborn child, I learned that I trusted too much in an earthly caretaker. She betrayed my trust in her and things went badly. My second pregnancy, I had to lean more on the Lord to trust that things would go better that time. They did. My third pregnancy was a surprise and I wasn't taking the proper nutrition to have a healthy baby...or so worldly wisdom told me. Again, I had to trust in God for a healthy baby.
So, here we find ourselves again with a surprise pregnancy, but this time I had been taking good vitamins. However, surprise, the ultrasound shows not one, but two babies. Do I need the Lord again? Oh, yes, more than ever! Does trust mean that God will answer every prayer in the manner in which we want? I'd have to say no because I see so many wonderful, Christian people who suffer with loss of loved ones. I know of a dear couple – he being an elder in the Lord's church – who raised 4 faithful children. The youngest happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and took a bullet to the brain. He wasn't a soldier, just a college student caught in the middle of a shootout at a gas station. If we look at the example of Job, we see that the righteous will suffer. Job had a life full of blessings. Was God the source of the sufferings? No, God allowed it, yes, but the being behind the calamity in Job's life was Satan. Why does God allow Satan to do what he does? In the case of Job, God said to Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?” (Job 1:8) God called him 'perfect'. What wonderful praise from God! May we all strive to have our Father give us this honor! To me, it seems as though God was teaching Satan a lesson. God said, here's my servant, and he's a great servant. But Satan said, “Aw, he's just righteous because you bless him so. If you took that away, he wouldn't be so righteous.” Satan didn't believe a word God said! So, God told Satan, “Go ahead, take away whatever you wish, but don't touch Job.” As the situation progressed, Satan eventually had to attack Job's health as well. Through it all, Job remained faithful to God. So what is the lesson we can learn? Nothing in this world is as important as our soul. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) We pray that our loved ones will be obedient and we do what we can to teach them, but ultimately we can only be responsible for our own soul. So, no matter what happens around me, it is just me and my God, forever and ever and I will remain faithful to Him. Sometimes things happen in the life of a parent that throw you for a loop! You think you have made the best choice for your child, only to have it revealed that it was a terrible choice. I find myself at one of those crossroads where I'm going to have to completely change direction as what I thought was the proper course turned out to not be. I think that throughout my time as a parent, this will happen many times, just not a major problem as happened this time. We will move on from this mistake. What I want to pass on to you, is not to let these detours deter you from staying the course and keeping on the path to heaven. Maybe in the future, I will write a more detailed post about what happened in our household a few nights ago. For now, I'm too much in shock and too many thoughts rambling around in my head. In today's world, it is difficult to remain faithful and keep our kids pure in everything, but it is possible! “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:” (2 Peter 1:10)
I've been trying to think of something all day to post here before midnight and cannot come up with anything today! So for this post, I want YOU to do some talking this week. What are your your best stress-reliever tips? What is it you've discovered about house cleaning, parenting, cooking or whatever that helps you feel better? Please share in the comments here!
I am constantly amazed by little ones. My youngest is currently about 15 months and lately she has been surprising me during worship. On Sunday morning, after several prayers, she said, “Amen!” each time. Also, during the sermon, when I thought she was focused on her lift-the-flap Bible story book, she repeated a word her daddy said from the pulpit. Yes, these little ones definitely hear more than we think. So, what are you filling up in these little spongy brains? Their lives 24/7 need to be filled with good things. Are you watching soap operas or shows with bad language? What do the little eyes see on the TV? What do they see and hear through the company with which you keep? I challenge you to make a focus on your entertainment and social lives – every aspect of your lives – because they see and hear it. If we don't we be considered a hypocrite and our children turn on us when they are grown – or worse, turn on the Lord when they are grown! “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
(Philippians 4:8) “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4) There are days that try the patience of poor Mommas that are trying to be the mothers they ought to be. What is a Momma to do on those days? Here is a good section of scripture to think on those days when you need a bit of extra patience and strength: “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:9-17)
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