Parenting- Day 50

Zephaniah 3:15 

15 For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster.

THE CERTAINTY OF OUR HOPE

We can live joyfully in the present when we know the future is secure. As Christian parents, we can approach the trials of life with calm assurance because we know nothing on this earth can keep us from an eternity with God. As your kids experience disappointments — poor report cards, lost games, romantic break-ups, fights with friends — pass along this message of hope.

Our faith is revealed in the way we respond to everyday events. Sometimes we forget the end result for those who trust in the Lord. We will live and reign with Him and for Him. The future is assured.

In trials or in triumphs rejoice in the hope of the coming age and pass that joy on to your children.

Parenting- Day 49

Judges 16:15-16

15 Then Delilah pouted, “How can you tell me, ‘I love you,’ when you don’t share your secrets with me? You’ve made fun of me three times now, and you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong!”16 She tormented him with her nagging day after day until he was sick to death of it.

NAGGING

Delilah nagged Samson until he finally revealed the secret of his strength. The phrase "tired to death" sums up the effects of nagging, doesn't it? Sometimes we give in to our kid's requests, even when we know it's not best for them, just to buy some momentary peace. It comes at a price, however, because we've rewarded the very behavior we want to discourage.

Parents can be good at nagging, too. One reason we default to nagging is because it's easier than following through with consequences. But we have to ask ourselves whether relieving our anxiety for a moment is really producing the behavior we are seeking?

Relationships suffer when we nag. It's not a behavior that earns respect and it can cause our kids to grow "tired to death" of us. Even though it's tough to give consequences with empathy, it's a much more considerate way to treat our children.

Giving consequences with empathy is far more effective than nagging.

 

Parenting- Day 48

Joshua 23:6

6 “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left.

FOCUS

God has provided guidelines and wisdom on how we should live. But our culture opposes these guidelines and sees God's truth as foolishness. We are bombarded with messages telling us what our children must have or do to "be somebody." Extravagant birthday parties, expensive gifts, violent video games, mature movies, profane music, and inappropriate clothing are just a few of the ways the world attempts to feed us a large helping of "compromise."

In the midst of this barrage we can get distracted. When we look "to the right or to the left" at choices made by other parents or our children's friends, we open ourselves up to the pressures of conformity. We know where the truth lies, however. The trick is keeping our focus on Jesus.

Discipline yourself to focus on Jesus and His truth.

Parenting- Day 47

Day 47 of 280

Joshua 4:20-22 

20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. 21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’

STORIES OF REMEMBRANCE

The memorial of twelve stones was a great reminder of God's grace and power. When Israelite children saw it, they would hear the story and learn about God. It kept God's faithfulness fresh in their parent's minds too.

All of us have memories of answered prayers and of God's work in our lives. How often do you share these stories with your children? Faced with trials, it can be easy to focus on our fear rather than remembering how God has provided for us in the past. Each time you experience God's grace, make a memorial of the occasion in your mind (you might even write it down). These are your stones of remembrance.

Offer strength and encouragement by sharing your stories of God's faithfulness with your children.

  

Passion Week

Holy Monday

During this week we will briefly read about, pray about and think about the steps of Jesus, and as we continue our seven day journey to the resurrection of Jesus from the grave we cannot avoid Monday.

JESUS' MONDAY
Monday in the last week of Jesus is marked by the word ‘conviction’.  In western culture we live in a world of convenience and comfort, but Jesus had conviction.  This is one of just a few times in all of Scriptures you see Him visibly angry.  He goes into the Temple, the place where people were to worship God and to lift God up, and He starts turning over tables because they were not thinking rightly and their focus was distracted

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.  Matthew 21:12

As Jesus moves toward the cross and the ultimate destiny of being crucified for crimes he didn't commit he wasn't about comfort; actually quite the opposite.   He lived with purpose, with passion, and with deep conviction.   The dictionary defines passion as
a)     Strong and barely controllable emotion.
b)    A state or outburst of such emotion.

In His extremely focused journey, Monday was the day His passion confronted the apathy in the lives of those who were supposed to represent God.    Our English words for passion and apathy are both derived from the same greek word ‘pathos’.    They are opposites and cannot reside together.    Apathy means ‘without passion’.    If we can see anything in the character of Jesus it is a driving passion to build the Kingdom of God.  There is no room for apathy in the life of a Christ follower.

Perhaps today ask the question.  Am I passionate about what Jesus is passionate about? Have I become apathetic?   The verse on my heart this morning when I woke up and posted on Facebook is Romans 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Passion always moves us, apathy always stops us.  Passion is about conviction and apathy is about comfort.  Passion is about compassion, but with apathy we simply stop caring.  On 'my' Monday, I want my heart to be broken with the things that break God's heart.   Let's be reminded on our journey with Jesus that passion matters.....A LOT. 

Living Hope Church

 

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Parenting- Day 46

 Day 46 of 280

Joshua 1:9
9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

TRUST AND FEAR

God spoke these words to Joshua as he was preparing for battle, but they are just as applicable to our lives today. The key to overcoming fear at work, in relationships, or in parenting, is trust in God. Anyone who has raised a two-year-old or a teenager knows what it means to be terrified and discouraged! And yet God does not ask us to be courageous — He commands it.

How can we build the kind of faith that overcomes fear — fear that our kids will hurt or be hurt by others, abuse substances, make sexual compromises, or not come to know the Lord? Trust in God develops as we obey His Word and experience His love. We may not know God's purpose in many of life's events, but our peace comes from knowing Him.

Trust in God conquers fear in parenting.

Parenting- Day 45

Deuteronomy 30:19-20

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!20 You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

RELEASE CONTROL

God does not force Himself on us. Even when the consequences are extremely high, He gives us the choice to obey or disobey. How heartbreaking it must be when His children choose death over life.

We can relate as we watch our kids make self-destructive choices for momentary pleasure. Every Christian parent yearns for his or her children to "choose life". Our example and the way we parent has an enormous influence on our kids, but it will never give us total control. Despite all our best efforts, eventually we must accept the fact that we cannot grant our kids an intimate relationship with the Lord. That is something they must choose for themselves.

Good parenting cannot guarantee a good result. For that, we must trust the Lord.