Our world is changing fast. It reminds me of a World War II movie I saw. An SS man roughed up a citizen and told him to learn the new laws or else. That’s not far from our situation today, especially with the recent death of Antony Scalia. Regardless of how we vote, we feel as if we have no voice in our government, and we worry that we’ll be told what we believe isn’t legal anymore. It’s easy and even tempting to become victims, or simply to give in. I’ve heard people talk about going with the flow. In Scripture, however, we are called to make choices. Joshua lined up the Israelites as they readied themselves to enter Canaan. He said, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell…” That’s a powerful command. He didn’t want them to be passive.
We aren’t, however, the first generation to face hardships. In particular, World War II was a dark time in history. Nobody wanted another global conflict. Too many men died in the Great War, and peace at any price sounded good. (Remember that speech by Neville Chamberlin?) But when Hitler swallowed most of Europe, people began to realize the tyrants overseas wouldn’t go away. Today we face spiritual warfare that rivals that war. Conflict in the spiritual realm isn’t new either, but the intensity we see worries us.
We’d all welcome good news. Today I have Sarah Sundin. World War II is her favorite era, and she completed extensive research on the living conditions of that time. She wrote Through Waters Deep, regarding the opening of the war. Listen to her lessons from history. Enjoy!
How can we take our role as parents very seriously and prepare our children for the future? We should always make our priorities the same as God’s. Let’s look at the Bible to see what God has to say. He gave us two mandates. The first was the creation mandate when he established marriage. Genesis one says, “And God blessed them [man and woman], And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” That verse has two commands. The first is to have children and the second is to exercise authority over creation. God wanted a world filled with people, just as we have today. Plus he wanted people to learn the laws of nature and utilize the world’s resources for our good. In a time when many choose not to have offspring, that’s good to know.
The second mandate is to the church in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” The command is to make disciples, a process of teaching a biblical mindset. In both the Old and New Testaments, God said he wanted a people of his own. Look at 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
How exciting to be chosen by God, to be a royal priesthood, to be part of a holy nation. Our role as Christian parents is to proclaim the excellencies of Jesus, to share the sweetness of his love.
Let’s talk about how we can fulfill that that second mandate with our children: making them disciples of Jesus.
Today I have Jeremy Lee. He’s founder of Parent Ministry and also the co-author of Pass It On, who teaches building a legacy of faith in your children.
Women today are very busy. We all carry cell phones and have access to Facebook, Twitter, texting, Instagram and Pinterest and other social media. in addition to all our family responsibilities, we pack our calendar with activities to benefit out children and use our microwaves to prepare quick meals. Most of us don’t set aside much time to rest, even though we like the thought. I find it interesting that God talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis, and it’s a huge theme in Scripture.
I believe God knew how crazy our lives would become. He talked about rest in the early chapters of Genesis. It’s a huge theme in Scripture. Consider Genesis 2:2. “And on the seventh day God finished his work, and he rested on the seventh day.” Take a moment and think about that. God doesn’t need anything, yet he rested once he completed the creation. I don’t think he rested because he was weary. God doesn’t get tired. Instead, he wanted to show us a pattern, a balance of work and rest. I really need that.
This was a typical day for me when my children were young: a crying child woke me in the morning, and I hurried out of bed to get breakfast while his sibling hung onto my housecoat whining. Another maddening day. I stopped a squabble while trying to pay bills and then hurried off to an appointment while watching kids poke each other in the back seat. Ballet, Bible study, runny noses, a hasty lunch, a child who won’t stop crying from a minor injury. Fifteen text messages and three phone calls. The postman needed my signature. All day I ran nonstop and then fell into bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing for sleep. I’d think about resting and laugh.
Does that sound like you?
Yet Hebrews 4: 9-10 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” What does God mean by Sabbath rest?
Today I have Gwyn McCaslin as my guest. She’s going to give us her thoughts on rest.
Gwyn is a counselor in Sugar Creek, Ohio. Learn more about her here.
Christmas is a time of joy, and it should be. As believers we celebrate because we understand the hope we have. Jesus died to give us eternal life. When we come to know him we have a reason to live for something bigger than ourselves.
But it also important to realize that because our world is messed up, not everyone will be happy.
For instance, men who serve in the military often struggle with PTSD, which is post traumatic stress. It’s so important for us to understand this disorder so we can offer help.
There’s also a disorder for children called Attachment disorder. A child who has this is fearful of bonding with an adult. They crave it, yet they fear it too. They don’t have appropriate social behavior with others.
Kathi Macias wrote about PTSD and Attachment Syndrome in her latest book. She shares more about both and how we can minister to our solders who struggle to adjust to life after the horrors of battle.
Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
There’s nothing as precious as holding your new baby in your arms, but each time I gave birth, I also felt the enormity of the task before me. We want our children to have a good life, and good parenting lays the foundation for that. They need to be loved and they need to be taught. In fact, I believe loving them means teaching them. I also believe every parent should teach their children rather than leaving it up to the church. The job it too important to pass off.
Christmastime, however, can be a huge distraction. I love the pretty lights that blink at us from everywhere. Santa and his elves appear everywhere, and you’ll see nutcrackers dressed up with ribbons in store windows. Getting up the decorations and hanging the stockings are all such fun. But none of the glitter our culture spreads about addresses our biggest task, teaching our children. A world broken by sin would have no hope. All the tinsel we could throw up in our homes would just hide the reality of our doom. Jesus came to redeem us, and if we embrace that, all the celebration is worth it. Because Jesus set us free, we need to sing about our joy at the top of our lungs. Psalms says “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!”
There are, however, things to consider when we discuss doctrine with our offspring. If you think about the Old Testament, there are places that it’s x rated because God shows people as they are. You also need to consider varying maturity levels. A parent shouldn’t give a child more than they can digest emotionally. Pastor and author Marty Machowski offers suggestions on how to teach at Christmas and all year as well.
Learn more about Mr. Machowski here and learn more about his writing here.
Not many of us would consider meal times as a parenting tool, but it can be. In fact, teaching our children good eating habits and manners comprises part of a parent’s mission. Look at Ephesians chapter six verse four. “And, fathers do not provoke your children to anger but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
When we hear that word discipline, we assume negative, that is, correcting our children when they disobey or make a mistake. However, discipline there means nurturing or educating. Instruction includes the negative aspects of training a child but it also pertains to all issues involved in raising a child to be a healthy adult. Food is part of that. If you recall God had even dietary requirements in the OT and some of them protected the Israelite nation from certain diseases that are now addressed through cleanliness and proper cooking.
If we look in Proverbs 31, we can see how the excellent woman provides for her family’s food.
Proverbs 31:14 – 15 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.
So, since it’s important to train our kids to be healthy adults, we need to feed them a healthy diet. That’s important in their development.
Today I Have Denise Roberts. She is head of women’s ministry here in a local Atlanta church. She’s going to share her intensive research into the impact family dinners have on your child and she’ll help you find ways to implement this in your busy schedule.
Learn more about Denise here. Here website is here.
