II Corinthians 10:17-18 “17But he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. 18For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.”

PRIDEFUL VS EGOTISTIC

Have you ever been around someone who can’t stop talking about themselves? All you hear is what they have done, what they have or what they plan to do. All their attention, it seems, is on me, myself and I. There is only so much of that you can stand, right?

Don’t get me wrong! There is nothing wrong with having pride and confidence. But left unchecked that pride and confidence can become your downfall. These verses remind us of that very thing. It is the Lord who commends us, not ourselves. If we are going to boast, boast in what the Lord has done with and in us.

TEACHING MOMENT

So, how do you explain the difference to your kids? We have to build them up! It’s our job. We, of all people, have to tell them how beautiful and handsome, smart and articulate, well-behaved and polite they are. Don’t we? We have to encourage them on the ball field by cheering them on. We have to oooo and ahhhh over their drawings and paintings. That’s our job!

But we also need to point out to them the areas to improve. That can be done without demeaning them. That can be done with being negative. In every praise and critique point them back to the Perfect One! In comparison to Him, we ALL fall short of perfection. We are all striving to be like Him, all the while knowing we will never match His perfection. But every step we take toward His image is more of Him that is seen in us.

Kids are starting school this month in the States, and right now they all have a clean, perfect slate (yes, kids use to have a slate tablet and chalk in school instead of Ipads and laptops) to write on. They have a brand new school year to accomplish great things. Encourage them to make this year a year in which every accomplishment is pointing to Jesus. Let Him commend them, not others.

Psalms 81:13 “Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!”

LISTEN UP

Have you ever asked your children, “Are you listening to me?” I teach every Sunday in our Children’s Church program. This group is made up of Kindergarten through Fifth graders. I usually say more than once, “Are you listening?” We have to get our children’s attention sometimes to make sure they hear what we are saying.

The Psalmist here is quoting God. God just wants us to listen to Him. He is speaking. Are we listening? I talked to a young lady yesterday who has not made the decision to follow Christ. She said she was still on the journey. When I asked her why she was still on the journey and had not given her heart to the Lord, she said, “He hasn’t spoken to me yet.” I went on to question her about that “voice” she was waiting to here. She is a beautiful, happy young lady, but is on a “journey” until she hears Him. Guess what? He was talking to her yesterday.

TEACHING MOMENT

Have your children heard His voice yet? I truly believe that God is calling and drawing each of us according to His perfect plan for our lives. I also believe that He does that at different times. Some are drawn at an early age while others when they are older. But I also definitely believe that many are just not listening. They are focused on other things. Mark 4:19 says, “but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the Word, making it unfruitful.”

Keep your kids’ ears clean. Make sure the barriers to hearing God’s voice are removed. That means you have to be listening too, mom and dad! Listen to Him! And decide while you are listening that you will also obey!

II Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

STUFF

I love the reminder here in this verse that although Christ was God, He gave up His “riches” to be poor for us. He willingly gave up all to pour out His grace and love to us, the ungrateful lot we are. He came to die, even though He knew He would be rejected by many and scorned by others.

What are you willing to give up for others? Are you willing to give without any hope of it being returned? I use to have a quite a book collection. Over the years and many moves I have given away or sold a lot of them. But I will always remember someone telling me once to never lend a book I wasn’t willing to give away.

TEACHING MOMENT

Do you teach your children that principle of giving? Do you show them the joy to giving to others? How do you show that? Do you force them to take some of their toys to Goodwill? That’s not really a great way to do that. Forced giving is not joyful giving, is it? The Lord desires us to give joyfully and willingly. I Timothy 6:18 tells us to “be generous and willing to share.” Are you?

Is there anything in your possession that you would not give away? If there is, that is the very thing you must be willing to give over to the Lord. There should be nothing that you or your family are not willing to give up for Him. Things tie you down. Holding it loosely allows you to live freely with Christ.

I am probably one of the worse when it comes to holding on to stuff. I got it honestly from my dad. He kept everything, in case he might need it later. There is nothing wrong with being frugal unless it becomes a burden and you find yourself obsessed with holding stuff too tightly. Let it go! Give it up! Remember that everything you have is from the hands of the Father.

Best Verses: Psalms 73:3, 17: “3 For I was envious of the arrogant as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 17 Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.”

STUFF

Sometimes I feel just like the Psalmist in this verse. I see people in this world who thumb their nose at God, but live comfortably and seem to have everything in life they could dream of. They have the big houses, luxury cars, travel to exotic locations and large bank accounts. It is easy to look at them and be envious, isn’t it?

That’s why I have included verse 3 and verse 17. The Psalmist appears jealous until he goes church. Then God reveals the rest of the story. Those whom he is jealous of will meet their end soon enough. Their earthly pleasures will be replaced with eternal suffering.

TEACHING MOMENT

Has your child ever been jealous of another child’s toys or gifts? Maybe their friend got the very thing they had been wanting. Instead of rejoicing with them, your child sulks and is jealous. How do we teach our children not to covet? How do we teach them to be content with what they have? Contentment is hard. I bet even you have been tempted like that?

We have to teach our kids that true contentment is a lifelong pursuit. It is only normal to desire things that are pretty or fun. And there is absolutely nothing sinful about having nice things. The problem comes when all that we think about is those things. I don’t know about you, but I have to die daily to my wants and desires. I have to be reminded daily by the Lord that all I need is Him.

The next time your child (or yourself) starts talking about wanting the next greatest gadget out there, stop and talk with them about what they really need. All they really need is Christ. All they really need is contentment. All they really need is to see the world with an eternal perspective. When they look at things that way, all the “things” of the world seem worthless and fleeting. How about you?

II Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? “

UNEQUALLY YOKED

There is nothing wrong with having nonbelievers as friends. That is NOT what this verse is saying. We must reach out to the lost and lead them toward our Savior. What Paul IS saying is we should not partner with them or work with them on anything that goes against our values as believers. The words “bound together” are really one Greek word (heterozugeó) that means unequally yoked. Do you get the picture? That is pretty plain!

TEACHING MOMENT

So how do we teach our children this principle without them thinking we are suppose to stay to ourselves and avoid all contact with the world? Simple, we show them. Unfortunately, we believers are sometimes so involved in our churches that we do not even think about looking around for unbelievers to influence for the Gospel.

We are protected by the Holy Spirit and as long as we stay true to Christ in our beliefs, there is NOTHING an unbeliever can say or do that can lead us astray. We are insulated by the protective hands of the Father. But we cannot isolate ourselves in our little Christian world and watch as the rest of the world dies in their sins.

Little Johnny or Susie may make friends at school or on a ball team who are not believers. That is great! Use those friendships to show them how to love those families in Christ. Use those friendships to invite those children to your home where they will be exposed to godly principles and values.

In essence, you are shaping your children to be more and more like Christ by reaching out to those who need the Physician the most. We have the cure for the lost. It’s Jesus! Don’t keep it to yourself. But as you reach out, make sure you are staying close and true to Him. He will protect you and lead you.

Psalms 68:1 “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee before Him.”

PICKING YOU FIGHT

People are tough, until they face someone bigger and badder than them. When the outcome is surely a defeat, they retreat or turn and run for cover. I just love seeing that in movies. I love seeing the bad guys tuck tail and run. But I love even more seeing the good guys win, don’t you?

Today’s verse is a picture of the good guys winning. God stands and the enemies of the cross are scattered. The devil already knows he is whipped, but he keeps up the skirmishes. He keeps trying to bring down people to his level. But when God stands, he flees, along with all his minions.

TEACHING MOMENT

What side do you want your children on? That may sound like an obvious question. Surely, you want your children on the side of the righteous, on God’s side. Who wouldn’t, right? But are you preparing them to recognize their Lord?

You see, the devil is a schemer and loves to disguise himself as the “right” one. He loves to blur the lines just enough that even believers, who aren’t grounded in the Word, are confused. And before you know it they are fighting on the wrong side. Women’s rights becomes the right to choose. Civil rights slips into not obeying authorities. Slip, slide, fall!

If we are going to run, we need to run to Jesus. We need to run as fast as we can to His loving embrace. We need to run to the safety and security of our Defender. Only there are we truly safe. There is nothing wrong with running from the enemy if we are running to the place of purity and peace. But once there, stop running. He’s got this. He can defend you against ANYTHING OR ANYONE. Trust Him! His enemies will be scattered!

II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

SCHOOL TIME

It’s that time of year when kids are getting all geared up for school, and I mean literally “geared up.” New backpacks, new notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, clothes, shoes, and ….you name it. New stuff galore! I use to love getting new stuff for school.

Do you remember the smells? I can still smell the clean pieces of paper, freshly sharpened pencils and strongly pungent plastic notebooks. I also use to get a new lunch box (back when they were metal and contained a small thermos) with my favorite cartoon hero or character on it. I wish I still had those. They are probably worth a fortune now. Lol

But look at today’s verse! We are all new in Christ! We all have that new smell! We are washed clean! And just like the new school supplies, ready to be used, so are we! We are ready to be used by Him. How does the Lord want to use you?

TEACHING MOMENT

As you prepare for your children’s new school how about talking with them about how prepared they are for Jesus? How about, when you give them the new paper and pencils, talking about how God wants to use them this year to reach a new friend for Christ? How about sharing with them how, just as a pencil needs to be sharp to be useful, they need to be sharp in God’s Word to be effective for the kingdom?

New stuff doesn’t stay new does it? But we are always new in Christ because of His regenerating power in us through the Holy Spirit. We never get old in Christ! We are fresh and useable, as long as we stay filled with the Spirit and let Him use us. Let Him this year! Do whatever He says! And stay sharp for Him!

Psalms 66:1 “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;”

HARD OF HEARING

In the last several years of my dad’s life he got extremely hard of hearing. This was caused by 45 years in a textile mill where the machinery was loud, and they didn’t wear ear protection for most of those years. He did break down and get hearing aids, but he would do the funniest thing. He was a man of habits. His nightly routine, after dinner, was to sit down at the kitchen table and take out his hearing aids, get his shower and then watch television – WITHOUT HIS HEARING AIDS! Yep! The volume would be on like 70! You literally could feel the volume, so you had to shout to be heard. That’s funny now, but not then. Lol

Think how loud our shouts would be if every believer all over the world could shout at the exact same moment to the Lord! I bet you would be able to feel the shouts to God. Wouldn’t that be incredible? I don’t know how you could arrange such an event, but it would cool to try.

TEACHING MOMENT

Do you ever tell your children to stop yelling? Do they ever get too loud in the house? Of course they do. Children can get loud when they are playing or arguing or just being kids. Wouldn’t this be a great verse to share with them the next time you have to call them down for being too loud? Compare their shouts with what David said here. He said to “shout joyfully to God.” You could explain what it means to shout joyfully compared to their shouts.

How would you shout joyfully? What words would you use? How about “Praise You God, my Savior and Lord!” Or “To You I give all honor, and glory and power!” Or how about “You are the Mighty One and my Defender!” It’s not so important the words you use as the heart behind the words. Shout joyfully today! Get your family together and shout to Him today. He is listening and will be well pleased!

II Corinthians 3:2-3 “2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

PEN AND INK

People don’t write letters anymore, or at least very few people do. Emails, texts and tweets seem to rule the day. We are still communicating, but with shorter conversations. But don’t you get excited when you get an actual letter from someone you know and love? There is just something about holding that handwritten letter and studying every word.

Paul is telling us in these two verses that as we invest in the lives of others in Christ we are writing letters “on tablets of human hearts” that will be read by others. We are penning the very love of Christ on them that others will see and want to read.

TEACHING MOMENT

We, as parents, do the same with our children. We invest in their lives when they are young and pour our love and devotion into them. We teach them all we know about life and help them develop into fine young men and women when they leave home. Others who meet them will see and hear not only them, but us too.

What better way to reach a lost and dying world than to send our children out as “missionaries” of the love of Christ. I am not saying they should all be actual missionaries, but any believer who carries the name “Christian” is one. We can do that letter writing on their heart as we teach them about Christ and how to walk with Him.

Of course, the actual writing is done by the Holy Spirit, but He uses us to prepare the paper. It’s hard to write on a surface that is not prepared. Won’t you prepare, as best you can, the surface of your children’s hearts to hear and receive the love of Christ so that they can be that letter of love to the world?

Psalms 59:9 “Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold.”

BIG MUSCLES

I was visiting a daycare program recently and had the opportunity to spend some time on the playground with a classroom of 3 year olds. They will wear you out! One little boy kept showing me his muscles after each turn on the monkey bars. He would push up his little sleeves and point his bent elbow toward me. Then he wanted to see my muscles. When I exposed my bulging bicep (sarcasm intended here) he would say, “Wow!” He was impressed with my adult sized muscle. It takes little to impress some people. Lol

Isn’t it great to know that we do not have to see bulging muscles to know God’s strength? The word “his” is translated as “his,” “my,” and “your” depending on the version you are reading. The idea is still the same. David knows God’s strength is the only strength that can sustain him and protect him. He needed God’s strength to protect the children of Israel.

TEACHING MOMENT

So let me ask you a question. Whose strength are you relying on to protect your children? Do you look in the mirror each morning, dads, and say, “Bring it own! I am too strong for anyone”? Of course, you don’t. At least I hope you don’t. Instead you need to start each day on your knees asking the Lord to protect and defend you and your family. Because only He is capable.

The next time your child walks up to you and shows you their muscles, remind them that God Almighty is watching over them and wants to protect them. But the only way He can is to allow Him to be their Savior and Lord. God will not protect what is not His. There is no covenant. There is no relationship. But the second we are His, all the angels of heaven are ready to fight for us. Hallelujah! “Our God is big, so strong and so mighty. There’s nothing that He cannot do.”