Category Archives: Bible

Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Encouragement, Harmony, Inspirational, Mentoring, Modeling, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Surrender, Testimony

HAVE THE SAME MIND

1 PETER 3:8

“To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;” 

I really like this verse. Actually, it’s one of the memory verses in a discipleship study I have led for years. If we could all live this verse every day, we would not have any problems with people. Peter starts out, I think, with the most important thing first – be harmonious. This Greek word is only used right here in this verse. It literally means divinely inspired unity, to think alike, to have the same mind.

Now the rest of these things listed (sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted and humble) make it possible to be harmonious. If you are doing all those things, there will be no problem in having the same mind. Are these easy? They are impossible outside of Christ. But with Him guiding you, they are a snap.

APPLICATION

Just try making your children be harmonious. Ha! It can’t be done. You can’t make anyone have the same mind. They have to want to do that. Our children are independent thinkers. If you don’t think so, spend some time with a toddler. That’ll teach you independent thinking. But we can’t live our lives that way. We have to learn to live in harmony.

We have to teach our children the value of harmonious living. You can practice this in your home. Learning to agree and think alike about things can only come through our mutual surrender to Christ in our lives. Apart from that, our flesh will reign supreme. Teaching our children the surrendered life is key to them learning how to live in harmony with anyone.

Are you a harmonious person? Or do you insist on your own way? Too many of us, myself included, can do that. Independent thinking is not a sin. We need to have ambition and drive. But we also have to consider others, especially those we do life with. Ask yourself today if the decisions you are making today will affect someone else. If so, talk to them first. Make your minds one.

I am guilty, Lord, of thinking too much about what I want. Direct my thoughts today towards others. Let me live in harmony today.

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YOU CAN’T BUY GOD

ACTS 8:20-21

“20 But Peter said to him, ‘May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.’”

You are probably asking yourself what this verse has to do with you. Peter was addressing Simon the magician who asked Peter for the power to lay hands on people and give them the Holy Spirit. His motive was not pure. He probably thought he could make some money on this new movement that was sweeping the region.

Well, let me ask you this question. How many times have you tried to bargain with God about something? You promise to do something for God if He will do something for you. You are basically trying to do just what Simon did – buy God. But God isn’t for sale. He only works in and for those who are committed to Him.

APPLICATION

Bargaining with God is something children are prone to do. When they have done something wrong and you (the parent) haven’t found out yet, they will say almost anything to God to stay out of trouble. We need to teach them to pray honestly and truthfully to their Heavenly Father. He knows the motives of their hearts. They need to know that.

Teach them to confess their sins daily. Teach them to open up to God and trust Him with the outcome. God blesses a humble heart. In fact, He says He will exalt the humble. Our children need to understand that at an early age. Prayer is a conversation with God, not a bargaining time.

So, how do you bargain with the Lord? Come on, we all have done it at one time or another. Let me encourage you to be honest and forthright with Him. He knows all anyway. There is nothing you can say or do that He is not aware of. God wants to use you. Just let Him use you how He wants to.

Father, I want to be used by You. Direct me in the ways You have planned for me. Forgive me for “begging” You at times.

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UNHINDERED PRAYERS

1 PETER 3:7

“You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

A lot of people will read this verse and think it is women bashing. Calling them weaker! That is NOT the purpose of this verse. God made men to lead and protect their wives. Their role is a protector, not a basher. And He warns the men in this verse. He says, “so that your prayers will not be hindered.”

In other words, God is telling the husbands if they mistreat their wives and don’t show them honor, their prayers will not reach Him. That’s what “hindered” means. It means blocked. Men, have you ever felt that your prayers weren’t getting past the ceiling? How are you treating your wives? Hmmm!

APPLICATION

This is another modeling verse. Husbands and dads, it’s your turn. How you treat your wife, the mother of your children, is so important. You are not just mistreating her. You are mistreating your children. Your daughters are endangered by believing that’s how women are meant to be treated. And your sons grow up believing that’s how they are supposed to treat their wives.

But…when you show honor to her, that gives your children a role model to follow. The word “show” is only used right here in this verse. It means to give what is due. God is telling you that your wife deserves honor, no matter what you think. And if you want an open line of communication with the Lord, this is required.

Are you guilty of not showing honor to someone? Let’s apply this verse to all of us, not just husbands, for a second. Is there someone you belittle and persecute? We should show honor to all of God’s people. God cannot look on sin and ignore it. And that kind of behavior is sin, dear friends.

Lord God, give me Your eyes for others. Let me show honor to all. And hear my prayers.

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GOD OR MAN

ACTS 5:29

But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.

This verse is part of the story in Acts when Peter and the apostles had been arrested by the High Priest and thrown into prison for preaching about Jesus. They had been warned earlier about it but kept on preaching. God sent an angel who released them and where did they go? Right back to preaching.

In this verse Peter is before the High Priest again. He doesn’t back down. You don’t see Peter and the apostles wringing their hands. They stayed committed to their calling and kept preaching the Gospel. When it came down to whom to obey, they didn’t blink. They would obey God.

APPLICATION

Teaching our children to obey God is probably one of the most important tasks we have. We can’t make them obey, of course. But as we correct behaviors, we point them to the Word of God, which is God speaking to us. Our corrections are not what we think are best. They are we know God says is best.

Obeying God can be costly. Our kids need to know that. The world will, at some point, present a situation to your kids when they must choose. When that time comes, you as Mom and Dad must be there to support their decision to obey God, even if it costs them dearly.

Will you obey God or man? If presented a situation that will cost you dearly if you chose to obey God, would you do it? Standing up for God is the safest place you can be. When you stand up for Him, He will immediately be there. Will it be hard? Sure. But knowing the Master of all is there with you brings you comfort.

I will obey You, O God. Obedience to You is more important than anything else in my day.

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MISPLACED FAITH

ACTS 5:14-16

“14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, 15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them. 16 Also the people from the cities in the vicinity of Jerusalem were coming together, bringing people who were sick or afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all being healed.”

Peter’s reputation as a miracle worker and healer had spread. People were clamoring to get to him to be healed of their diseases or impairments. However, the crowds were so big they couldn’t get close enough. So, they resorted to lying in the streets where Peter might pass with the hope that his shadow might fall on them and heal them.

I must quickly say that there is no evidence this happened. We have no record of anyone being healed by his shadow. Nevertheless, the people believed it could. Strong faith in the wrong thing does not make things right. You may believe passionately in something, only to find out you were passionately wrong.

APPLICATION

One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to redirect your child when you know they are headed in the wrong direction. Your child may have some strong beliefs about some things in our culture. It’s happening more and more. While we want them to hold strongly to their beliefs, we also want those beliefs to be biblically based.

The only way you can redirect them is to go to Scripture. If a belief is not backed up by the Word of God, it’s not a true belief. Now listen to me. Satan loves to disguise his lies with a little truth. This can be so confusing to a young believer. That’s why you, Mom and Dad, must be grounded in the Word and able to show them in Scripture what God says.

Have you taken a good look at your beliefs? Why do you believe what you do? We all need to do a self-check every so often. It is so easy to bring in traditions or church practices and consider them doctrine. Let me encourage you today to reevaluate your beliefs. Check them out with the Word before you start betting your life on them.

Your Word is clear to me, Lord. I will put my trust in what You teach me there and check out other teachings that are put before me.

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TRUE KNOWLEDGE

Acts 4:13

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.”

Where did these guys get their knowledge? That’s what the crowds were wondering. These men were ignorant fishermen. How could they know so much now? They hadn’t been to school. They weren’t educated men.

I love it says “they were amazed.” The Greek word there means they were astonished out of their senses. This didn’t make sense, until… They began to realize that Peter and John’s wisdom wasn’t from themselves. It was from Jesus. Jesus had taught them well the past three years.

APPLICATION

You may have a brilliant child, one that makes all A’s. Well, congratulations. But your child needs to know that didn’t all come from him. God made them with the ability to learn and retain that knowledge. God made them able to study and do well on tests. Yes, we have to do our part, but it is the Lord who empowers.

If you have more than one child, you have probably noticed they have different learning styles. One may be a visual learner while the other one is more auditory. Neither is wrong. God equips us to learn according to how He made us. God spent three years equipping Peter and John as they spent time with Jesus. With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, all that knowledge is pouring out.

My sister-in-law once said she wasn’t going to any more Bible conferences until she started living out all she had learned from the previous conferences. So true. Knowledge is great, but it needs to be put to good use. Peter and John used their new found, God-given knowledge to lead others to Christ. What will you do with yours?

I am thankful for the knowledge You have given me of Your Word. Give me opportunities to share with others. Give me courage to speak out when called upon by Your Spirit.

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WALKING AWAY

1 PETER 2:25

“For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”

Sheep get lost by walking away. They don’t run away. They simply stop watching their shepherd and wander away. Before they know it, the shepherd is nowhere in sight. Unless the shepherd comes and finds them, they will most likely stay lost.

We are the same way. We can become hopelessly lost unless we turn our eyes on the Shepherd. Only He can save us from a life spent in the wilderness, away from the watchful gaze of the “Guardian of your souls,” as Peter describe Him. He knows where the green pastures are and will lead us to them.

APPLICATION

Have your children ever gotten lost? They didn’t mean to, but they wandered away from you in a shopping mall or amusement park. Their eyes were fixed on something that intrigued them. Instead of watching you or holding your hand, they were pulled away by their own interests.

We need to remind our children that Satan has a way of luring us away from what we know to be safe and sound. Before we come to Christ, Satan doesn’t usually bother us much. He has us where he wants us. But once we come to Christ, he tries to entice us away from following Him. He can’t unsave us, but he can sure can distract us and make us feel unusable.

Have you strayed away from the safe and gentle embrace of the Shepherd? He desires for you to return to Him. He won’t force you, though. Your return is up to you. If that’s you, repent today and watch how quickly He picks you up. He longs for your embrace as well.

Father, forgive me for wandering. Fix my eyes on You so I can stay near to Your side. I want to spend my days close to You.

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IT WASN’T ME

Acts 3:11-12


“11 While he was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement. 12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?”

Most of the time when we say it wasn’t me, we are trying to get out of being blamed for something bad. I know I did my fair share of that growing up. There used to be a cartoon strip in the paper called “The Family Circus.” Every once in a while “I Don’t Know” would show up. Usually he appeared when something got broken or messed up. The kids in that cartoon were always blaming “I Don’t Know.”

Peter isn’t trying to get out of being blamed. He simply wanted to make sure everyone knew he wasn’t the healer of this lame one. Jesus was. Peter had no power of his own. He didn’t want the crowd to see him or John as something special. It wasn’t about them. It was about Jesus.

APPLICATION

The next time your child tries to blame “I Don’t Know,” read them this verse. Tell them it’s okay to deny responsibility for something if they really didn’t do it or someone else deserves the credit. That latter one is so important. Giving someone else the credit is a good thing. Just don’t blame others for bad stuff if you know they didn’t do it.

And it is so important to teach them to give Jesus praise for all the good stuff He does through them. When they lend a hand to an older neighbor, that’s Jesus. When they give their allowance to the mission offering instead of buying something for themselves, that’s Jesus. When people try to brag on them, teach them to just point to Jesus.

Are you a glory hound or do you give credit where credit is due? Our Heavenly Father exalts the humble and humbles the exalted. On which side do you want to be? Let Him exalt you when it’s time. Don’t run toward the limelight. It doesn’t last. His exaltation of you will.

I humbly bow before You, Lord. I desire all the praise to go to You. Let me serve faithfully whether anyone notices or not.

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NOT BEING

1 PETER 2:24

“and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

There is an interesting word in this verse. The phrase “we might die” is the Greek word apoginomai. It literally can be translated “from being.” Ginomai means to become, to begin.

This word apoginomai is only used right here in this verse. So, what is Peter trying to tell us about sin?

Christ’s death on the cross and the stripes and wounds He bore rescued us from the penalty of sin. We don’t have to be sinful anymore. We have been moved away from death and into life. We are to live righteously because of His sacrifice on the cross. Hallelujah!

APPLICATION

Children can come up with all sort of excuses for doing wrong. It’s their sibling’s fault. They just couldn’t help themselves. They didn’t know that was wrong. And the truth is, before Christ comes into their life, they don’t know any better. They are sinful creatures.

But if your children have accepted Christ as their Savior, there is no excuse for sin. We must point them towards living righteously. Read them this verse. Show them what Christ has done for us. He bore our sins. He took our punishment upon Himself. Ask your children if anyone has ever taken their punishment for them. Ask them how that would make them feel.

Do you realize, I mean really realize, what Christ has done for you? He has freed you to live righteously. The pain and suffering of sin has been paid for. You are debt free. How would you live if you were debt free financially? You are debt free spiritually, not because of anything you have done, but because of what Christ has done for you. Live like it today.

I am free to live righteously today. I praise You, Lord, for paying the price for my freedom. I will live today to honor You.

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GETTING MORE THAN YOU ASK FOR

ACTS 3:6

“But Peter said, ‘I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!’”

I love this story in Acts 3. If you read verses 1-10, you will get the full picture of what happens here. A lame beggar is lying outside the Temple asking for money from anyone entering the Temple. He sees Peter and John and asks them for some. All he is expecting is a few coins to perhaps buy some bread or other food for the day. What he gets surprises him.

Peter and John look at him as he hollers at them passing by. Peter, being led of the Spirit, offers him healing instead of money. Notice he heals him in the name of Jesus, not himself. Peter knows where the healing comes from and wanted this beggar and anyone else listening to know also. This beggar got so much more than money. He got his legs for the first time.

APPLICATION

Have you ever given your child more than they asked for? I bet you have. They asked for something simple for Christmas, but you blessed them with the newest game system. Isn’t it just as exciting for you? You can’t wait for them to open up that gift under the tree.

I bet Peter and John were just as excited to see this man jump up and walk as the man was. This is Peter’s first recorded miracle. Let your children think about that for a second. How would they have reacted to the beggar by the Temple? Ignore him? Step around him? Tell him to be quiet? Not Peter. In the boldness of his newly indwelt Spirit, he commands healing.

Do you realize that the same Spirit that indwelt Peter indwells us? We have the same power. Do you believe that? God wants to use you to do great things for Him today. God’s miracle working power is still present in today’s world. The problem is we don’t believe He can do those things today. Let God work through you as He desires.

I want to be used by You to do things that can only be explained as coming from You. I vow to give You all the credit and point others to You.

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