Category Archives: Child Rearing

Advice, Affection, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Heaven, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Thessalonians

ETERNITY NOW?


2 THESSALONIANS 2:16

“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace,” 

Isn’t this a sweet, promising verse? We are promised His love, His comfort and His hope through grace. That’s a lot. And this is one of the few times that Paul mentions Jesus before the Father. That may not be important, but I thought it was just interesting. 

This comfort is not just normal comfort. It’s eternal comfort. Does that mean we only get this when we get to heaven? I don’t think so. Look at this definition of that Greek word for “eternal.” “Thus believers live in ‘eternallife’ right now, experiencing this quality of God’s life now as a present possession.”We can experience eternal comfort right now. Don’t you want that?

APPLICATION

Ask your little Susie how she would feel if when she got hurt you withheld comforting her until she grew up. I bet she wouldn’t like that. You wouldn’t kiss that boo-boo until after it was healed. That’s crazy, isn’t it? Now read your children this verse and explain that the same thing applies to God.

He is not going to withhold His comfort from them just because they are still here on earth. That comfort is eternal because it is ageless.  It covers all time. God is even in the process of comfort long before they (or we) even know they are going to need it. That’s pretty awesome, if you ask me. Eternal comfort lasts a long time. It begins the moment we receive his free gift of salvation and will follow us right into eternity.

Are you in need of comfort today? As I write this, I have several friends who are in need of great comfort. They are going through some very hard things right now. They need to know that the Lord is already at work in their life to comfort their hearts and give them love and hope through grace. Is there someone you need to remind of that today?

O Lord, help me share this great truth with someone who needs it today. Let me be the bearer of that eternal comfort through the Lord Jesus. Thank You for giving me that comfort and hope.

Standard
Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Commands, Encouragement, Evangelism, Family, God's Will, Inspirational, Ministry, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Thessalonians, Traditions

KEEPING TRADITIONS


2 THESSALONIANS 2:15

“So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.”

Some families have long held traditions around the holidays. They may involve a meal or a prank gift or some other strange tradition unique to their family. Those are good things to have. They bind us together. They build memories to pass to the next generation.

But Paul wasn’t talking about Grandma Carter’s chocolate pie recipe when he said, “hold to the traditions.” He was referring to something much more important. He was talking about passing down the teachings and instructions they had received concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s a tradition worth keeping and sharing.

APPLICATION

At your next family gathering talk about your family traditions with your children. Make a list of them, if you have more than one. Maybe it’s time for you start some new ones. Maybe your children are grown and have families of their own. It is probably time for them to start their own traditions. Whatever they are, talk about how long you’ve had them and why you keep them. 

But most importantly, talk about the traditions you have in Christ and why they are important. Teach your children to hold these close and to pass them down themselves. I vividly remember going to my Grandma Carter’s house every Christmas and having a huge meal with all my cousins. Family is important, and our Christian family is even more important.

What are the traditions you are passing down? Do they include Jesus? Passing down your Christian heritage and history can encourage the next generation to carry on the fight. Helping them understand the importance of this faith legacy could be one of the most important things you do. Talk about it. Share it. Keep it.

Thank You for traditions in Christ. Thank You, Lord, for making me part of that heritage of faith. Help me teach the next generation more about You.

Standard
Advice, Affection, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, Glory, God's Will, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Obedience, Surrender

ALL MINE


2 THESSALONIANS 2:14

“It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

Can you believe that? If you respond to God’s call given through the Gospel, you will gain (fully possess) His glory. What? Are you kidding me? That’s what it says. God wants to glorify us. But He can only do that if we are His.

You hear a lot people claiming to be believers but who live like the world. Being called through the Gospel has to change us. Our motivations for life shift. Our desire and wishes become more heaven focused. Am I right? The things of this world hold no value, or at least lesser value. All we want is His glory.

APPLICATION

This may be one of the toughest things to teach our children. They really have to just live it and experience it. So, our jobs are to lead them to Christ and disciple them once they have surrendered. You can’t disciple a lost child. If your little Johnny doesn’t know Jesus, he will never respond to your efforts to “build him up” spiritually.

BUT if your child comes to the King of Kings, they too will be glorified. You should see a change in their attitude. Will they still mess up? Don’t you? Will your child make some mistakes? Probably so. Pour into them. Let other mentors do the same. Sometimes our kids respond to others better.  That’s okay.

So, have you responded to the call? Have you yielded your heart to the Lord of Lords? He will make you His own. He will exalt you as you humble yourself. Don’t you want His glory all over you? I sure do. Give Him praise.

Father God, You are worthy of all my praise. I do desire Your glory. I long for you gentle hands which direct me toward others who are also in need of it today.

Standard
Advice, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, God's Will, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Love, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Parenting, Prayer, Surrender, Thessalonians, Truth, Witnessing

I PICK YOU


2 THESSALONIANS 2:13

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” 

Those are God’s words to us – “I chose you.” Now, I am not going to get in a discussion about predestination. I am just looking at this verse.  God chose you from the beginning for salvation. Don’t you love being picked by someone. I used to love being picked for a team. No one wants to be left out. The good news is (drumroll please) God chooses EVERYONE! His will is that all men be saved.

“Okay then, Carl, why do some people die and spend eternity in hell?” Because they chose THAT. That’s right! Even though God has chosen them for salvation, they turned their back on Him and decided to go their own way. This choice sealed their fate. It wasn’t God who sent them to hell. Nope! He has chosen them for salvation, which they rejected.

APPLICATION

Do you give your kids choices? I hope you do. They need to learn early how to make choices. Nothing is worse than to see an adult who can make a decision. Agreed? So, let your children make choices. But here is the hard part. You need to let them also accept the consequences. Every choice has a consequence. Some are good, and some are bad.

If you rescue your children from every consequence, they will never learn the power of choice. And you must teach them that. Remember that you are preparing them for eternity. While most of their choices aren’t eternal ones, they are learning from each one they make. They will never make a more important one than accepting God’s free gift of salvation.

I pray you know Him personally. I pray you have accepted His choice of you. If you haven’t, do that today. Don’t make the other choice of not accepting His choice of you. He wants you to come to Him. He wants you to spread this news to everyone you know. Do that today.

I accept Your choice of me, Lord. I want to be Yours. I am thankful You chose me from the beginning.

Standard
Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Completeness, Encouragement, Evangelism, God's Will, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Praise, Prayer, Scripture, Surrender, Thessalonians, Truth

IT MAY FEEL GOOD, BUT…


2 THESSALONIANS 2:12

“in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”

We all like pleasure. For some it’s a day at the beach. For others it is a long run (no, that’s not me). But others take their pleasure in wickedness. I know it may be hard to believe, but there are really people out there who do. I don’t know any personally, but they are all around us.

Sadly, we think they are getting away with their pleasure seeking. We see them hurt others and thrive on it. Today’s verse, however, assures us that one day, they will be judged for these evil motives. They will receive exactly what they deserve for ignoring the truth and going their own way.

APPLICATION

This is exactly why we parents spend so much time teaching our children to choose the truth. We do not want them to go down that road of wickedness. Now, I am not against pleasure. Pleasure is not a bad thing. I take pleasure in serving others. I get pleasure is seeing God’s principles followed by a husband and a father.

Truth is the key. Teach our children to follow the truth of the Gospel. They have to understand that there is no other truth. Any other “truth” is really deceit which will lead them further away from the real truth. Confused yet? I hope not. Take the Word of God each day and share it with your children, always referring to it as the truth. 

Let me ask you a question. What are you pursuing today? Truth or wickedness? If you are pursuing anything other than truth, you will never experience true pleasure. It is only available in its purest form through the truth of God’s Word.  Let it make your life pleasurable as only the Lord can do.

Lord, I want to walk in truth so I can experience pleasure. The pleasure I desire is to please You, not myself. That’s my goal today.

Standard
Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Christianity, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, God's Will, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture, Surrender, Thessalonians, Witnessing

IF YOU WANT TO BELIEVE THAT

2 THESSALONIANS 2:11

“For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,” 

This verse really bothered me at first reading. If you take it out of context, it sounds like God WANTED them to be fooled into believing a lie. Nothing could be further from the truth. We know it is God’s Will that all would be saved. So, how could He also want them to be deceived. Remember, Scripture does not contradict Scripture.

What is happening here is free choice. “For this reason” means since they refused the love of the truth (salvation), God will allow this “deluding influence” to come, which they welcome. God will not force us to believe. We have to decide on our own that He is God and that His Son Jesus died for us. If we want to believe falsehood, He will let us. He has to let us choose.

APPLICATION

This is a hard application to make in our families, especially with our children. We cannot make them believe in God. We cannot make them love Jesus. We have to provide the environment for that to happen, but we can’t force feed faith. Every person who is born, including our own children, has to come to a personal point of faith.

So, how do you influence your child toward faith? By modeling it daily to them. There is no better way to lead your children to Jesus than by being Jesus to them. When they see you trusting and loving, they are drawn to that. When they see you studying and hungry for His Word, they will want that. You can’t force it, but you sure can impact it.

Is there someone in your life to whom you need to spend more time influencing for Christ? Be Jesus to them. Let your attitude and words exemplify the Holy One. Let them see you and see Him. Point them to Jesus every time you are with them.

I want to be the kind of person, Lord, who influences others for Jesus. I want to see my family and friends ALL come to Christ. Place me in the right place at the right time to see Your Will done.

Standard
Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Death, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Evangelism, Family, Fatherhood, Forgiveness, God's Will, Heaven, Inspirational, Love, Ministry, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Praise, Resurrection, Surrender, Witnessing

THE PURPOSE OF EASTER

2 THESSALONIANS 2:10

“and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.” 

Resurrection Sunday! Easter! Shouldn’t we celebrate the resurrection of Christ every day? I think so. His death atoned for all our sins, but His resurrection gave us victory over the grave and death. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Today’s verse fits nicely with the Easter message. Satan is constantly trying to deceive mankind. His wicked ways will lead us straight down the road to destruction. We will perish without receiving the love of God, the love of truth. We must receive it to be saved. That word “receive” is written in the middle voice, which means it is our decision to receive. No one can make us.

APPLICATION

Okay – here are some clear commands to follow to lead your children to Christ. 1) Satan will try to deceive them. 2) His ways are wicked. 3) His ways lead to destruction. 4) They must receive Jesus on their own. 5) God will save them if they do.

It’s really that simple. Any child can understand the simple truth of the Gospel. Don’t complicate it. Teach them to share this with their friend. You don’t have to have 100 verses memorized to be saved (not that memorization isn’t important). Your little Susie must come to the realization that her sins are wickedness and are only pleasing Satan. Then she must confess them, receive the love of the truth (Jesus) and God will save her.

Who can you share that with today? You see, you have people all around you who are dying spiritually right now. They will certainly perish without receiving the Lord. You are essentially watching them rot and decay before your eyes in their wickedness. Stop the decay! Share today’s truth with them and lead them to receive a resurrected life in Christ. Amen?

Lord, today give me someone I can share truth with. Let me be the one to introduce them to a way of escape. I will give You all the glory!

Standard
Advice, Busyness, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Family, Fatherhood, Glory, God's Will, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Parenting, Surrender

BUSY BEE

2 THESSALONIANS 2:9

“that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,” 

Busy! Busy! Busy! Have you ever been so busy you lose track of time? That happens to me sometimes. I run from meeting to meeting and before I know it, it’s bedtime. Being busy isn’t a bad thing unless you are busy doing things that don’t really have an eternal purpose. That’s the point of today’s devotional.

The word “activity” in today’s verse is used eight times in the New Testament, all by Paul. But the interesting thing about today’s verse is that this is the ONLY time it is used when it doesn’t refer to God’s energy or activity. Here it’s talking about Satan’s activity. You have to remember, though, that Satan can only do what God allows him. So, this lawless man Paul is referring to in this chapter is on the same leash with Satan.

APPLICATION

Are your kids busy? Does your little Johnny wake up fully charged for the day and not stop until he drops? My fourteen-month-old granddaughter is that way. She will play and run until she literally passes out. Busy, busy, busy!  One of our goals as parents (or grandparents) is to teach our children to be busy about God’s things. There is so much stuff in the world that can distract us. Before we know it, we don’t have time for God.

Give your children some activities to do that will cause them to think about God. Hey, even chores can be done for His glory. Make sure that their daily schedules include some time to learn about and live out the Word. Don’t let the activity of Satan get a grip in your home through busyness.

Look at your calendar today and see how busy you are. Do you have 25 minutes to spend alone with the Lord? Find the time. You need it. You need to spend alone time with the Creator of the universe. Slow down. Get rid of some distractions. Take a deep breath.

Lord, I like staying busy. But help me point all my activities towards You. Don’t let me get sidetracked by the enemy and get engaged in his activities unknowingly.

Standard
Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christ's Return, Comfort, Commands, Completeness, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Eternity, Family, Fatherhood, Glory, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Inspirational, Love, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Obedience, Prayer, Resurrection, Sanctification, Suffering, Surrender

BAD BREATH

2 THESSALONIANS 2:8

“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;” 

Excuse my thought process, lol. But I just could not resist when I read this verse. I am NOT insinuating that the Lord will have bad breath. But, unlike His first appearance on earth, He will be one “bad” dude when He returns. He won’t come as baby. He will come as Ruler and Judge. And this lawless one will pay the price simply by the breath of His mouth.

Now, that word “breath” is the Greek word pneuma, which can also be translated as spirit. In fact, it is the same word used in the title of “Holy Spirit.” I don’t think that is a coincidence, do you? The very breath of God, the very Spirit of God will slay the lawless one. No weapon is needed.

APPLICATION

Here is the great part of that verse. That same “breath” of the Lord is living in us as believers. We have that power coursing through us every day, if we just tap into it. Now, we aren’t going to slay someone with our breath (unless we have been eating a lot of garlic). But the Lord stands ready to defeat any enemy we face. All we have to do is mention His name, and the enemy flees.

We need to teach our children the importance on relying on the Lord to fight their battles. Surrender to Him first, allow Him to work in their lives, and He will stand ready to defend us. He will protect His children, just you do all you can to protect them as their earthly parent. The difference is you can’t be with them all the time. He can and will.

Are you in need of the “breath” of God today? Are you facing unknown forces that are trying to tear you down and destroy you? Allow Him to reign in and through you. Then step back and watch Him work. He is ready. Are you?

Your breath is sweet to me but harsh to the unbeliever. Help me share your breath with others. I want them to also experience its sweetness. 

Standard
Advice, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Christianity, Comfort, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Inspirational, Mentoring, Obedience, Parenting, Surrender

I KNOW IT’S THERE

2 THESSALONIANS 2:7

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” 

I have mentioned before that I like to hunt. A lot of the time I get into the woods well before the sun rises to position myself for the day. There have been many of those mornings I had the distinct feeling that something was watching me. Sometimes you just know something is out there, but you can’t see it. Maybe it was a deer watching me. Perhaps it was a coyote. Whatever it was, it can make you feel kind of weird.

Paul was warning the Thessalonians that, although the man of lawlessness had not been revealed, the works he was going to try to do were already happening. He was laying the groundwork. That is still true today. The enemy has been preparing his battle plan for centuries. He is waiting for the right moment to spring into action. He just doesn’t realize that his best made plans fall short of victory.

APPLICATION

One of the greatest truths we can teach our children is the reliability of evil. Now, that may sound strange, but hear me out. The world will do all it can to disguise evil. It will attempt to shield the presence of evil until it is too late. We need to make sure our children understand that the devil is real and that he only has one motive – to tear us down. 

I am NOT one to see a demon behind every post, but I do believe we are in a spiritual war that is real and potentially destructive. That is the very reason we must equip our children with the Word. We must take them to Ephesians 6 every day to show them how to clothe themselves with God’s armor. I don’t mean to do a devotion every day on that passage. But I do mean to remind them to rely on God daily for protection and defense.

Are you prepared for the battle today? Are you clothed in righteousness? The enemy is watching for your weak spots. Don’t give him any. Show him that you are under the protection of a holy God who loves you. That is the battle plan. Let God fight for you.

I am prepared, Lord. Lead me into battle today. I will face the enemy head on knowing You are there.

Standard