Category Archives: Family

Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Fatherhood, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Parenting

IMITATE SUFFERING?


1 THESSALONIANS 2:14 

“For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews,”  

I actually had to read this verse a few times to understand what Paul was saying about the Thessalonian church. This church imitated the actions of the Judean churches, even though they knew it would bring them suffering. That doesn’t sound very smart to me, lol. But they were following the Lord Jesus, wherever that led.

So, you have to ask the question, “What exactly did they imitate?” I am pretty sure it wasn’t giving church socials and serving kool-aid and cookies. They were witnessing about Jesus. They were testifying to their neighbors about the saving power of the gospel. They were talking about freedom from idols. All of these would have gotten them into trouble with the Jews, Romans or Greeks of their city. But they imitated anyway.

APPLICATION

We teach our children to not imitate people who might get them into trouble. In fact, we tell them to keep their distance. But in this case, they actually do need to imitate people who stand for the truth, even if it means they could face trouble. We don’t want our children to suffer. No sane parent would. But we do want them to serve Jesus, and that can include suffering.

Make sure your children know that you will always support them should they be faced with this kind of decision. Let them know if they are following the Lord Jesus and get into trouble for standing up for the truth, you have their back. That doesn’t give them permission to be arrogant or obstinate. But is does mean you will stand with them when they stand for what is right.

Will you? Will you risk suffering to defend the gospel? Will you imitate the Judean churches? In our day standing up for the truth will bring ridicule and harassment from those who oppose our Lord. Satan does not want the truth of the gospel to permeate our society. He will use whatever means he can to discourage us. Don’t let him.

I want to be bold for You, Lord. I want to stand up for You, no matter what. Let me be known as a truth defender. 

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Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Fatherhood, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Motherhood, Parenting

GOD’S ENERGY


1 THESSALONIANS 2:13 

“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted itnot asthe word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.”

If you have EVER watched television, then I know you have seen the Energizer Bunny commercial at least once. Right? That bunny keeps going and going and going, not on his own strength, but through the power of the Energizer batteries. His source of strength is not his own.

We could learn a thing or two from that bunny. Our source of strength, as believers, is not our own. We are strengthened, we are energized by the power of God. In fact, this verse says that. The word “work” in the last phrase is the word from which we get our word “energy.” God gives us energy through our receiving of His Word. Now that is powerful.

APPLICATION

Why do you feed your children? “Now, that’s a silly question, Carl.” Think about it. Their little bodies would not last very long without proper nutrition to energize it. They need protein and carbohydrates and vitamins. All those things come from outside their body. Then their little bodies transform those sources of energy to fuel so they can run and jump and think.

The next time you sit down to eat, explain that to them. That’s why you insist they eat healthy. And explain that’s why the Lord wants us to “eat” His Word. It gives us spiritual energy. When we read and “digest” His Word, the Holy Spirit in us transforms it into spiritual fuel for our soul. How cool is that? As believers, we have our own energy refinery in us. But we have to take the fuel in (His Word) daily. Our souls crave it.

Are you feeding your soul with God’s Word? Are you allowing the Lord to energize you? Don’t starve your soul. Don’t suffer from  spiritual malnutrition. You will only grow spiritually as you ingest God’s source of energy to you – His Word.

Feed me, Lord. Let Your Word satisfy me. I hunger and thirst for what only You can provide.

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Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Fatherhood, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

WALK IN STEP


1 THESSALONIANS 2:12 

“so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.”

Have you ever had to march in a line? How about keeping step with someone else? That’s exactly what Paul is talking about here. Walking worthily means that. We have to live in such a way that our lifestyle matches the value God puts on it. And if you don’t know, God has placed a high value on our lives. It cost His Son’s life.

I have used a tool to help groups learn to walk together. It’s a pair of 12 foot 4X4 posts with 8 holes drilled in each. Through each hole is a 4 foot piece of rope. Each person in the group of 8 stands on the posts with one foot on each post and holding two ropes. The group must then attempt to walk those posts, like a couple of snow skis, to a goal. It may sound easy, but it’s not.

APPLICATION

Walking together is hard. Walking as one is harder. The next time you take a walk with your child, make sure you are both taking your steps together. That will mean you have to shorten your strides to match their shorter legs. It may mean they need to slow down their pace to match yours. But if you concentrate you can do it.

The Lord wants us to walk in tandem with other believers and Him. He wants us to take the lead sometimes and other times to follow. But, however we walk, we should not walk alone. We need each other to complete the course, to finish well. Walk with others in a worthy manner.

How is your walk? I don’t know about you, but I need others to walk with me. I need to lean on them sometimes. I need them to correct my steps sometimes. I just need them.

Father, You order my steps. Use me to help guide others in their steps. Let us walk together with You toward the place You would have us go.

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Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Fatherhood, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

A DAD’S JOB


1 THESSALONIANS 2:11 

“just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, “

What is the role of a father? Paul lists three duties right here. These three things apply to every dad who is raising their children to honor and follow the Lord. Unfortunately, a lot of dads today have no clue about fatherhood. They are winging it the best they can, and most of them are failing miserably. 

If they would all do these three things, children would be much better prepared for life. If every dad would come alongside (exhort), speak softly close by (encourage) and teach to witness (implore), they would be fulfilling God’s commands to fathers. And EVERY believing father can do this through the power of the Holy Spirit.

APPLICATION

Dads, take your children in your lap and talk to them quietly. Teach them God’s Word so they will have it in their hearts and minds. Make it a point to be home when your children are awake so you can spend time with them. Even in the midst of correction and discipline, watch the tone and volume of your speech.

But the most important thing you can do, dads, is to pray with your children. Praying with them accomplishes all three of these. By praying, you come alongside, speak softly and teach. Who would have thought one action could accomplish three? So, do that. Make time to pray.

How are you doing with this, men? Which of these three are you failing at? Go to the Lord and ask Him to help you. He wants you to be the best and godliest father, husband or grandfather possible. But you can’t without Him. 

Your commands, O Lord, are given for a reason. I know that. Help me today to yield to Your leading in these areas. I want my children to hear and see You.

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Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

THE RIGHT BEHAVIOR


1 THESSALONIANS 2:10 

“You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers;”

That is good behavior! Devoutly? Uprightly? Blamelessly? Who can live that way? No one, unless Jesus is living through them. The word “behaved” could really be translated as “were.” It’s the Greek word ginomaiwhich means becoming or being. To me, that refers to who you really are.

The better we know someone, the more REAL we can be with them. Isn’t that true? Paul is telling the Thessalonians, “You knew us. You can testify how we were with you. You saw how we lived and behaved.” Can you say that? Who can testify to your behavior as devout, righteous and blameless?

APPLICATION

How many times have you told your children to behave? I know I lost count when our children were little, lol.  If we spent less time correcting their behavior and more time teaching and modeling behavior, it would be so much better for them and us. But we tend to parent like we were parented. Except for the grace of God in our lives to point us in a new direction we will continue to do that.

I am not saying your parents were bad parents. No! What I am saying is God has a better way. When we live devoutly, righteously and blamelessly, our children have a Christ-like model to follow. They learn how to behave by watching us behave. Whoa! That’s scary, huh? 

The next time you are in traffic and that driver cuts you off, how are you going to behave? The next time the cashier shorts you or gives you too much change, how will you respond? The next time you go out to eat as a family and the service is not so good, how will you act? It’s our behavior in these life experiences that teach our children how to behave.

O God, I know I am far from devout, righteous or blameless in myself. I am thankful it is not up to me. I live my life only because of Your Son, Jesus.

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Career, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

DON’T BE A BURDEN


1 THESSALONIANS 2:9

“For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, howworking night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.”

I hate to be a burden on anyone. Back in 2010 I had to have a Stem Cell Transplant at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. My wife and I were there for about two months. The worse thing about that ordeal was being a burden to my wife and others. My illness and treatment affected a lot of people. I never want to cause undue hardship on anyone.

Paul felt the same. While he was in Thessalonica, he, Silvanus and Timothy worked to support themselves. We know from Acts 17 that they stayed with a man named Jason, but obviously they didn’t want to burden him or anyone in the church to meet their daily needs. They worked and ministered – the equivalent of today’s bivocational Pastor.

APPLICATION

Self-reliance is a good trait for our children to learn. I don’t mean they should never rely on others. We need each other in this life. But we need to teach our children to provide for themselves and, one day, their families. Work is good. Work is honorable. Work is expected. Do it with joy.

But don’t miss why Paul did that. He wanted to be free of obligation to anyone so he could be free to preach God’s Word. Providing for his own needs gave him the flexibility to stay as long as needed in that city. We need to teach our children to work and preach, to work and evangelize, to work and live for Jesus. Work by itself is meaningless. Work for a purpose.

Why do you work? “Well Carl, I have to eat.” Is that the only reason? If you do not have a passion for what you are doing, find another career. And on the other hand, if you live only to work, you need to reprioritize your life. Ask the Lord what He would have you do and why. I promise He will show you, if you will listen.

Thank you, Lord, for giving me the strength to work. Thank you for allowing me to use my career to further advance Your kingdom. I do not take for granted the privilege I have to work.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

DEEP DESIRE


1 THESSALONIANS 2:8 

“Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become very dear to us.”

I love Paul’s use of the phrase “Having so fond an affection for you.” That is literally one word in the original Greek, and it’s only used ONE time in the Bible. Right here! Whenever I see that in God’s Word, I ask myself why the Holy Spirit inspired that word just once. Just interesting to me.  

But anyway, this word means to “be affectionately desirous.” Now, what does that mean? Remember, Paul is writing to the church folks in Thessalonica, so this has no amorous intention. He is simply telling them that he loves them. He was willing to lay down his life to share the gospel to them. He wants them to know how precious they are to him for the cause of Christ.

APPLICATION

I know you love your children. I know you have strong affections for them. But do you love them as much as God does? Nope! Not possible. Our earthly love is no match for God’s love. We just think we love our children. No matter how much we love them, we still come up short on the love scale compared to God.

Let me ask you this. Do you have any spiritual children? Have you “birthed” anyone into the kingdom? If you have, then you have this same kind of affectionate desiring Paul had for the Thessalonians. You want them grow in Christ. You want them to produce fruit. You want them to… That’s God’s love, and only He can produce it.

Has God given you a burden for someone to reach for Christ? Go for it. Just think how you will feel when they surrender to Him. You will have this deep desire only possible through God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lover of my soul, I praise You for loving me so deeply. Give me the same depth of affection for those You allow me to touch. Let Your love flow through me.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

BABY LIKE


1 THESSALONIANS 2:7

“But we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mothertenderly cares for her own children.”

There is a word in these two verses that is translated differently here than any other place in the New Testament. “Gentle” is translated elsewhere as babes, infants or childish. What is Paul trying to say here and why did the translators use “gentle” here?  Paul is simply saying he came to the Thessalonians not in boldness and harshness, but like a baby or infant would present themselves, tender and gentle. Then he goes on to compare that word to how a mother cares for a child she is nursing. What a beautiful picture.

So how are you approaching people? My brother-in-law and Pastor understood this. He always approached others in this fashion. That’s why EVERYONE believed he was their best friend. They all felt accepted and loved by him. He was always so kind and giving of his time. Just like a nursing mother cannot rush the feeding of her child, Wayne would take the time, even when he didn’t have it, to talk with someone who asked. And he did give his whole life to the preaching of the Gospel.

APPLICATION

How in the world do we teach our children this principle? There is only one way, which we seem to see a lot. We have to model it for them. If we aren’t patient and gentle with them, they will not be with others. As they see us live out this principle, they will learn how to emulate it also. It will become part of their DNA too.  

My wife has had the joy and privilege the past several months to care for our granddaughter three to four days a week. She has modeled gentleness to her. When she gets frustrated or irritable, my wife gently corrects her. By doing that consistently, it has been amazing to watch our granddaughter calm down. Gentleness is more caught than taught.

The next time you start to get aggravated with someone, stop and apply this principle. You are doing it, not only because the Lord tells you to, but also because the next generation is watching. They will take mental notes. And the next time they encounter someone who needs to be treated gently they will have the image of you doing the same. Now that’s leaving a legacy!

I am not the most, gentle person, Lord.  Teach me gentleness.  Teach me kindness.  Let my children and others see that in me.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

GLORY SEEKERS


1 THESSALONIANS 2:6 

“nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ we might have asserted our authority.”

Some people just have to be in the limelight. They desire glory. They want to be worshipped and adored. When they aren’t, they feel useless. That was NOT the case with Paul. Here he tells the Thessalonians that, even though they deserved to be revered as apostles, he did not expect or demand that. Humility – that was his desire.

You may have that tendency to seek attention. Maybe you crave it. Our goal as Christians should be to deflect all the glory towards Jesus. I know that there is nothing good in me except Him. Anything I do worthy of praise is the direct result of Him working in and through me. 

APPLICATION

We, as parents, love to praise our children. There is nothing wrong with that. But we should never put them on a pedestal of praise. Our children cannot ever think they deserve praise. Now hear me out. When they begin to think they are worthy of praise or are better than others because we praise them so much, then we have created a little monster.

Children need to learn how to lose. Our society today gives trophies to everyone for just showing up. Undeserved praise only leads to wrong expectations and lofty self-images. Let your children experience failing because sometimes that is the best lesson of all.

Are you guilty of seeking praise? Do you want to be bowed down to? That attitude is not of God. That is a fleshly attitude born of our own sin nature. That is what got Satan kicked out of heaven. He wanted to be God. Don’t fall for the same old trap.

Lord, I bow to You today. Remind me when others praise me that You are the only one worthy of that praise. Help me point to You when any praise comes my way.

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Child Raising, Child Rearing, Family, Inspirational, Mentoring, Ministry, Modeling, Parenting

BUTTERING THEM UP


1 THESSALONIANS 2:5

“For we never came with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed-God is witness-“

Have you ever known someone who was a master of manipulation? You could swear butter was flowing from their mouth. They were full of compliments and praises, but they were all being said with a personal motive. These people will use people to get what they want. 

Paul is saying, “That is NOT who we were. We never tried to butter you up to get more of anything.” Paul’s motives were pure. He only wanted to see the Thessalonians live for Christ. He only wanted to see them find the freedom he had in the Lord Jesus. He was only thinking of them.

APPLICATION

Our children have to be taught this. Why? Because we are naturally selfish, self-centered people. We are users, by default. We will use anyone to get ahead. That word “greed” in today’s verse means “to have more, get one more.” Someone asked Jay Rockefeller, one of the wealthiest men in America at the time, how much money was enough. He said, “One more dollar.”

So, teach your children to think in another way. Teach them to think like Paul. Think of others. Our motivation should be to bankrupt ourselves for the sake of others. We should be willing to give it all for Jesus. That means you have to show them how that looks by your behavior and lifestyle. Ouch! Yep, once again, they learn best by watching you.

Have you manipulated someone to get what you want? Have you purposely used someone to get ahead? Repent! Ask for forgiveness from God and the individual. Do all you can to make it right with them. If you are prone to do that, ask the Lord to show you His way. Ask Him to give you His heart for others.

Father, forgive me when I revert back to my old selfish nature. Show me how to sacrifice for the sake of those around me who need to hear the good news. Let me always think of others before myself.

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