Category Archives: Grandchildren

Bible, Children, Circumcision, Grace, Grandchildren, Justification, Justified, Scripture, Works

NOT BY WORKS

ROMANS 4:10

“How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;”

I love my children and grandchildren – period. Nothing they have done has caused that love. They are loved because they are my family. There is nothing they can ever do that will change that love. Once they were birthed into my family they were forever loved. Can you relate? I cannot imagine my life without them. Even if disagreements occur, even if separation occurs, I will never stop loving them.

Paul states it clearly in today’s verse that nothing Abraham did resulted in his justification. He states the facts of the case from Genesis. This is presented so succinctly in the following: “…hence it clearly appears that circumcision could not be the cause of his justification, since it followed it; and if Abraham when uncircumcised was a justified person, as it is certain he was, why may not uncircumcised Gentiles be justified also? and especially when it is observed, that the covenant made with Abraham when uncircumcised, included the Gentiles;” (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible)

APPLICATION

God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 to multiply his seed and give him a land. Fourteen years later God cut covenant with him through circumcision. Fourteen years! If God had required circumcision in order to be justified, He would have told Abraham to do it immediately upon the promise He made. Why did God do it the way He did it? Why wait fourteen years and then required circumcision? I think (and this is just my opinion) that God wanted to separate justification by faith from any works. He still does today.

Think about it. When you come to faith, you don’t have to do a bunch of stuff to get saved. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name,…” Receive and believe – that’s it. Now, once you are saved, God expects obedience. He does expect us to follow through on baptism as a sign of our salvation. He does expect us to give generously to invest in His kingdom’s work. He does expect us to serve Him by serving others.

But all those things I just mentioned are post-salvation, not pre-salvation. Just like Abraham was saved (justified) before circumcision, we are saved before any acts or works of faith. I pray you are not trying to achieve your salvation. You will never be able to do that. Receive and believe. Then God will give you Holy Spirit Who will guide you into righteous living. Amen!

Lord God, I am so thankful that I did not have to do something to be called Your child. I came in simple faith, believing in Your Son, Jesus Christ.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Children, Disobedience, Grandchildren, Obedience, Parenting, Scripture

OBEDIENT CHILDREN

EPHESIANS 6:1

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

What parent doesn’t want obedient children?! Can I get an Amen? Lol. Of course, we want children to obey us, but why? Well, there are just supposed to, Carl. Children should be seen but not heard. Yeah, right! Do you really believe that? I didn’t think so. Children are gift from the Lord. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. Isn’t it great that the Lord gives us so much instruction about them and for them?

After spending the last several verses discussing husbands and wives, he turns to the children. Now, as far as we know, Paul didn’t have any children. But remember, he is simply passing along the Lord’s words through the Holy Spirit. He says in today’s verse that children should obey their parents because it is right. We’ll look back at the Law in a bit and look at that command God gave Moses. This letter would have probably been read aloud in the Ephesian church, so the children who were present would have sat up and listened when they heard they were being addressed specifically.

APPLICATION

We all know the ten commandments, don’t we? The fifth commandment is the one addressed to children. Exodus 20:12 says, “‘Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the LORD your God gives you.’” It is the only commandment with a promise. I think that is pretty cool, don’t you? God specifically talks to the children here in Exodus.

I can remember going away on business trips when my kids were little. I bet you can guess what I told them, can’t you? I would say, “Now, you mind your mother and no fighting.” They were usually pretty good, but occasionally I would come home to a very frustrated wife due to their behavior. Our children weren’t always perfect little angels.

Chances are there are not any children reading my blog right now. So, you parents and grandparents need to share this with the kids. Remind them that God expects obedience. A child that won’t obey their parents won’t obey God either. That is our goal as parents – to raise children who love and obey God. Why? So they will raise obedient children (our grandchildren). That’s our payoff, lol.

Father I need to be Your obedient child every day as well.

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Accountability, Bible, Calling, Commands, Disciplemaking, Encouragement, Gospel, Grandchildren, Inheritance, Mentoring, Relationships, Scripture

FOUR GENERATIONS

JOEL 1:3

“Tell your sons about it, and have your sons tell their sons, and their sons the next generation.”

I am involved with a men’s ministry called Every Man A Warrior. In fact, I am going to be making a change in my ministry to serve with them full-time in a few months. One verse we talk about a lot is 2 Timothy 2:2 which says, “These things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who be qualified to teach others.”

Joel is saying the same thing in verse 3 above. Fathers tell sons who tell their sons who tell their sons. Four generations. But Joel is telling these dads to pass on the warning he is about to give. Judgment was falling on Judah, and it was going to last a while, for generations. They needed to know what was coming.

APPLICATION

The application is pretty straightforward. We need to be passing down our faith to our future generations. Replication of our faith is key. It’s been said that Christianity is one generation away from vanishing. We have to invest in our children. Some of us have the privilege to invest in our grandchildren, as well.

If you have children, are you discipling them in the ways of our Lord? Men, have you spent some time with another man or group of men discipling them into disciplemakers? Don’t tell me you don’t have time. We all have the same number of hours in a day. It’s really just a matter of priorities.

I love investing in men’s lives. I love seeing them “get it.” As men become disciplemakers, they can begin to find other guys to invest in. Replication has started. Generations of faith are being built. That is what it is all about. This excites me. I pray it excites you.

Give me others to invest in. Help me continue the story.

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Advice, Affection, Bible, Compassion, Condemnation, Destruction, Evil, Godliness, Grandchildren, Horror, Idols, Scripture

THE CHILDREN SUFFER

HOSEA 13:16

“Samaria will pay the penalty for her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword, their children will be slaughtered, and their pregnant women will be ripped open.”

As a parent and grandparent, my utmost desire has always been to protect my children or grandchildren. It would bring me horror to think I ever did anything to bring harm to them. As a minister to children for over forty years, the same holds true for any children under my care. Let me suffer, but never the children.

Hosea ends this chapter with some pretty, horrible descriptions of the coming judgment against Israel. Samaria was the capital city of Israel. It had been the center of the idolatry and rebellion against God, so God’s wrath upon that city would be harsh. Hosea is predicting what the Assyrians were going to do when they came. It’s one thing to slaughter men in war, but to kill innocent children, even the unborn, was unthinkable.

APPLICATION

You are probably thinking Carl, I would never do that or tolerate that! That’s good. I didn’t think you would. But are you protecting your children’s spirits? Are you guarding them from being influenced by evil? In our world today, we have to be so diligent to monitor and protect our children from this world. They can’t live in a bubble, but we can sure keep them safe in our homes.

Are you aware of what is on your child’s phone? Are you comfortable with the video games they are playing? How about their friends? Do you know them? Do you know their parents? We can’t just take our kids to church and think that gives them some kind of holy shield the rest of the week. That’s not how it works. You must guard their minds.

As an adult, I have to guard my mind. It is so easy to get off track when I am online. One little side post or ad can divert my eyes and before I know it, I can be chasing rabbits into a hole I can’t get out of. Scripture keeps my mind focused on Him and puts that shield over my eyes. Let Jesus keep your mind pure (1 Timothy 6:11).

Lord, help me protect the innocent as well as keep my own mind pure.

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Belief, Bible, Child Raising, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, God's Will, Gospel, Grandchildren, Mentoring, Parenting, Praise, Redemption, Salvation, Scripture, Witnessing

LOST CHILDREN

HOSEA 9:12

“Though they bring up their children, yet I will bereave them of their children until not a person is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!”

My wife and I have a little girl in heaven. Cathleen Marie only lived six hours. She was born and died on September 11, 1987. There’s not much more sorrowful than to lose a child. The pain can seem intolerable. You feel deserted. You feel hollow. Praise God, we knew Him then to get us through that dark valley.

The people of Israel were going to experience that pain. Their children would be taken away from them. Some of them would be killed by their invaders. Others would be carried off into exile as slaves, separated from their parents. All of this because of the nation’s disobedience and betrayal to their Lord.

APPLICATION

No one wants to lose a child, physically or spiritually. Our main job as parents is to lead our child to Christ and then disciple them to walk with Him. All our efforts in child raising should point to that. Do you agree? Anything else is really superfluous. You are not always going to be around, so they need to know how to live in this world.

Perhaps your children are grown. Do You have grandchildren? How about kids in your church or neighborhood? Whatever your situation, you have an opportunity to invest in the lives of children. While they are young we have the chance to teach them the Word of God and how to apply that to their lives.

I don’t want to see a child lost to this world. I will do all I can to point them to Jesus. Nothing gives me more joy than to see a little one give their heart and lives to Him. How about you? Will you join me in reaching out to the children in your circle of influence? Talk to their parents. Talk to the children. Share Jesus with them today.Father, I love to tell the story to everyone, but especially children. Lord, allow me to see Your children come to You.

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Affection, Bible, Child Raising, Child Rearing, Encouragement, Grandchildren, Hugs, Inspirational, Kindness, Love, Modeling, Parenting, Relationships, Scripture

HOW GREAT A LOVE

1 JOHN 3:1


“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

How much do you love your children or grandchildren? Can you put it in words? I have two children and four grandchildren, and I can’t find the words to adequately describe my love for them. I have often joked that if I had known how great grandchildren were, I would have had them first. Lol

John can’t find the words to express God’s love for us. In fact, the Greek word for “how great” is used in Matthew 8:27 when Jesus stilled the wind and waves when He was in the boat with His disciples. Remember that story? The disciples were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this…?” “What kind” is the same word used here. They couldn’t figure Him out. Neither can we concerning His love for us.

APPLICATION

Now, here’s a hard one. The next time you are with your children or grandchildren, take them up in your arms and hug them tightly and say, “I can’t tell you how much I love you.” I know – that’s too hard, right?  Lol. I am sure you can muster through it.

And then read them this verse. Explain to them that as much as you love them (so much you can’t put it into words), God loves them so much more. He calls us His children. That should mean something. He invites us into His family, His kingdom, His heaven. Wow! That’s a lot of love.

If God loves us that much, how should we respond? Simple – we should love Him back. We should behave like His children. We should be telling everyone about His love. We should be sharing His love. And when someone shuns us, love them anyway. It won’t be easy, be love them. That will please your Heavenly Father.

I love You, Father, because You first loved me. I can never love You enough to repay You for all You have done in me. Help me be a more loving person to others.

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