Psalms 15:1-2 “1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? 2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.”

THE GOOD OUTDOORS

This may sound like a silly title, but that is the first thing that popped in my head (and that can be dangerous, lol). The words “tent” and “hill” led my mind to being outdoors and enjoying the woods and nature.

Of course, that is not what the Psalmist is talking about here. They were used to people dwelling in tents. They would move from location to location depending on the season of the year and the availability of grass and water for their flocks. The Psalmist wants to only go where the Lord is, where the Lord’s provisions are.

Integrity, righteousness and truth are the three camping items he mentions. So, let me ask you a question. Is your camping gear packed with these three? Are you walking with integrity, working righteousness and speaking truth? Little ones are watching!

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children learn best by doing. It’s a proven fact. Telling them something is only retained a little. Watching someone do something gets a little better retention rate. But doing something really helps nail down the skill. Can you help them walk with integrity? Can you help them work righteousness? Can you help them speak truth? Yes, you can, but you have to be willing to do it yourself.

Have you ever heard a parent say, “Do as I say, not as I do”? This is NOT how we teach our children to camp with Jesus. We have to go camping with them. We have to pitch our tent where He dwells. In fact, we have to move right in the tent with Him.

Tell, show and do! That is the key to successful training of our children. They are watching and learning, whether we teach good skills or bad.

I Corinthians 3:10 “According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.”

CARPENTRY SKILLS

My dad was a great carpenter. He could build just about anything. In fact, once he looked at a picture of a piece of furniture and then built it, without using one nail. He used wooden pegs, which he made, to put it all together. Amazing! I am doing good to drive a nail straight!

But my dad didn’t lay his firm foundation until late in life when he gave his heart and soul to Jesus. That was something he couldn’t build. Jesus had already laid the foundation stone. My dad realized he needed Jesus to be secure for his eternal home. He’s enjoying that now.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we teach our children to be a wise master builder? We have to give them the tools they need. They need to know the Word. They need to have godly mentors in their life to guide them. They need opportunities to sharpen their building skills. They need to see the “building” going up.

Have you given them any opportunities to build? Have you allowed them to “drive the nails” in their faith. Don’t let your faith be their faith. They need their own faith, which they get from our Father directly. Our job is to give them the tools, to do some spadework in preparing the ground. But they must build their own faith.

At our Children’s Camp recently several adults leaders had the opportunity to help some children build on their faith. But as much “construction” was done, the parents have to be the ones to really help the children build. It’s not easy work. Construction requires some sweat. You can even bloody a thumb. But we build, as the verse says, to allow others to build on it. Is your foundation prepared and ready for building?

Psalms 8:1 “O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!”

THE SPLENDOR OF THE KING

As I write this thought today I am sitting at a table in the dining hall at a church kids camp. It’s quiet right now since all the kids are still sleeping. (Do you know how nice that is? Lol). But all around me are hills, trees, and birds starting to sing. There’s a mist rising from the valleys. All I can think of is how majestic this world is in its beauty. God did real good!

But as majestic as the scene is, it pales in comparison to the majesty of our God. We cannot even begin to describe it. No man has ever observed His true majesty. We can only conjecture at how it must look. Aren’t you excited to be able to do that one day?

TEACHING MOMENT

Our children are often overwhelmed at new sights and sounds. Here at camp many of the children are experiencing camp for the first time. Watching them transform from nervous, shaky campers on the first day to carefree, totally involved campers by the end of the week is awesome. They can learn so much so quick.

Teaching our children about the majesty of God is best done by pointing out all those things around us that our Father has made. The complexities of nature and our bodies are great ways to talk about His majesty and His greatness. Only a majestic God and a great God could have made all we see.

Our children need to know that a majestic God is also magnificent, full of splendor, dignified, illustrious, and full of grandeur.   Those are just a few of the words to describe Him. Why not take the time to explain each of those words and how they relate to our Heavenly Father. There is no way to fully explain Him, but it’s a start. As the song says, “Majesty, Worship His majesty.”

I Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

WHY DO WE DO THOSE THINGS?

I have been accused of doing some foolish things in my life. And to be honest, I have done most of them. Some of them might have even been considered just plain stupid. Isn’t it amazing the things we can get talked into?

But the wisest decision I ever made is one the world considers to be foolish. I remember when I came to Christ at 16 years of age. It was July 31, 1977, the summer before my senior year of high school. A lot of my friends thought my changes in behavior (which I won’t go into) were foolish. Why would I stop doing all that “fun stuff” I had been doing the past several years?

TEACHING MOMENT

Do you want to be known as a wise parent? Then teaching your kids “the word of the cross” is the wisest thing you can do. Raising them according to God’s principles may be considered foolish by some of your friends. So the question begs to be answered. What is this “word of the cross”?

It is simply Christ crucified for the sins of the world. What! That’s it! Yep! To the world that wants to make it difficult, that is just too foolish. How can one man die for all? Because He wasn’t just one man. He was the God-Man. Our faith teaches us that our God died for us. That just doesn’t make sense to a “wise” world. But to us who have believed it is the “power of God.”

Take time every day to point your kids to the cross, first for salvation and secondly for surrender. Every day! 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, for as long as you have them. That may seem foolish to the world, but not to God. After all, that is all the really matters.

Psalms 1:1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

DARK PATHS

We have all heard the warning “Watch where you step!” That is so true. I love to deer hunt. Many times when I am walking into the woods early in the morning or coming out at the end of the day, it is very dark. Even with a good flashlight I have to be extra careful where I step. Logs, vines and holes are just waiting to trip me up.

The Psalmist not only warns us where we walk, but he also warns us where we stand and sit. The wicked, sinners and the scoffers are waiting to trip us up. They want to see us fall flat on our face. They can even set traps for us if we aren’t careful. But we have the biggest Light, His light. It can reveal any hidden traps set by them.

TEACHING MOMENT

Teaching our children to avoid traps sounds easy, but it is not. The devil is so good at disguising them. The only sure way they can detect them is by being grounded in God’s Word. It will teach the safe path. It will teach them how to recognize the lures of the world that will get them off the safe path. God’s Word is reliable and will always point the way home.

When our children are young we are in control of the friends they walk, stand or sit with. But as they get older they may have friends they don’t tell you about – until it is too late. Stay involved in the friend choosing. Keep directing them to the Word. Make sure you know their walking, standing and sitting places.

I am so glad I keep a good flashlight handy as I hunt in the woods. There is nothing worse than getting in the woods and losing the light. It can be scary and dangerous. Make sure your kids are equipped with the Light of Lights that can outshine any darkness.

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

SPEWING HOPE

This is probably one of my favorite verses in the Bible. I know, I’ve said that before, but this time I mean it. Lol This verse is so full of truths that it is hard to pull just one thought out of it. But I will try to do that.

Have you ever wanted to give someone else hope? They have come to you with an impossible situation or problem, and they just want to see some light at the end of the tunnel. What do you do? Do you pray with them? Do you give them the name of a good, Christian counselor? Both of those are good ideas. But for you to give them hope you must hope to begin with.

Look at the last part of the verse, “so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” That word “abound” literally means to overflow, to spew over. Do you have that much hope? If you allow the God of Hope to fill you with all joy and peace by the power of the Holy Spirit, you will.

TEACHING MOMENT

How do we teach our children hope? There is only one way. We have to be hopeful! We have to show them that we know the source of all hope. When we are facing hard times in the family (sickness, employment, money, etc.) we have to give our children hope. This is one thing that is caught and not taught.

By teaching our kids this truth in our lives, they are prepared to reach out to the Hope Giver when they face their own uncertain times. They will face them. That is for certain. Don’t you want them to have hope? Then be hopeful!

Job 38:3 “’Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!’”

CAUGHT

Have you ever been caught red handed? There is no getting out of it. There is nothing you can say. You know you have no explanation, so you just wait for the hammer to fall.

I bet Job and his friends felt that way when God began to speak. I love this verse. God is challenging Job, if he is so smart and has all the answers, to educate Him. I am assuming, since God spoke to the friends later, that they could also hear this conversation between God and Job. I don’t know for sure, but I believe they were listening in. If so, they, like Job, were probably sitting there like little schoolboys with their heads down.

I remember so well getting caught by my Mom or Dad. Now, I was close to perfect as a child (lol), but when I did get caught, I knew my parents were going to take me to the woodshed. They believed in discipline, and I am glad they did. I don’t remember a lot of conversation either. Isn’t it funny how we forget those things they said to us – until we have children of our own and then our parents’ words come flying out of our mouths?

TEACHING MOMENT

As a parent, you need to let God’s words come flying out of your mouth. Your children need to know that their actions always have a reaction. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is “not so good.” But each and every time we intervene in their behaviors we need to let the Father above direct our reactions and the words we use.

You know the rest of the story of Job, right? What does God do in the end? He restores Job. Why? Because Job finally does confess his own self-righteousness. And his friends? Well, they learned a lesson too about judging others.

Let God teach you today so you can teach your children.

Romans 14:13 “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.”

JUDGING OTHERS

Many years ago there was a comedian named Flip Wilson. He did this character skit called “Here Comes The Judge” on a TV show. I know I am dating myself by referring to this, but this skit was funny at the time. He would dance on the scene chanting, “Here comes the Judge! Here comes the Judge!” Then he would begin to make some obscure, off the wall ruling on something that was just plain silly.

That may sound completely ridiculous, but we do the same. We judge others according to our standards, when the only person who is able to truly judge anyone is God. He is the only Judge that matters. Only His rulings will stand. He will decide what is right, because He is the only righteous One.

TEACHING MOMENT

As your children get older I promise you they will have more opportunities to judge others and be judged by others. How do you as Mom and Dad teach them the difficult trait of being non-judgmental? How do we show them that judging is God’s job?

If we can teach them to look at others through the eyes of God, they will get it. Before we make any judgment of anyone, we need to ask ourselves how God sees that individual. When your child starts to make a judgment about someone, stop them and ask them that question. Ask them how they think God sees that person. Then ask them how they think God sees them. That last one is the sobering one. Are their actions worthy of their heavenly Father? Are their thoughts about others pleasing to Him?

I don’t know about you, but I still have room to grow in this one. So, don’t be too “judgmental” of your children. I bet you have room to grow too.

Job 36:5 “’Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any; He is mighty in strength of understanding.’”

GOD’S LOVE

At this point in the book of Job, Elihu, the young man who had been watching and listening to the 3 friends of Job, begins his discourse berating them all for not being able to put Job in his place. Whether Elihu’s response was correct or not, he does speak some truth in the midst of his ramblings. This verse today is one of those. Look at it.

He is basically saying that no matter how big and mighty God is, He does not overlook anyone. Aren’t you grateful God doesn’t just look on the wealthy or the strong or the beautiful (I especially like that one) or the intelligent? He cares for each and every one. He cares for the lowest of low and the smallest of small.

TEACHING MOMENT

What a great lesson for our children!!! God loves them despite of who or what they are. He will always love them, even while He chastises them. He will always love them, even when they are disobedient and stray. He will always love them, even if they are perfect (or think they are).

How do you love your children? Is it conditional on the cleanliness of their room or the promptness of their obedience? Is it dependent upon their affection back to you? Do you love them more for the A’s on their report card? Of course not! That’s our God! He loves us so much stronger than deeper!

Our children must know that! We must tell them that all the time. God is mighty but does not despise any! Hallelujah!!

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

JELLO TREATS

I remember when I was growing up my Mom would make a lot of jello for us kids. It was cheap, and we loved it. Sometimes she would put fruit cocktail and nuts and even cheese in it. I loved the creations she would come up with.

But what was even cooler was she had some different molds she used to make it. That had a shaped side and a replaceable shaped bottom. After the jello jelled overnight she would dump it upside down and remove it, thus revealing the shape of the bowl in the jello. As a kid, I thought that was just cool. The jello took on the shape of the bowl.

TEACHING MOMENT

As believers, we need to make sure we do let our children take on the shape of the world. It is so easy to compromise a little here and a little there. Before we know it they look just like the world. How do we prevent that?

Pour them into the mold of God’s Word. Pour them into the lives of godly men and women. Pour them into the mold of an environment that exudes Jesus. If you don’t, the world will pour them into its mold.  When we pour them into the correct molds, they will begin to take that shape. They will look more and more like Jesus. When they are exposed all others will see is Jesus.

And when others tell you that you shouldn’t force that mold on them, quote this verse to them. By pouring them into God’s mold you help prove what is good and acceptable and perfect.