As I reflected on Galatians 3 and Romans recently, especially the beginning of Rom. 7 and into 8, I've discovered some helpful thoughts on parenting. Those who have read books like "Shepherding a Child's Heart" will recognize such wisdom.
Commands or rules will never transform our kids (= make them like Jesus), yet ironically they are essential! They are necessary but not sufficient for godliness, theirs and ours. Their hearts (and ours) must be instructed otherwise our rules will only arouse their sinful nature. We cannot choose between law and grace, forging a false wall between rules and heart teaching; the gospel never does that; in fact Paul is rather emphatic that the law is good and instructive though it is powerless by itself.
By examining the gospel, our parenting must be radically affected.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Friday, February 09, 2007
Gone for a few
We probably won't blog for a few weeks. We are getting some job training for the next 8 weeks and are busy beyond belief. Our sweet Charis had her 1 year old birthday last week, so we will try and get some things posted from that shindig, but no promises. Thanks for your thoughts for our family.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
1 or 2 lies from Satan
John Piper recently made a good point about understanding Satan's strategies:
He's got one lie, that he says in 2 ways. (1) God is bad. (2) Sin is better.
No matter what test or temptation we face, we will hear one of those lies in some form.
"God is not faithful or wise" or "That computer or food will satisfy you more than..."
In a word, the lies goes like this: "Sin will satisfy you more than God".
Both God and Satan make promises, but in every part of life, we choose whom we think will be more satisfying and whether we believe one or the other. When you look at it that way, many of the gray areas become less so.
He's got one lie, that he says in 2 ways. (1) God is bad. (2) Sin is better.
No matter what test or temptation we face, we will hear one of those lies in some form.
"God is not faithful or wise" or "That computer or food will satisfy you more than..."
In a word, the lies goes like this: "Sin will satisfy you more than God".
Both God and Satan make promises, but in every part of life, we choose whom we think will be more satisfying and whether we believe one or the other. When you look at it that way, many of the gray areas become less so.
Enduring Tribulation... and Sin?
Enduring tribulation is inevitable. That's a promise repeated ad naseum from Scripture; However, what is not inevitable is long enduring personal sin and joylessness. We sometimes treat these as if they were the same thing and God had promised them both.
NO!
We may not yet be perfected, but never has God promised that we would nor should gravel in the filth of sinful living, destitute from the hope of joy. Quite the contrary actually, as Paul and Silas demonstrate when singing amid the injustice of a prison sentence.
Yet if we believe that those 2 things are the same, our efforts to persevere in godliness will soon seem futile. Our discouragement will fulfill our errant expectations.
NO!
We may not yet be perfected, but never has God promised that we would nor should gravel in the filth of sinful living, destitute from the hope of joy. Quite the contrary actually, as Paul and Silas demonstrate when singing amid the injustice of a prison sentence.
Yet if we believe that those 2 things are the same, our efforts to persevere in godliness will soon seem futile. Our discouragement will fulfill our errant expectations.
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