How To Raise Godly Children Without Them Knowing What You're Up To

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How To Raise Godly Children Without Them Knowing What You're Up To:
Ten Suggestions For Biblically Based Parenting



1) Give your children a Biblical foundation and encourage their bent, and trust God when things get hairy. (Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6)



2) Always speak about spiritual things around your children, and let them see you pray. Let them see God in you. (And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9)



3) Remember to distinguish the urgent from the important. That phone call may be urgent, but your children are important. Let them know it! (Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Luke 18:15-16)



4) Remember that parenting is a hard job. You are to be a parent, not a bff. Discipline must be a core component of biblical parenting. “Spare the rod and spoil the child?” Yeah, it’s in there! (Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.)



5) Be positive, even in correction. Praise often, even in times of discouragement. Your children will reflect your attitude about them. (Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. Colossians 3:21)



6) Never, ever, ever, think that the school or church has the responsibility of teaching your children! You make sure they have knowledge. Whether about math or about God, you are responsible. (The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. Proverbs 29:15)



7) Invest in your children your most valuable commodity. Invest your time. A small amount of time now will pay off in huge dividends when they are adults. (Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 11:18-19)



8) Be a living epistle of what a good, honest, and true marriage looks like. Let your children see how a woman is to love her husband. Let them see how a husband is to cherish his wife. (Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word. Ephesians 5:22-23)



9) Instill in your children a love for and appreciation of the local fellowship of Believers. Raise your children to have a great respect for church and for God’s people. (And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42)



10) The end game of all of this would be naught, if your children do not receive the gift of salvation made possible through Jesus Christ. Insure that you have a right relationship with God. And then place the necessity of salvation before your children often. (Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:3-6)

Glory Days

I get this feeling every time summer appears and the night air becomes full of static and heat. The kind of air that lets you know that summer is here and is going to be intense. For a few moments, my mind drifts back to being 17 again, the t-tops off of the charcoal-grey Trans Am, sunglasses on at night, and cruising around Hwy 25 with a million other knuckle-heads who didn’t know any better either. With the radio on, Don Henley ushered us into summer time bliss...

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air -
The summer's out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I'm drivin' by your house
Though I know you're not home

But I can see you -Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got your hair combed backAnd your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell youMy love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone
Ahh...glory days. I can now full appreciate the philosopher George Bernard Shaw when he said that youth is wasted on the young! Unlike many, I not only remember the good times but also the bad. Like the very, very bad decision to try snuff. A powdery form of chewing tobacco popular here in the South. (I am instantly reminded of the Psalmist who said, “I felt weak deep inside me. I moaned all day long.”) Or the time we decided it would be “fun” to tie a rope to a bicycle tethered to the back of a pick up truck, allowing ourselves to experience biking at 55 mph. The original X games. Can I just say, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets dragged a half mile on his elbows!

But mostly I remember the good times. I remember when the biggest problem was where would we scrape up another 5 bucks for gas. (Mind you, at .65¢ a gallon, that was half a tanks worth!) I remember how much better Waffle House food was at 2am, how leather pants were considered “cool”, and how we thought Queen was a bunch of straight men. (If you’re over 50, don’t laugh, you thought Elton John was!) I remember walking around the mall, and joybuzzer attacks, wondering if a certain girl liked you, and the arcade where the hippest thing was Pac-Man! Mostly though, I think about how I never thought it would end. Glory days forever!

Now, I do not consider myself old. Let’s be clear. At 45, I’m still a spring chicken! However, I did spend the day at various hospitals and nursing homes, praying with and consoling many people who are desperately ill. In an ICU room at a hospital in Columbia, I held the hand of a man who is recovering from a heart attack. As we spoke he asked me, “How is it that our bodies just up and stop working for us one day?”

There are theological answers to his question. I could have told him about original sin and the curse and Adamic nature. But I think the answer lies in hope. And so I told him about Revelation 21:4, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."

And so I told him about our new bodies that will last forever and the days of no suffering, no sorrow, sickness, or death. When our bodies will be perfect and defect free. And...for a moment within myself...I didn’t look back to glory days, I looked ahead to days of Glory.

Denominational Dirt

We all have sacred dirt. That little part of us that gives way to traditionalism and turf struggles. Remember the story of Naaman? I love that story. The leprous captain of the Syrian Army dunking himself seven times in the Jordan River and coming up clean has such symbolism. Naaman did not want to wash in the Jordan, because it was a dirty river. The leprosy represents what sin does to a person. The leprosy was on the outside, visually wreaking havoc, the sin is on the inside, invisibly wreaking havoc. And of course, the waters wash away his disease, even as the love of Christ washes away our sins. As I said, a great story. Such great sermon fodder!

Nevertheless, it is the aftermath that I love the most. The baby smooth and sparkly skinned Naaman, fresh in his conversion experience to the God of Israel, decides to take some dirt home with him. This is so he can worship on “pure dirt.” What exactly is pure dirt? Is it clean dirt? And if it is, what makes dirty dirt dirty?
In 2 Kings 5, Naaman asks Elijah for two mule loads of dirt to take back with him to Syria, so he can worship on it. The good soil. (Not exactly what Jesus had in mind with His parable!) Naaman thought, incorrectly of course, that it mattered where you were, how you were, and what you did in regards to worshiping God. But even as we laugh at such a notion, don’t we often do the same things? I have been a part of groups that believed if you weren’t baptized in their “dirt,” then the Baptism didn’t count. I have been with groups that believed if you didn’t read from the King Dirt Version of the Bible, you couldn’t be saved. I have even known of, though fortunately never been through, what is known as a church split. This is when certain sanctified Believers get mad, pack up their dirt, move about one mile down the road, plant their dirt and try to be an annoyance to the original dirt. In West Kentucky, there is even a certain place where right across the street from one another are Mt Moriah Baptist Church and The Original Mt Moriah Baptist Church. Yep, the sign says it just like that: “The Original Mt Moriah Baptist Church” and yes, they are literally across the street from one another.

But, honestly, what makes us think our dirt is better than anyone else’s dirt? If Baptist Dirt is clean, does that mean that Presbyterian Dirt is dirty? Of course not. It means we are being silly, and sinful, and prideful. When we get to packing up our dirt, or storing up our dirt, our refusing to share our dirt, we let the Devil win. And really, people, it’s just dirt anyway! The things of this world will be burned up, according to Peter. And the only two things that will remain are people and the truth. This is where we should invest our energy...in the Truth (God’s Word) and in other people.

Blessings

Steve

Magic!

Listen to the Psalmist: “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance.” (Ps. 89:15 NKJV)

Think back for a moment to your childhood. Can you remember the joyful sound that whirled and popped and whistled it’s pied piper call? It called us from our cartoons, our play, our chores. It was like the TV commercial with heads popping up above the cubicles looking for a Krispy Kreeme. Like Pavlov's dogs, we would begin to drool and tilt our heads in order to better hear the melodious sonnet that heralded...The Ice Cream Truck!

There was no greater sound in all of the world on a hot, sticky, summer Saturday in Georgia. From every corner of the neighborhood we would come running, either toward the corner, or toward home seeking dad and his endless pocketful of quarters. So rapt was our attention that we barley noticed the music track dragging or the fading and peeling paint job, and a rather scary clown face on the side. It was as magic as it gets. Think about it, for a mere 25¢, one had the purchasing power of a millionaire. A cherry screwball (with a gumball in the bottom, of course), or an ice-cream sandwich? A tougher decision has never been made on Wall Street. I usually opted for the screwball. The gum was hard, tasteless, and lasted only a few minutes before becoming unchompable rubber, but I’ve always been a sucker for the two-for-one deal. And remember the wooden spoons. Ice cream has such better palatability when eaten from balsa wood.

My kids had the experience for a little while when we lived in Tennessee. Luke’s favorite was the Red Power Ranger popsicle, although he would sometimes go for the SpongeBob Squaresicle. Stevie liked the Strawberry Cheesecake bar thingy. Shea was a teen by this point, and way too cool for the Ice Cream Truck. But she does love mint chocolate chip! Of course, I had to purchase a Cherry Screwball for myself—quality testing is Dad’s number one job! And, it was no longer a quarter. A small business loan is required for purchasing dreams these days!

Nevertheless, let me ask you a question: “When the voice of the Lord calls out to you, do you respond to it with the same childlike enthusiasm that you showed at the approach of the ice cream truck?” We should. When the call to worship is played this Sunday, will we tilt our heads and call our souls to rapt attention at the thought of worshipping God? Will we sing to the Lord a new song, worshipping Him in spirit and truth? It is my fervent prayer that the name of the Lord bring joy to our hearts and smiles to our faces. May we run to our “Daddy”, not for a quarter and a gumball, but merely for the joy of being in His presence!

Luke The Evangelist

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Ask the average Christian to name THE evangelist, and they will most likely say Billy Graham. According to denomination, historical knowledge, cultural setting, or theological persuasion, they might say Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, C.H. Spurgeon, or D.L. Moody. But…ask any seminary student the name of the Evangelists and you’ll surely get Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as your answer. The original Evangelists, usually with a capital E, are the four Gospel writers. The word Evangel is old English for the Gospel of Christianity, hence the Evangelists are those who wrote that Gospel.

With the case of Luke, the book and name hold special affections for me. First of all, Luke’s telling of the Lord’s story is the first of my memories of the Christian faith. It would be most of ours if we were to think hard on it. My earliest memories are of my sisters teaching me to sing Away In A Manger. Naturally, that whole song is a culmination of the story in Luke 2. Secondly, it was the first Gospel I read in its entirety, as a twelve year old boy. This was not long after I saw Star Wars’ second installment, The Empire Strikes Back, and I thought, “Hey. Luke is in the Bible. Luke is in Star Wars.” The profundity of that thought does not escape me. Thus started my love affair with Luke.

The third reason would be the fact that my son is named Luke. (Hmm. Wonder why?) To me, the name Luke represents the personification of manhood, machismo and the essence of coolness. My Luke was named, by-the-way, more in reference to Cool Hand Luke, than the Luke of the Bible or Luke Skywalker. (Although there was certainly a strong influence from the Evangel and the Jedi.)

My son Luke was the most amazing kid, and is now the most amazing young man. Coming from the bias of all parents, he is the world’s greatest teenager. He is funny, witty, charming, a bit of a Casanova-ladies-man, and, naturally, one of the “popular kids” in High School.

But I believe it was an act of Divine providence that he shares the name of one of the Evangelist. Luke’s heart is that of an evangelist, and his spiritual giftedness is leading people to the Lord. Time after time, from a three year old to a high school freshman, he has come to his dad and told me about his “friend” at school that he has invited to church (most everyone he meets is a friend, hence the quotation marks. He, like Will Rogers, never met a stranger.) Said friend needs a ride, or his/her parents won’t let them come, or lo and behold, there they are on a Wednesday night or Sunday morning looking for their “friend” Luke who invited them. Sometimes they come looking for a meal, others for game time (an AWANA thing,) or occasionally just looking for something to do. But they all come looking for what people need most…someone to care enough to reach out, to be a friend, to say with the simplest of invitations, “I care about you. You are important to me”

As I write this, my eyes misting up with a sanctified pride, I can’t help but wonder…Church; if we were more Lukish, more Markish, more Matthewish, more Johnish, how many more people would come to church and feel like they are important to God, because they were important to His people? I can assure you, there wouldn’t be enough room to hold them.

Well, food for thought I guess.

And to my Boy I say: “Keep ‘em coming, son. There is room at the cross for them all!”

Rock of Ages, Roll For Me

At church Sunday, the offering hymn was a rock number. No, not a CHRITSIAN Rock number, a rock, rock number. I don’t remember the name of the group. Herman and the Dirty Noses? Willy and the Wonka’s? Foreplay? I don’t know…some such secular group. I have seen the lead singer before in a magazine. I only know that because Patty told me. He used to be married to Kate Hudson. Anybody that USED to be married to Kate Hudson is obviously a moron and a drug user. Or a homo, if you’ve ever seen Kate Hudson. Hoochie Mama!

Some might justify the use of secular music in a worship service. “We need to be relevant to the seekers.” I would agree. But not at the cost of being irreverent to the God we are there to worship. One of the lyrics said something about finding the light and being guided. But let me assure you that Kate’s ex did not mean the Light of the World, nor did he mean that the Holy Spirit should guide us. Make no mistake about it, Mr. Hudsonless here probably meant himself.

Now I am not some fuddy-duddy that thinks we should only sing hymns and the doxology. I love hymns. Hymns are great. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. Come on, man! That’s great stuff. But I also love great praise songs and contemporary worship songs. But understand, the point of calling it a worship service is that we have gathered to worship the Lord. Everything that is done during that time should be pointed to the King of Glory! The prayer should be worshipful, the Scripture reading should be worshipful, the preaching event should be worshipful, and the offering should be worshipful (all you preachers say, “Amen!”) And most certainly, the music should be worshipful. Everything that we do should lead us and others present to worship the Sovereign Lord of the universe.

I love Psalm 95. Listen…

O come let us worship the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with a song of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

O come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

You can not do that with a Coldplay song. You just can’t, and you shouldn’t try.

Blessings,

Steve