Sometimes, I’m amazed as I look around and see children dominating parents; I mean, really being the bosses in the God-given schools of submission tutelage. Children are, biblically, the students in the subject of submission and holy conformity and parents are the primary teachers in that education. It’s easy for parents and grandparents to slowly melt into the world’s mode of child-dictated homes using phrases that sound good; phrases like “I want my child to learn to make good choices on his own, so I just let him lead the way and learn the consequences,” or “saying no a lot to my kids can make them have negative self esteem.” (I actually read that last one in Psychology Today.)
God punished Eli in 1 Samuel 3:13 for his failure to restrain his sons. Perhaps similar failures of parents in recent decades has contributed to the rampant adult patterns we see around us of self-absorption and manipulation, often developing into narcissistic behavior.
I think there are some phrases kids often say today (with obvious variations) that we can and should eradicate from our homes. Here are some examples:
“But what if I don’t want __________ for breakfast?”
“I will get in the bed, if you will do _________________.”
“But I really wanted to go to McDonald’s instead of this place.”
‘I hate wearing these dress shoes.”
“I’m first!”
“Yes. But I finished that snack and I’m still hungry.”
“I’m bored.”
“I don’t want to drink just water.”
“No, mom. I’m leaving that there because I am going to play with it again later.”
“It’s too hot outside today. I’m staying in here.”
“But that theater is not the kind with the comfy seats.”
When we foster this thinking, we pave the way for an unfulfilling adulthood; one in which there is never enough. We enable selfishness and selfishness never co-exists with true happiness.
This little excerpt from a pre-school/kindergarten Bible class in Pulaski, Tennessee last Sunday is rich. I did NOT get permission from my friend Leslie Hamby to post this here, because I know Jake and Leslie well enough to know that anything that encourages people toward heaven is public domain. They are a light to me and to everyone who knows them. Their four little girls are rich and perfect blessings from God. Jake and Leslie are determined to give them all right back to Him! If you’d like top know Leslie, better, join us tonight (7/25/24) at 7 CST for the Digging Deep podcast. She’ll be with me to discuss the rich and detailed study of David and Jesus as mighty prophets. I can’t wait. Here’s Leslie:
I’ve been blessed this week to be at a PTP Spark conference in Valdosta, Georgia. One thing you can’t miss when you study the book of Judges, as we’ve done this week, is that, when God declares forthcoming victory for His people, nothing but nothing will get in the way of that victory. Sometimes God declares this future victory in the past tense, as in “I have given you…” or “The Lord has delivered…” Only God can make a promise in the past tense. But if God says it, It is as good as done. Nine hundred chariots of iron in Judges 4 would have seemed, in any mortal eyes, the sure-fire winner in the valley near the river Kishon. I know the army of Sisera rode proudly in these iron chariots to what they were sure would be the handy defeat of Israel.
Family Bible Week at West Huntsville is this week! The Gospel Railroad. It’s at 6:30 through Wednesday night. Dr. Bible is there and there’s a candy bandit. (Right now, the candy jar has been stolen and we have NO idea where that bandit has stashed it!) The kids made FBW photos last night and frames for the fridge. They watched lively re-enactments of conversion examples. They sang their hearts out and they learned songs about what it takes to be saved. They entered contests and they rode a real train through the halls of the building. I heard the conductor asking them questions about the Bible as they rode along and waved at spectators in the hall. They watched a puppet show about forgiveness. This is what spiritually focused memories are made of.
On Sundays, for FBW month, the pulpit has been focused on these four examples of conversion that are the focus of this week. The children fill out sheets during the lessons in our worship that help them listen, too. The examples of obedience to the gospel that are the focus this month are the Ethiopian, the Philippian jailer, Cornelius and Saul. Did you know they all did exactly the same thing to get into Christ? There was a recognizable moment in each of these accounts from Acts when sins were washed away. The moment is described for Saul in Acts 22:16. The jailer went out, at the risk of his life in Acts 16, in the middle of the night, to accomplish this washing. The Ethiopian saw water and said “Why are we waiting? Here is water.” And Cornelius was a good man—a really good man—but still had to have the washing before he could be saved. (Notice verses 1-3 of Acts 10 and then look at verse 14 of chapter 11). While the whole world says baptism has nothing to do with salvation, we have to keep telling the whole world what Jesus said “Go into all the world and teach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.”
One of my grandchildren had committed an infraction and was not sorry for disobeying. Her mom sent her to bed and said “Tonight you can just go on to bed and I will not be in there to tuck you in, since you are not sorry.” She responded “I’m sorry I’m not sorry.”
Matthew 7. You could move your arms up and down, pat the air and clap your hands to the song about these two men before you could string together a sentence. Two very different builders–one wise, the other foolish. Two different allegorical verbs with the same direct object: “does them” and “does them not.” Two distinct houses on very different foundations–one of sand and one of stone. Two opposite results. One verse ended with hands resolutely clasped together–a firm standing; the other with a giant clap as you illustrated the crash of the foolish man’s house. So much is so different about these men and their life stories.