November 4, 2012
We put dates on our calendars and plan for events a year in advance, yet we have no promise of tomorrow. Be careful not to brag of your plans. Instead say, “Lord willing…” (James 4:15). Or as those in the South say, “Lord willin and the criks don’t rise…” Or as the old preacher of my youth taught me to say, “If the Lord delays His comin and lets me live another day, I plan to be doin such and such tomorrow!”
October 21, 2012
A city wall controls both the coming and going of people. Its gates protect from unwanted entry, as well as keeping safe those who should remain within. Self-control is like a wall. It closes the eye, ear, and mouth gates to harmful things. In like manner, it controls what comes out too. Self-control is the 9th attribute of the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23). Are your walls broken down? Or have they been rebuilt by God? Who guards your gates?
September 25, 2012
Many in our world today strive and labor to fill their homes with beautiful decor and modern technology. But do they spend any energy on filling them with hospitality, or faith, or prayer, or love? What kind of house are you building?
September 15, 2012
It is hard work, but the appropriate spankings you give between 2 and 12 will make the years from 13-18 much easier. Physical discipline is non verbal reinforcement that aids in the training of your child’s own self-discipline. When you correct, aim past behavior change to heart change. You correct not to punish, but to discipline. In teaching your child to obey you, you are preparing your child’s heart to be receptive to obeying to God.
September 2, 2012
Sin and foolishness are synonyms in Proverbs. Wise parents recognize their God-given responsibility to discipline their children to obey. This is hard work. Yet, God has given us this holy stewardship. A parent’s discipline becomes the child’s self-discipline later in life. Better to root out the seed of foolishness in your 3-year old, than to wait and deal with the tree of rebellion in your 13-year old. Parents, do your job!
August 27, 2012
Parents, discipline your child and teach them the right way while they are still young. It’s much easier to correct a 3-year old than a 13-year old. Focus on heart change, asking the Lord to help you, and perhaps someday you will know the joy of having your 30-year old walk beside you, holding the hand of their 3-year old doing the same.
August 21, 2012
God is love. To be “godly” is to express this trait. Perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave…” To be like God we must have the kind of love that gives. God is a giver, not a taker. Are you a consumer, or a contributor? Are you greedy, or a giver? Do you desire to be godly? Receive God’s gift of salvation through Jesus, and then start loving and giving!
August 18, 2012
Have you learned to live beneath your means? Wise stewards have learned to pay God first (tithe), pay themselves second (save) and live off the rest (budget). Stop following this foolish consumer culture. Live on less, so that you can give more!
August 6, 2012
We waste time asking God “Why?” questions. Some things we understand after years of perspective, others may escape comprehension until Christ’s return. In the meantime, we can trust God and ask better questions, like: “What’s my next step, Lord?”
August 2, 2012
Do you seek wise counsel before making plans? No matter how wise the leader there is always much to be learned from another’s perspective. We all have blind spots, so we need others to enlarge our vision. These counselors are not to be mere ‘yes’ men agreeing with us. They are to be wise in the biblical sense. Having heard wise advice, be humble enough to follow it.