Bible Study
Do We Protect our Kids from the Bible?
How do we inspire a love for the Bible in our children, while dealing with its dark side? The people, events, and stories reflects topics we might not be ready to talk to our kids about.
We read a Children's Bible to our kids as well as allowing them to listen the NIV Audio Bible Dramatized CD
Granted, after this, he had some very interesting questions for us out of Genesis. Do we need to protect our kids from the reality the Bible shows us? I mean there are certain questions I would rather not answer.
I would rather have my kids learn about the dark side of life from the Bible, than the playground.
We were recently in a church service that was a family Sunday. The pastor called the children up front to talk about Moses. He clearly shared about Moses having killed a man, but quickly moved on to the great man he became. He made no mention of this killing being wrong.
The Bible, especially the Old Testament, assumes an understanding of the Law, which states certain things are right and wrong. Israel knew "thou shall not kill", but young children can be confused. Sometimes the Bible is a record of what happened, not what should have happened. We must help our children understand and filter this.
We need to fill in the gaps for our children. Sunday school or church does not relieve us our parenting responsibilities.
As a father, it brings joy to my heart to see my kids loving the Bible. I mean, Ehud stabbing King Eglon and the fat surrounding the dagger is pretty cool! It is a bit harsh, but no more so than the average Saturday morning cartoon. We just read about Jael "tent-pegging" the head of Sisera! Whoa!
Too young to hear some of this? Well, I won't be reading my kids Song of Solomon anytime soon. But the Bible does speak of real life.
We had a co-worker killed a few years back in a freak accident. He used to play with our kids. His death forced us to walk our boys through a loss and talk about the reality of heaven.
Why wait for tradgedy to seize that opportunity? The Bible gives us that chance everyday.
Don't protect your children from the Bible, let it guide your children and expose them to all of life. We are there to steer them through the hard questions. Its called parenting. We steward them as both a gift and a privilege.
What do you do to help your children love the Bible and guide them through its presentation of the reality of life?
Photo courtesy of JABNetwork on Creative Commons by Flckr.
Add a commentDon't Buy Your Kids "Lousy" T-Shirts!
"My parents went to _______ and all they bought me was this lousy t-shirt!"
How many of us have seen these shirts, or perhaps even have one tucked in a drawer gathering dust? Of all the amazing gifts we could bring back from a foreign country, and all we got was a t-shirt!
Souvenirs represent a gift, but more so, they carry a memory.
What if instead of lousy t-shirts, we had stones of remembrance?
In Joshua 4:1-8, 20-22, there is a story about the nation of Israel setting up 12 stones as a memorial to commemorate the crossing of the Jordan.
Verse 6 and 21 tell us the purpose behind the memorial. "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground."
Much more than a t-shirt, these were a monument to the faithfulness of God for future generations to learn from. When looked upon, the miracles we experienced can be passed on to your children. This helps our kids learn from our mistakes or fight the same battles. (passing this way again.)
What kind of souvenirs or stones of remembrance do we have in our lives? How can we pass on the lessons we have learned to our children.
For some, it may be commemoration through trophies or certificates. In our house, we have certain items which remind us of our wedding, the adoption of our son, or other significant events in both our physical and spiritual lives.
Reading this passage, we see that it is not good enough to display these items, but we need to pass on the stories. Most importantly the successes and failures; the lessons learned from these events.
They will benefit our children.
And remembering the past would not be a bad idea for us as parents either.
Immediately after this, in Joshua 5, we see Israel returning to an obedience they had walked away from. They had not kept the covenant of circumcision for an entire generation. Israel saw those stones, remembered the character of God, which in turn revealed the unfaithfulness in their own hearts. They responded in obedience.
Stones of remembrance serve us in the future as well, representing a significant lesson or event which we need to continue walking in. They serve us in pointing us back to God.
Some plant trees. Others paint pictures. Still others collect knick knacks to display.
We don't just tell them that God is faithful. We show them, through our lives and our stories, how He has been faithful to us
What are your stones of remembrance? How will they serve your children in passing on the victories of God?
Photo by foshie at Creative Commons by Flckr
Add a commentCrime Does Pay: 3 Lessons from a Crook
All good stories end with the bad guy getting what he deserves. Jesus tells a story about a crook, but this one has a twist.
Friday, I posted on Tony Alicea's Blog. The article was showing how through adoption, our story is no longer our identity. If you missed it, go have a look HERE.
In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells a parable about the Pharisee and the hated tax collector. He is going to get to the root of people's identity.
A tax collector was known as a crook. He would never be the guy you would hope your daughter would marry. They were known to be corrupt, unjust, and the worst of sinners. Think of all the modern day stereotypes, and this was the bad guy.
A Pharisee was the holy man. They took the 10 Commandments and enlarged them to 614 rules to show just how serious they were. They were respected and admired in society.
You can see where everyone present thought this little story was going. Commend the Pharisee and condemn the tax collector.
Jesus is speaking to those who trust in themselves for righteousness. He is not merely telling a good story, He is after their hearts.
The Pharisee list his accomplishments. He keeps the rules, he check off all 614 boxes in the checklist.
The tax collector has nothing to offer. All he can do is beat his breast and cry out for mercy.
Simple ending right?
Nope.
Jesus throws a curve ball.
The tax collector goes away justified. That means declared righteous. Righteous means perfectly measuring up to God's Standard.
What?!
Surely, Jesus messed up the ending of the story.
Or, He is getting to the hearts of those who are mini Pharisees. People who trust in themselves need to be shocked into a new reality.
Here are three things we can learn from the crooked tax collector:
1.Our Identity is not in keeping the rules or checking off some list. Its not the Ten Commandments, our church's code of conduct, or a cosmic scale of good outweighing the bad. It is WHO we place our faith in.
2.We are not to trust in our own efforts but in the effort of Christ. Those listening to this parable and the Pharisee thought it was all about them. Jesus showed them it is all about Him
3. We must keep the position of a sinner in need of mercy. Being a sinner is our story, not our identity. We are saints. We are justified. But we must keep the posture of dependance rather than accomplishment. We trust in God rather than trusting in ourselves. This is what is needed to succeed.
We are still daily in need of the mercy of God.
We are like the tax collector. We were the bad guy who did not get the ending of the story that we deserved.
That is called grace.
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Add a commentWho's The Boss? Two Views on Marriage
People always want to know, if the man is not the head, who makes the tough decisions?
As you saw in yesterday's post, I recently read the fantastic book, Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together
I raised the question of whether there can be two differing views on marriage. The two views are :
Male Headship - this is taken from passages pertaining to the order of Creation (Gen. 2:21-22), curses associated with the introduction of sin (Gen. 3:16), and Ephesisan 5:22 and Colossians 3:18 which state wives must submit to husbands.
Egalitarian - this view is rooted in a belief that male and female are created equal in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), that they are to submit one to another (Eph. 5:21), and there is an interdependency that is needed in the marriage (1 Cor. 11:11).
While holding to the headship view, Driscoll does affirm the value and equality of women. His wife serves as his "functional pastor" and he affirms that Eve was created to stand side by side with Adam (pg.37), not ahead of or behind. However, he does not allow for any other view or Biblical interpretation
My wife and I follow the egalitarian view, but have many friends and co-workers which follow male headship.
In my honest opinion, the key is not the view you hold. The way you live out your view is the most important thing.
One church has recognized this dilemma, and offered a statement on how either view should be lived out.
"(1) To those couples who follow the model of male headship: Husbands strive to avoid both self-centered control and worldly authoritarianism, and seek to exemplify the self-sacrificial servant-leadership demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ toward his bride, the church. Wives, strive to avoid both selfish independence or passive apathy in the marriage, and seek to exemplify the active, passionate submission that characterizes the church's love for its eternal groom, Jesus Christ.
(2) To those couples who follow the egalitarian model: Strive to avoid a marriage characterized by indecision, and seek to lead and/or follow in the various areas of your marriage as God has gifted each of you. In all things, exemplify a heart-attitude of submission toward each other, after the pattern of self-sacrificial servanthood demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ toward our heavenly Father."
(taken from Woodland Hills Church website, http://whchurch.org/about/beliefs/controversial-issues)
Mark Driscoll seems to agree on some level when he says, "theological agreement is more important than the sharing of chores in the home." (pg. 61)
My wife and I always counsel people to make their own decisions. There is a good Biblical case for each view. Often, when you see multiple opinions on issues in the church, it is because Scripture is not as clear as it is in the essentials of our faith. At the door of heaven, we will not be asked which view of marriage, the end times, or eternal security we held.
As long as your view includes self sacrifice, serving, and love, the couple can choose which model to follow, Much in the same way there are different styles of worship, prayer, spiritual gifts and more. There are different styles of marriage.
A potential pitfall comes if the husband and wife have differing views. This is a recipe for disaster.
A recent post at FaithVillage.com by Sandra Glahn says something into this debate.
"The goal of marriage is not a well negotiated power structure; it’s oneness that leads to the upbuilding of the entire body in love. The thing the apostles taught that the husbands should “be” was (Paul:) full of sacrificial love, like Christ. And (Peter:) respectful and honor-granting, lest their prayers be hindered."
In either case, the answer to "Who's The Boss?" is still God!
He is the head of all marriages.
All couples should make decisions together, leaning on each other's strengths, while clinging to God for guidance and direction.
Add a commentBoasting in Jesus: Galatians 6
We are wrapping up our 7 Minutes a Day series in Galatians today. Paul finishes up the letter by challenging the believers to walk out grace in a few specific areas of their daily lives.
1. He starts by telling them to walk together in this life of grace, bearing one anthers burdens. Grace is a message that unifies, works compete and divide.
When one’s life is focused on grace, not works, it affects how we deal with others who are struggling. A believer’s response to sin in another’s life is to be one of gentleness; helping them walk through the struggle and eventually change.
2. Grace is generous. Paul encourages the believers to share resources with each other, even with your teacher. In doing so, Paul gives place for those who work as pastors, teachers, or missionaries to earn support through the work of the ministry.
3. If you sow in grace, you will reap in grace. Paul shows the believers that as they trust and depend on God, growth can be expected. Believer’s who live a life of dependence upon God (in the Spirit) will reap to the spirit. Those who sow to the flesh will reap the flesh. (See Galatians 5:17-19)
Grace stands in opposition to a "Jesus +" message focusing on man and his attempts to please God.
Grace levels the playing field.
Grace does away with comparison and competition.
Grace brings people together.
Grace focuses on others, not oneself.
The key passage in the whole chapter comes from verses 14-15. "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation."
The only thing to boast in is the work of Christ, not man’s personal accomplishments. Paul states that it is no longer faith based on race (Jew or Gentile), but now it is based on being a new creation. This is available through faith to all who believe regardless of ethnicity, sex, or background.
Paul leaves the Galatians to walk with their eyes focused on Jesus, boasting in Him and His cross.
"For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation." This can only come through trusting in God to do what you cannot.
What is your take away from this study? How will the reality of grace change your everyday life?
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