Salvation~Making It Clear

Often, when we talk to unbelievers about salvation, we aren't clear as to what it requires. That isn't helpful. It's good to consider the words we use. A few thoughts from Todd Friel....

A Wiccan Who Gave Up Halloween

I came across a blog today whose writer had some Q&A's for two women who have a clearer perspective on Halloween than most of us--they had been either Wiccans or self-proclaimed witches. They are now Believers in Jesus Christ and explain why they no longer celebrate or participate in Halloween. I'd like to share what one of them had to say in response to one of the questions. If you'd like to read the entire Q&A session, you can find it at Lisa's blog. The boldfaced type is her emphasis.

UPDATE: Lisa's blog is no longer available, but I leave this Q&A for your consideration.

Q. Are there specific experiences that you had as a Wiccan who celebrated Halloween that led to your decisions as why you don't celebrate it any longer?

A. I can’t say that there is any specific experience I can point to, but rather the general understanding of Christianity and the holidays Christians celebrate that I held as a pagan.

Brothers and sisters, know that there are pagans watching you and laughing. That may seem harsh, but it is true – the adoption of pagan holidays into the life of a Christian has in no way strengthened the faith or made it more palatable in the eyes of unbelievers, it has only weakened it, and made it seem derivative. I can so clearly remember explaining to others that Jesus is just another manifestation of the sacrificial Summer-King who dies to ensure the well-being of his people – that this is evident through his portrayal in being born at Winter Solstice (as the sun-god is), dying and rising again at Easter (Eostre) as the green-god, the consort of the goddess does in the Spring as he is planted into the ground and dies only to be born again as the grain crop.

I always knew that the gods I worshipped were the creations of man, false gods, and now that I belong to Him I know the deep, everlasting reality of His life, His truth, His love. It breaks my heart to know that pagans misunderstand Jesus because of tacking him onto pagan celebrations – but that is a post for another day! Even holidays that are still primarily pagan are in no ways appropriate for Christians to celebrate, as it mars their witness to partake in a pagan celebration.

I have to make something clear – I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with candy, or wearing princess dress-up clothes, we do both of those things in our home. However, when we do these things within the context of a pagan celebration, we are in essence behaving like the un-Godly culture that surrounds us. Both in the Old and New Testaments God carefully shepherds His people, asking them to abstain from pagan expressions of faith and celebration. Unfortunately, Christians who partake in Halloween are partaking in a pagan celebration.

I realize that there are many sincere brothers and sisters in the faith that celebrate Halloween out of a sense of family tradition, or culturally normative – I’d like to encourage you to examine the scriptures in light of this celebration, to seek God’s face, and to pray His will be done in your life. I hope you’ll read these words in the spirit they are intended – I have no desire to condemn you and yours as you continue to grow in your walk with the Lord.

Do our actions really matter in relation to Halloween or is it just innocent fun? Yes, unreservedly, yes. As parents we are responsible for planting seeds in the lives of our children. Halloween and its emphasis upon the dark spiritual world may unknowingly plant a seed that later blooms into a fascination with the occult.

As previously mentioned, our Christian witness before pagans is marred due to our involvement with their ‘holy days’.  Most importantly, as the above scriptures make clear, God wants us to walk in the light. As His children we should not seek to partake of the works of darkness or to commune with them. All children seek to emulate their father – having been adopted into God’s family, we are no longer children of Satan, and we should no longer walk as such.

Image ~ Created by Kjpargeter - Freepik.com

The Simple Woman's Daybook

On Saturdays I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well.

Outside my window...
Lovely autumn. Colors haven't been as brilliant this year, but it's a trade-off for longer-lasting colorful hillsides.

A Picture to Share...
A cardinal outside my kitchen window in the Japanese Maple. 

 

From the kitchen...
I made some carrot cookies for our Mom's Discussion Group this week. It's a cookie you can feel good about eating!  It's from a 1981 Pillsbury Simply From Scratch booklet that's been a favorite for many, many years. It's one of those pages in the cookbook that has batter stains and crumbs on it. Tell-tell signs that this a favorite! Sharing the recipe with you.

Carrot Drop Cookies with Orange Glaze
3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup shortening

1 egg

1 cup cooked, mashed and cooled carrots

1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract (I used vanilla)

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins

Glaze:

1 tbsp margarine or butter, softened

1.5 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp grated orange peel

2-5 tbsp orange juice

• Heat oven to 375*F 

• In large bowl, combine sugar, shortening, egg, carrots and vanilla; beat well.
• Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off.
• Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and raisins.
• Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
• Beat for 12-15 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool.
• In small bowl, blend glaze ingredients until smooth. 
• Spread over cooled cookies.

Yield: about 4 dozen

Noticing the sound of... 
The ticking of the clock that tells me I'd better have a cookie and a glass of milk and call it a day.

Thankful...
That I could see family last week.

Thinking...
About love as action, in loving as Jesus loves. He loved me before I loved Him. He loves more than I love. He took the initiative. If I were to love as He loves, I would be thinking about loving other people more than I think about how much they love me. Jesus does want me to love Him, and it's right for me to want others to love me, but to be like Jesus, it's a good thing to out-love the other person. I've been attempting to do that more the past couple of weeks. It's amazing.

From the sewing room...
Ready to put the border on a tablerunner. Will show a picture soon.
 

Learning...
Some systematic theology. We listened a bit to Driveby Theology with Todd Friel while we were out and about today. It's 18-minute segments CDs from his radio program that My Beloved is listening to on his commute to work. If you check it out, try not to be taken aback by the title of the program. It's about genuine repentance. We first heard him speak at an Answers in Genesis Seminar and bought the CDs there. I'm eager to hear more.

This coming week I'm looking forward to...
Having a slower week and finishing my tablerunner.

From the garden...  
Trimmed back some asters and planted some Knock Out Roses, at long last before it gets too cold.

Around the house...
We decided to move our bedroom upstairs and move the guest room downstairs for several reasons, one being the needed exercise in climbing the stairs. I can already feel my legs strengthening, and my walk up the inclines in the cemetery this week was not nearly as taxing. Rewarded.

A thought from my Quiet Time...

From Knowing God Through the Year by J.I. Packer.

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: 

God has made the one as well as the other, 

so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:14

Up to this point, the preacher has helped us to see what wisdom is not. Does he give us any guidance as to what it is? Indeed he does.  "Fear God and keep his commandments" (12:13). Trust and obey him, reverence him, worship him, be humble before him and never say more than you mean when you pray to him (5:1-7). Do good (3:12). Remember that God will someday take account of you (11:9), so eschew, even in secret, things that you will be ashamed of when they come to light before God (12:14). Live in the present, and enjoy it thoroughly (9:7-10). Seek grace to work hard at whatever life calls you to do (9:10), and enjoy your work as you do it (2:24). Leave to God its issues; let him measure its ultimate worth. Your part is to use all the good sense and enterprise at your command in exploiting the opportunities that lie before you (11:1-6).

Currently reading...
Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches by Russell D. Moore. This book was suggested to me by my daughter and son-in-law, who hope someday to adopt. It discusses adoption as part of the Great Commission.  Sharing a paragraph from the book:

Adoption is not just about couples who want children--or who want more children. Adoption is about an entire culture within our churches, a culture that sees adoption as part of our Great Commission mandate and as a sign of the gospel itself. This book is intended for families who want to adopt and wonder whether they should. It is also intended for parents with children who've been adopted and who wonder how to raise them from here. It is for middle-aged fathers and mothers whose children have just told them they are thinking about adoption.

His Unchanging Grace

 

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. 

Proverbs 13:12

One of my ongoing (year upon year upon year...) hopes continues to be deferred, and my heart feels it. If God sees that it's in the best interest of all concerned, though, He will fulfill this desire. Yet, this hope rests in the shadow of a greater hope--that of His unchanging grace, which is always sufficient.

But he said to me,

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,

so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9 

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

~ Edward Mote  (1797-1874)

Image  ~ Created by Welcomia - Freepik.com

Coming Alongside

Thinking about our Mom's discussion time this evening around Sally Clarkson's book, The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity. We were talking about being a discipling mother and being intentional in our purposes for our children.

The moms in our group want to disciple their children, want to guide them into eternal truth and godly living, want to lead them to the One who makes life meaningful. It's not an easy task, but one that has eternal value. What we lack in knowledge and ability God makes up for through His abundant grace. He's looking for mothers with willing hearts, willing to expend the time and effort, willing to be involved in something bigger than themselves.

This thing of discipling children is a challenge in our current culture. A challenge because of the decadence of the day, yes, but a greater challenge because of the scattering of families away from extended families who could come alongside and help. No one besides the parents care for their children like grandparents do. One of the moms in our group is seeing that blessing in her own family. She says that when grandma comes for the day a peacefulness comes into the home. She helps with the laundry and such, and the children settle in around her as she reads to them. Blessings all the way around. The American quest for personal independence has run amuck and caught unsuspecting families in the frenzy.

How can grandparents help raise the next godly generation? A comment from Sally Clarkson, but one that could apply to grandparents as well:

What many in our culture don't understand--and many more forget--is that a relationship with Christ is best taught through a long-term personal relationship with someone who knows the Master, not through activities organized around lots of people in impersonal and distracting instructional situations.... Our children will learn righteousness best by seeing it lived out in every possible way in our lives, moment by moment, in the context of normal life.

We help by coming alongside, being involved in our grandchildren's normal life in a long-term personal relationship. Long distance is not normal, everyday life and doesn't develop much of a long-term personal relationship. Oh, but some say, the technology to stay in touch these days is so easily accessible. There are cell phones and texting and email and digital pictures and skype.... and we can do everything but touch each other. Technology cannot substitute for grandma and grandpa's laps, for holding hands as you walk along, for looking at the little bugs as you do and talking about the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord in the glorious riot of autumn color. Or for helping with the laundry.

Painting~ Grannie, Joseph Clark, 1878

via I Am A Child, Children in Art History

God Is Our Refuge

This week during lunch I've been listening to Nancy Leigh DeMoss online at Revive our Hearts. Her current series is on Psalm 46 entitled A Mighty Fortress is Our God. I'd like to share a brief excerpt with you from yesterday's program, "Are You In Trouble?" It's a quote from Matthew Henry.

Are we pursued? God is our refuge to whom we may flee and in whom we may be safe. . . . Are we oppressed by troubles? Have we work to do and enemies to grapple with? God is our strength to bear us up under our burdens, to fit us for all our services and sufferings; he will by his grace put strength into us, and on him we may stay ourselves. Are we in distress? He is a help, to do all that for us which we need . . . a help sufficient, a help accommodated to every case and exigence [every emergency, every extreme situation]; whatever it is, he is a very present help; we cannot desire a better help, nor shall ever find the like in any creature.

Today's program is "When You Are Battered By Fear." If you'd like to listen in to the series or read the transcripts, you can find them here.

He Included Me

Sharing a few thoughts with you today from my devotional reading in  Romans 9-11. The context is Israel's rejection of God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ and His consequent extension of grace to the Gentiles. The Apostle Paul says, "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in..." I am grateful that God chose to include me in 'the fullness of the Gentiles.'

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek
for the same Lord is Lord of all,
abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.
Romans 10:12

I have nothing within myself that glorifies me or God. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Sin, going against God's holy ways, in my life brings death, separation from God. But God gave the gift of Jesus Christ to redeem me for eternal life with Him. "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

God provided me with hope, grace, mercy, and eternal life. "For whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved" (Romans 10:13).

Because I believe that Jesus is the Son of God whom He sent to die for my sins, I now have peace with God. "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

No longer does condemnation await me. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1).

Nothing can separate me from the love of God, because of Jesus Christ. "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

Oh, the depth of the riches
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are His judgments
and unfathomable His ways!
Romans 11:33

Do you have peace with God?

Do you have hope, grace, mercy, and eternal life?

You can read more about the good news here.

He wants to include you as well.

The picture is my quiet time corner. 

The framed piece above the chair reminds me to 

"Make time for the quiet moments as God whispers and the world is loud."

Our Progressive Family Reunion

It's hard to get everyone together at one time these days with everyone scattered about, but last week was like a progressive family reunion with several family members.

My parents and sister came up from Alabama last Monday for a few days' visit. They traveled with my brother and his wife, who had driven from Missouri to visit with them for a few days. My Brother & SIL stayed for supper with us before traveling on to visit her mother. Then my favorite uncle (he often reminds me!) and aunt came from Ohio for an overnight stay on Tuesday, and we all took a jaunt over to the Heritage Farm Museum and Village. My parents especially enjoyed it, but it was a little too musty for my uncle, so he was able to tour only one of the buildings. It was a short visit with everyone, but Mom and I did manage to squeeze in some sewing. I'm looking forward to seeing her new valances in her living room when we travel there sometime before Christmas. The fabric was absolutely gorgeous! Hopefully, we can get in a quick trip to her favorite quilt shop.

My parents and sister left on Thursday, and My Beloved and I were off a few hours later to meet up with Elizabeth and her family in Louisville for the weekend. They had a conference to attend, and we had the delightful task of taking care of Elijah during the day. We got adjoining rooms and spent the better part of three days enjoying our little fella and doing what many grandparents do routinely. We savored every moment. If your grandchildren live nearby, you are truly blessed!

Arrived back home last evening. All is quiet. Much too quiet.

Elijah and Nana watching Curious George

Book Love

Floating boats at the Science Museum

Realistic Pessimism

Sharing a brief excerpt from my devotional reading today from Knowing God Through the Year by J.I. Packer.

For in much wisdom is much vexation, 
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. 

Ecclesiastes 1:18
``````````````````````````````

If life is senseless, then it is valueless. And in that case, what use is it working to create things, to build a business, to make money, even to seek wisdom, for none of this can do you any obvious good (Ecc. 2:15-16, 22-23, 5-11)? It is to this pessimistic conclusion, says the preacher of Ecclesiastes, that optimistic expectations of finding the divine purpose of everything will ultimately lead you (1:17-18). And of course he is right. For the world we live in is in fact the sort of place that he has described. The God who rules it hides himself. Rarely does this world look as if a beneficent Providence were running it. Rarely does it appear that there is a rational power behind it all. Often what is worthless survives, while what is valuable perishes.

Be realistic, says the preacher. Face the facts. See life as it is. You will have no true wisdom till you do. And then praise God for giving our life the meaning that the world does not hold. 

Painting ~ A Peaceful Read 1869, George Goodwin Kilburn 1839-1924
Wikipedia Commons public domain

Lulled to Sleep

Thinking today on a phrase in the first few verses of First Thessalonians 5, where the Apostle Paul is teaching about 'the day of the Lord,' that it will come just like a thief in the night when unsuspecting people are caught off guard. The unsuspecting are those who are separated from God, those who live in an immoral state of mind, those who walk in darkness. In contrast, believers in Jesus Christ know that He will someday return, and they are to be ever-watchful. The phrase that I'm pondering is in verse 6, so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

I think about ways that I sleep spiritually and am caught off guard. I get lulled to sleep by the culture, and like the proverbial frog in hot water, I'm not alert and aware of the dulling of my spiritual senses. I have to ask myself if I'm becoming desensitized to the world's philosophies, to its explanation of what life is about, to the world's intoxication with pleasure, to its worship of everything that replaces God Himself. It's easy to do when we walk in ungodly counsel or when we sit in camaraderie with those who scoff at God.

Not long ago I was in a waiting room where the television was tuned to the Ellen show. (I've switched doctors twice over TV issues.) The talk was crude, immoral, scoffing. I wasn't there but a few minutes before I got up to ask the receptionist if the TV could be turned off or the channel changed (I was the only one there). Just at that moment I was called to the back, and when I mentioned my exasperation at having to listen to such talk while I was waiting for the doctor, the nurse just commented that yes, Ellen can get a bit wild at times. It didn't seem to encroach on her sense of decency or morality at all. One of the reasons I rarely watch television or Hollywood movies is because of the influence it has in my heart and mind. I'm alert to that.

It takes small slips to shift our culture to the spiritual state that it's in today. Small, barely noticeable slips--to those who are lulled to sleep, to those who are not alert and watchful. Through the Apostle Paul, God tells us to be alert and sober. When we're sober, we're not embracing the culture nor imbibing in its worldliness. When we're sober, we're not being influenced by nor controlled by ostentatious philosophies. Instead, when we're sober we're filling our minds with God's Word and His Ways. We're to be controlled by the Spirit of God, not the spirit of this world.

So I must ask myself - who or what is influencing my mind? What do I give my mind over to? Am I expectant of Christ's return each day? Do I stay sober? Do I remain alert?

Upon occasion a cloud will look just as I imagine it might look when it's time for the Lord Jesus to return on a cloud with great power and glory. It's at those moments that the expectant hope swells up within me. I want to be ever-expectant, ever-alert, ever-sober. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

Painting ~ Asleep in the Woods, Arthur Hughes 1832-1915
WikiArt public domain

Sharing Life with the Growing Child

Sharing with you today an excerpt from For the Children's Sake: Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay. I've recently added this book to our church Book Nook.

The Christian believes that there is truth, as revealed to us by God in His Word, the Bible. We know that He is the final authority, He has personality (He is Triune). We therefore have a philosophical explanation for the experience of the human personality. It is no fluke. Is is real: morality, free choice, ideas, love, creativity. We have duties, responsibilities, aims, and joys. We have value. In education, the resulting principles and practice will be quite different from those based on a totally different view of man and reality.

Do we have to accept ... the "real life" of fear, failure, boredom, suppression, conformity, selfishness, laziness, pride, materialism? Do we say it is "more real" that children should be subjected to garbage, trivia, horror, false thinking, and wrong living? Does neglect toughen up the child for adulthood? Do we give in to peer pressure which expects the false, wrong, and empty behavior which is the "done thing?"

There can be no greater vocation in life than the family responsibility of sharing life with the growing child. These are hard days, in many ways, for rightful living. It doesn't "just happen." Stop and think. Get priorities right. And remember, education is ongoing. We, too, are learning, growing, living.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.  ~ Galatians 6:9-10

Love Always Serves

The Little Helpmate, Kilburne

Sharing a thought from Secrets of Happy Home Life by J.R. Miller:  

Love always serves, or it is not love at all.

The greatest in Christ's kingdom are those who serve the most unselfishly. Husband and wife vie with each other in loving and serving. They mutually bear each other's burdens. The husband is the head, but he never says so; never reminds his wife of it; never claims authority; and defers to her in everything. 

 

The wife recognizes her husband as head, honors him, looks up to him with esteem and confidence—all the more because he never demands subjection. Thus true love in husband and wife never has any trouble about rights or place. Side by side they stand, these two wedded lovers, each a part of the other, each incomplete, a mere fragment without the other, but strong in their happy union in love.

Painting ~ The Little Helpmate by George Goodwin Kilburne 1839-1924
Wikigallery public domain

Of Ten Percent Importance

I got my hair trimmed today. I'd like to have a different style, but given the hair that I have, this is the best we can do. Sometimes I wish I were a hat kind of person. Would make things a lot simpler.

I'm glad my husband has never wanted a trophy wife, although I do think it’s important to look as pleasant as I can, and I know he appreciates that. I recall a friend sadly telling me when she turned 40 that her husband teased her about trading her in for two 20s. That's not at all funny. I'm thankful for a husband who looks beyond the temporal.
 
Of the 22 verses on the Proverbs 31 woman, a possible two have to do with how she looks. That's not quite 10% of what's important in her life. It's not to be discounted, but neither is it to be a major issue. Now that's a good thing because it would be such a lost battle for me to try and keep my looks from its inevitable aging. A woman could spend thousands (not me, unless I trade in the house, and I don't think My Beloved would go for that) to nip and tuck, augment, plasticize, tighten up and color up, but only the spirit can truly become more beautiful with time and attention given to it. I know some women who are very beautiful, not particularly physically, but beautiful in spirit. As a matter of fact, the ugliest woman I know has a lovely spirit.

As I get ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb, only my spirit will be going, and I want to be a radiant bride.

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. Revelation 19:7

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Proverbs 31:30

Painting ~ Printemps, Albert Lynch 1851-1860 

via WikiCommons public domain

Why Do You Read the Bible?

We live in a therapeutic culture. And it subtly pervades the church. Do we recognize it? How often do you attend a worship service hoping the pastor will say something that will make you feel better about what's going on in your life? To encourage you or cheer you on? How often do you start your day with Bible reading so your day will run smoother? Skip the reading and what do you expect? A not-so-good day. Do you have your favorite passages that give you a boost when you're feeling down? Not that any of these reasons are wrong, but what is truly at the core of why you read your Bible? Is it about you? Or is it about God?

As I was recently listening to a conversation on Revive Our Hearts between Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Richard Owen Roberts, Mr. Roberts made the following statement that gave me pause. It's part of a series entitled When God Revives A Heart.

What if you were to call a moratorium on all misuse of the Bible? What if you were to say to yourself, “I’m tired of using the Bible as a medicine cabinet—going to the Bible to get a pill to pick me up; to get a vitamin—something to encourage me. I’m going to use the Bible for the next six months to gain such a picture of God that His holiness becomes my holiness.”  

Desiring God Himself.

If you'd like to hear the conversation, you can listen in here. This day's segment is entitled "Reversing the Decline."

Painting ~ Woman Reading by a Paper-Bell Shade 1766, Henry Robert Morland 1716-1797

Wikimedia Commons public domain

Everyday Moments

Thinking about comments from our Mom's Discussion Group this evening. The topic was on having a servant's heart toward our children, of self-sacrifice in modeling God's love and care for them. Our talk tonight was counter-cultural in our self-seeking, self-interest world. As we read our chapter for the week, we highlight significant statements from The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child's Heart for Eternity by Sally Clarkson. We talk about those statements when we come together. One of mine this week was:

But it's the way I respond to my children in everyday moments that gives me the best chance of winning their hearts.

It's about touching their hearts for eternity. Our children are the only "things" that we can take into eternity with us. They matter more than our personal time and interests and the myriad other distractions that draw our own heart away.

When our heart is in tandem with God's eternal purposes, not so much seems like a sacrifice. We begin to see our children as God sees them, and it powerfully affects us as well as them. Our eyes open to teachable and touchable moments--to show them God's love and care in a fallen down, broken world.

Our children learn much about God by how we respond in those everyday moments.

Painting ~ The Prayer Before Meal 1740, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin 1688-1779

WikiArt public domain

Discipling Children

What is our purpose in wanting our children to change? Is it changed behavior so things will run smoother around the house, so we'll look like a good mom, or so our children will simply stay out of jail? But don't we want more for our children than mere behavior modification? What we're really looking for is heart change, which ultimately results in behavioral change.

Sharing a video clip with you about "Teaching Children Who Are Reluctant to Change." And what child (or adult) isn't reluctant to change? If you have a few minutes, I think you'll appreciate this brief discussion with Julie Lowe of Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation.


Julie Lowe - Teaching children who are reluctant to change from CCEF on Vimeo.

For The Children's Sake

Tim Hill, pixabay

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. It's so homey and cozy. But the season is being rushed, rushed, rushed. I've been seeing Christmas decor in the stores for a few weeks now! And Halloween has been here for quite awhile. I read that Halloween is now the second most celebrated holiday.

Halloween has overshadowed Thanksgiving in the thoughts of most Americans. Halloween is more marketable, I suppose, which seems to be the bottom line of holidays these days. And Americans aren't so much given to being thankful, anyway. We live in a me-focus culture.

Are we connecting the dots here? Halloween has overshadowed giving thanks to God for his bountiful provisions and abundant blessings. Santa Claus has overshadowed rejoicing in the birth of our Savior. The Easter Bunny has overshadowed rejoicing in Christ's Resurrection. Could it all be part of The Enemy's subversive plan?

Halloween disturbs my spirit. It's a marriage of pagan and Christian beliefs. Can light and darkness co-exist? What partnership has righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14) It troubles me even more when churches participate, having a Harvest Party, calling it a Halloween alternative. It's still Halloween.

I understand that it's an opportunity to get children to come to the church, an opportunity to reach them with the gospel message. But don't we see that this sends a confusing and double-minded message to the children? They may be told that it's the eve of All Saints Day and encouraged to dress like a Bible character, but if a survey were to be taken during a Harvest Party, no doubt the children would think the church is celebrating Halloween. Maybe some churches do, but how do they explain to the children that blood and guts and gore and ghosts and animal sacrifices and witchcraft and demons and all the underworld goings on are not what their church celebrates? If it's All Hallows Eve, what's holy about it? And do we understand that All Saints Day was a day for praying for dead people?

So let's go back to the underlying purpose of a Harvest Party--to use it as an outreach opportunity for children. Divorce it from Halloween. Delay it a week and have it in early November, certainly an appropriate time as we're looking toward Thanksgiving and having a thankful spirit. Children will still come to the party, and they'll understand the purpose--to celebrate God's goodness in giving a bountiful harvest. A true Harvest Party, and no confusion as to what the church believes and celebrates.

For the children's sake, lead them in clarity of the gospel message.

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