You are at War!  If you are committed to living devoted to Christ, then you have an enemy who wants to disrupt that commitment.  The Apostle Peter said, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, NIV)

Temptation

Temptation

Temptation is the devil’s tool to lure you off your course with God.

No one is exempt from experiencing this alluring attack.  Even Jesus was tempted by the devil, though he never yielded.  We can learn from Jesus the principles to follow for successfully fending off temptation’s allurements.

1. Live a life filled with God.  In Luke 4 we read of the devil’s temptation of Jesus at the beginning of his public ministry.  The Bible says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit.” (Luke 4:1)  He was full of the Spirit of God.

Temptation to sin is a temptation to leave God and his ways.  The remedy is to be so preoccupied with God that you don’t have the time or energy to be distracted by the devil.

It is like having a girl friend or boyfriend when you are young.  You think about them all the time, talk on the phone for hours, text 100 times a day, and spend all available free time with them.  What are the chances, when you are living by that kind of devoted love, that you will have wandering eyes for another when you are in that state of mind.  Chances are slim.

2. Know the devil is behind the temptation.  When Jesus was tempted, he knew it was the devil tempting him.  He knew that it was not simply his appetites crying out.  There was a sinister enemy who wanted to steer him away from his divine purpose.

When we fail to recognize the author of the temptation, we get lazy and forget that we are in a war.  Then we let our guard down.  The disciple of Jesus is always strongest when they remember that they are in a battle and must remain vigilant.

3. Know your vulnerabilities.  The devil is not stupid.  He does not attack you where you are strong.  He targets your weaknesses.  He attempted to trip Jesus when Jesus “was hungry.” (Luke 4:2)  He will do the same with you.  You can expect it.

He will target you when you are tired, stressed, lonely, hurt, or disappointed with others.  Learn to recognize when you are vulnerable and address those issues before the evil one can capitalize on them.

4. Know God’s Word.  Jesus resisted the devil through his knowledge of Scripture.  It must be the same with us.  There is no substitute for learning and applying the Bible to your life.  God’s Word prepares us to identify sin and shows us how we can flee from such sin.

 

The Psalmist said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  (Psalm 119:11)

 

5. Resist the devil and run to God.  James said, “Submit yourselves, then, to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you.” (James 4:7-8)  When temptation strikes we must simultaneously cling to God and resist the temptation.

Have you ever seen a parent holding a small child when another adult comes up reaching for the child saying something like “oh I’d like to just take you home with me”?  More often the child will cling to the parent while simultaneously pulling away from the other adult.

We must push away from the temptation as we pull close to God.

6. Stay alert and expect the inevitability of future temptations.  Jesus successfully resisted the temptation used on him, but it is worth noting the devil did not give up.  Scriptures say, “he left him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13)

Don’t be deceived into thinking that you can become exempt from temptations.  Successfully resisting one temptation does not mean that others are not coming.

Remember we are at War!

 

Question:  How will you apply these principles in your life?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

What does your spiritual growth have in common with an old Nike commercial?  Everything!  Remember the commercial series years ago, “Just Do It!”  The athletic shoe company urged the public to “Just Do It,” take action and strive toward the goal.  Do you want to grow closer to God?  Do you want to experience more of him flowing through your life?  Then you too must “Just Do It!”

Just Do It

Just Do It

Spiritual growth does not just happen to you.  You must pursue it.  It is true that God pursues you, but you must respond.  If you are not growing spiritually, you cannot point the finger of blame at others.  You must own it.  You are responsible for progressing in your obedient love relationship with Jesus.

There are two kinds of people in this world.  Those who are…

  1. Action Inclined.  When they see a need or sense a calling, their bias is toward action.  They do something about it without letting the grass grow under their toes.

and those who are…

  1. Action Adverse.  When they see a need or sense a calling, they shrink back from taking action.  Their reasons may vary from fear to indifference.

You can think of yourself as positioned somewhere on the continuum between being action inclined and action adverse.  Few are entirely one or the other.  Are you someone who has more in common with an activist?  Or, are you more inclined to respond with passivity, resisting action.

Sometimes examples of inactivity can seem harmless, like the slightly overweight couch potato who simply watches the world go by.  But sometimes an example of inaction can be downright evil.

Consider March 13, 1964 in Queens, New York, when Kitty Genovese was stabbed and sexually assaulted for upwards of thirty minutes while, as many as 38 looked on, but did nothing.

The Apostle Paul taught believers to be action inclined when he said, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)  There are commands of Christ to be followed, ministry to engage in, and the gospel to share.  This takes action.  The days are evil and fleeting.  Time is not to be wasted.

What about in your life?  Are you engaging in your spiritual development or are you letting opportunities to engage pass you by as you say, “Maybe tomorrow.”

The problem with that is tomorrow may never come.  But even if it does, you risk losing today.  You risk missing God’s spiritual appointments.

Is there something that you know God is placing in your path today?  Maybe it is something he wants you to do, a fear he wants you to face, a person he wants you to help, an unbeliever with whom he wants you to share the gospel.

Why are you waiting to take action?  If God has put this before you, “Just Do It!”  Get started.

I know, you have some fears, some concerns.  What if I am not good enough?  What if I fail?

Jon Acuff, in his best selling book, Start, says, “As you stand with one foot still on the road to average and one foot on the road to awesome, you’ve got to kill those concerns.  Fortunately, there’s a trick that will take care of them both.  Just start.”[1]

Starting, taking action, is the trick to growing in Christ and making a difference in the world.

So say “yes” to that opportunity.  Set aside that time for prayer.  Invite that friend to church.  Help that friend who feels so alone in their trouble.  Give to that great cause.  “Just do It!”  And you know what?

You will find your day to be an adventure, God to be your strength, and your life to be significant.

Question:  What is it that God is calling you to do TODAY?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.



[1] Jon Acuff, Start, The Lampo Group, Inc., Brentwood, Tennessee, copyright 2013, p. 27.

Everybody has problems!  The problem with problems is how we think and feel about the problems.  Did you catch that?  Read it again if you need.

Look Up

Look Up

Life is made of problems.  At school they teach you math and show you how to solve problems.  If you didn’t have problems at work, your employer wouldn’t need you.  Problems are job security.  You are going to face them.  You are hired to solve them.  The question:  How will you think and feel about your challenges?

Often we feel dread when encountering a problem.  We can get so down that paralysis creeps in and we don’t take action.  This isn’t good.  We are not thinking with faith in a powerful God.

Consider Elijah.  He was a great prophet who stood for God, spoke God’s Word when the nation rejected the LORD’s message, he faced off with the false prophets and won, but those are the good things.  Elijah also had problems.  He lived to point the people to God, but saw little evidence they were submitting to the LORD.  The Queen threatened to kill him and he was on the run.  He was tired, hungry, and lonely.  He had problems.

Consider negative ways we often view our problems… We often think things like…

*My problem is greater than God.  We might not actually say this, but we act like it is.  Elijah had great faith in God’s ability.  He stood alone against 450 false prophets and believed God would vindicate him.  But then the Queen threatened to murder him, all of a sudden he sees the problem as bigger than God and runs.  Sometimes you can have great faith in one area of your life and be weak of faith in another.

*I am the only one with problems.  Elijah felt alone.  He said to God, “I am the only one left.” (1 Kings 19:10)  So many times I counsel with people who feel like the struggle they have, they have alone.  They come to church and look at the rest of the people and think they have it all together.  But they don’t.  We all have struggles.

*I have lost hope in my future.  This is what happened to Elijah.  He said, “I have had enough, LORD…Take my life.” (1 Kings 19:4)  Some have said he was suicidal.  But he wasn’t.  He simply lost his zest for life.  This can happen to us when we fail to see the bigger picture of our circumstances from God.

We need to stop seeing our problems in these ways and start taking the steps God gives to rise above those problems.

What did God lead Elijah to do?  He was commanded to take three steps…

  1. Get up.  God sent an angel to the prophet to say, “Get up and eat.” (1 Kings 19:5).  Two important things here.  First is to get up.  Don’t wallow in laziness, get yourself moving.  When you feel overwhelmed by a problem, you might not feel like being active, but you need to anyway.  Secondly, eat.  That means, take care of your physical needs:  rest, exercise, eat well.  We are not mere spirits.  We have bodies.  We need to move them and fuel them if we are going to handle our problems.  Are you faced with a big problem?  Stay active and fuel your body with healthy food.
  2. Look up.  God says to Elijah, to look up to God.  He takes him to the Mountain and reveals His Presence to him.  He is calling him to look to God and be reminded God is in control.  Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD.”  Perhaps today God is saying to you, “Look Up!”  “I am here!”  “I am in control.”  “I will lead you through.”
  3. Link up.  We should never think we must face our problems all alone.  God has people he wants us to link up with as we walk through challenges.  He showed Elijah that there were people to help with his mission and even revealed that there were 7,000 who were following the LORD in Israel.  It is important that we link up with other believers on a continuous basis to encourage one another as we all work through our problems.

Question:  Do you have a scripture that encourages you to look to God for strength in your challenges?  Share it with us.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

The great need of our day is for a soul shaking experience of God’s Holy Greatness.  Without this we will never experience thorough revival, nor the sweeping movement of a Spiritual Awakening.  In a previous post, “The Power of Living In Awe of God I argued that without a soul shaking faith in the Greatness of God people cannot not fully experience conviction of sin, nor the overwhelming grace of God’s saving love.

Awesome God

Awesome God

In this blog I will identify what happens to us when we open our spiritual eyes to God’s holiness and power.  Isaiah is our example.  In Isaiah 6, he encountered God’s holy transcendence.  It changed him.  It made him realize his brokenness before God’s greatness.

Let’s look at what happens to you when you open your life to God’s Awe-Producing Greatness…

  1. You recognize that God is all-together separate and above man.  Isaiah says, “I saw the Lord…high and exalted.” (Isaiah 6:1)  Angelic beings called seraphs hovered over God, calling out in thunderous voices, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:3)  Isaiah saw God was above him in every way.  This is so important for us.  If we see God as too familiar, our limited view of God blinds us to the greatness of God.  How sad and empty is our life when it’s not filled with a power greater than our own.
  2. You recognize that God is absolutely, immeasurably, and infinitely all-powerful.  Isaiah heard the angelic beings refer to the Lord as “Almighty.”  He has all power.  When you experience the Holy power of God, you boldly believe that God can do anything to advance His kingdom through you.  Can we share our faith with our friends?  Can we take the gospel to every home in our community?  Can we pray and see God answer our prayers for our nation and world?  Of course this is possible.  Why?  Because God is “Almighty.”  Our boldness in the work of God is directly linked to our belief in the greatness of God.
  3. You recognize that the evidence of God’s sovereign majesty is everywhere.  If you really allow your life to be open to the absolute sovereign greatness of God, you begin to experience his power everywhere.  The seraphs proclaimed, “the whole earth is full of his glory.”  O’ that we would encounter God’s otherness so profoundly and recognize continually God’s activity that is always at work around us.
  4. You are overwhelmed so completely that all other loyalties are shaken away, leaving God to be the prime value in your life.  The Bible says, the “doorposts and thresholds shook.” (Isaiah 6:4)  After this, it was difficult for him to find any reason to not be utterly devoted to the One True God.  Believers in our day are so divided between the pleasures of this life and the pursuit of God.  We need to experience God with such force that we can no longer imagine not devoting ourselves to him.
  5. Conviction of sin is so strong that repentance is the only hope for relief and accepting God’s mercy and forgiveness through the atoning sacrifice of Christ becomes irresistible.  The prophet cries out “Woe to me!”…”I am a man of unclean lips.”  (Isaiah 6:5)  When he sees God’s holiness, it was impossible for him not to face his own sinfulness.  We need this!  The people of God cannot move forward when we are shackled to sin we have become blind to.  It was only after Isaiah saw his sin that he was ready for God’s mercy and saving grace.  After Isaiah’s confession, God took a “live coal” from the atoning sacrifice and touched Isaiah’s lips declaring, “your guilt is taken away.” (Isaiah 6:7)

 

Let us pray that God will open our minds to more fully experience his awesome greatness.

Question:  What is it in our lives that prevent us from experiencing the holiness of God?  You can leave a comment by clicking here..

Remember the song we used to taunt one another with when in grade school.  It went…”First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage.”  The song was silly, but it did convey the logical progression of relationships God intended for men and women.  It showed love is not only for our pleasure, it’s meant to produce something that outlives us.

Marital Love

Marital Love

This post is being published on Valentine’s Day.  Today, I want to write something for those who are married or someday hope to be married.  I know this might not apply to everyone, but even those who are not married, and don’t intend to be, can still benefit from knowing God’s purpose for marital love.

Today, we celebrate romance.  Such a focus dwells on the mutually pleasurable feeling we all crave in such a relationship.  Marriage is meant for such feelings, but it is also about so much more.

It all starts with how God defines marriage.  He defines marriage…

  1. As divinely instituted.  Jesus said, “at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh.’”  (Matthew 19:4-5)  Marriage is God’s idea.
  2. As between a man and a woman.  God created the genders as stated above and did so to then ordain that they be sacredly joined.  Our culture has been debating other arrangements, but for God there has never been a debate.  Marriage is for a man and a woman.
  3. As a relationship of oneness.  Jesus said, they are to “become one flesh.” There is to be a deep closeness that is in part expressed by sexual union.
  4. As the foundation of a family.  Never was the marriage relationship meant to only serve to provide exhilarating experiences between couples.  To be sure that is one of the blessings, but marriage is the foundation of the most basic unit of society, the family.  Strong marriages equal strong families.  In the same way you would not want to build a house before you had set a firm foundation, it is dangerous to build a family without the foundation of a strong marriage.
  5. As a covenant relationship.  The Lord refers to marriage as a covenant. (Malachi 2:14)  It is a promise for life that is made before God.  It is sacred and holy.  It is a big deal.

But there is more.  God’s plan is that he would be glorified through marriages.  How so?

  1. Marriage displays God’s image in the world.  God created us “male and female.”  Marriage displays both of those dynamics of God’s image to the world.
  2. Marriage is a symbol of Christ’s relationship to his church. The Bible speaks of the husband and wife relationship as being a reflection of how the church is to relate to Jesus. (Ephesians 5:22-23)  How you relate to your spouse is a witness to the world of Jesus and his love for us.
  3. Marriage is also for the rearing of a godly generation.  The Lord wills that a couple would live for him, but also wills for those who can have children to have them and rear them to likewise live for God. (Malachi 2:15)

And for us, God’s plan is to provide a special kind of love through marriage.

We are to love our spouse…

  1. Emotionally.  Woman, your man hungers for honor and respect.  Men, your lady craves your affirmation and attention.
  2. Physically.  Marriage is meant to provide the occasion for shared affection and sexual union.  These are important aspects that must not be neglected. (1 Corinthians 7:2-5)
  3. With Provision.  It is in marriage that we promise to provide for each other.  It is all about working together to provide a home and the things we need to thrive.
  4. With Protection.  Men, you can protect your lady’s esteem, by affirming her and not tearing her down.  Women, you can protect your husband’s honor, by lifting him up and not nagging him.

I challenge those of you who are married to engage in your marriage as an act of worship.  God is calling you to reflect his glory through your love of your spouse.

Question:  What are ways you suggest that you can better glorify God by loving your spouse?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

God loves to set you apart for great assignments.  He aims to use you to advance his kingdom in ever larger ways.  But how do you prepare yourself to both recognize and respond when God calls you into a greater assignment?

Greater Service

Greater Service

In Acts 13, Barnabas and Saul, two leading men in the early church, were given a big mission.  It was a task that would have broader reach than any assignment they had fulfilled in the past.  This opportunity would spread the gospel of Christ, resulting in many new believers and churches.

All of us are meant to serve the Lord.  He gives each of us tasks to fulfill.  After God uses us one way, he often leads us into opportunities that are greater in breadth and potential impact.  When we are faithful with the smaller, he will many times promote us to the larger. (Matthew 25:21)

This doesn’t mean God will give us more prominence in the eyes of others.  It simply means God opens doors giving you an increased impact for his glory.

The question is, how do you prepare to be used of God in greater ways?

From the example of Barnabas and Saul, here are five steps that you can take to posture your life for greater kingdom impact.

  1. Do the things God already called you to do.  Before Barnabas and Saul received a greater assignment, they had completed a mission God had given previously. (Acts 12:25)  Before God gives you a greater opportunity, he is looking to see if you are being faithful with the smaller task he gave you before.  Has the Lord not yet opened a greater opportunity?  Do not fret.  Simply be faithful to the last thing God called you to do.
  2. Worship Regularly with God’s people.  These men heard God call them into a greater task as they were doing two things…
    1. Worshiping.  They were with their church family and corporately worshiping God.  There is great power when we glorify God with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is easier to hear from God when you are seeking him with others.
    2. Fasting.  They were cutting out the distractions of worldly pursuits.  Their focus was on God and what he wanted.  We would experience the call of God more clearly if we would purposefully set aside distractions for periods of time to focus our energies on the Lord.
    3. Listen for the promptings of God’s Spirit.  It was in the context of the church drawing near to God that they heard the prompting of the Holy Spirit who said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:2,NIV)  We need to be sensitive to the promptings of God in our lives, always looking for the times he opens doors of opportunity.
    4. Look for confirmation from others who walk with God.  Note that Barnabas and Saul were not the only ones who heard from God about their greater call.  Others in the church sensed it as well and placed their hands on them confirming they too believed these men were called.  It is good when other godly people can confirm that they too see this assignment is being given to us.
    5. Enter into the greater service.  These two early believers, according to the Bible, started their mission without delay.  When you know God called you to something, the time to start that something is right now.  Adlai Stevenson once said, “On the plains of hesitation lay the blackened bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory lay down to rest, and in resting they died.”

Take action, get started doing what God called you to do.

Question:  How are you going to prepare your life for greater service?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that our world is going crazy.  Everything is getting faster and increasingly complex.  We are frenzied, over stimulated, techno crazed, media saturated, and over scheduled.  Perhaps more than ever before, we need to rediscover the art of a daily retreat.

Daily Retreat

Daily Retreat

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not on a crusade against busy schedules, media, or being connected to the information highway.  I am an advocate for activity, productivity, and being engaged in our world.  If you looked at my life, you would see that I love to work, from early in the morning into the night.

No, my concern is about margin.  The tricky dark side to our busy connectivity is that it can become addictive.  We can lose our ability to know when to turn it off so that we can find space for our souls to breath in the Spirit of God.

Jesus taught us a different way.  He didn’t teach us to avoid busyness or to ignore life’s demands.  But he did display for us the art of daily retreating.  He taught us to create space for God in the midst of our frenzied pace.  In Mark 1:35-39 we see Him model one of these brief retreats.  In verse 35, the Bible says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (NIV)

I see in our Lord’s brief retreat Five Components we can incorporate in our time with God.

  1. Silence:  Jesus got up “very early in the morning, while it was still dark.”  He carved out time, before the demands of daylight.  How wise we would be if we would go to bed a little earlier so that we could get up before the rest of the world awakes clamoring for our attention.  I don’t think I ever regretted a time I got up early to fellowship with God.  But I know many times I have regretted staying up late glued to the T.V., only to have difficulty awaking the next day and missing my time with the Lord.
  2. Solitude:  Jesus “went up to a solitary place.”  He got alone, retreated from interruptions.  There has to be a time, even if only for minutes, when it is just God and you.  This is a time to turn off the social media and pull away from the demands of others.
  3. Sharing:  It was in this quiet place that Jesus “prayed.”  He spoke with His Father God.  We have great need to pour our heart out to the Lord.  Pray to Him about the day ahead, lay before Him your needs, and seek His wisdom and direction.
  4. Scripture:  After Jesus had spent time with the Father his disciples found Him.  Jesus told them of His calling to travel elsewhere to “preach” God’s Word.  Jesus could preach because He knew the Word of God.  In our daily retreat, Scripture reading should be a central part.  Read a passage, ponder it’s meaning, and prayerfully apply God’s Word to your life.
  5. Seeing our call to Serve:  After our Lord’s retreat we see Him continue in His ministry, even covering more ground, and reaching more people.  We must always remember that our time with God is never just about us.  God is preparing us to have impact on others.

 

The Challenge:  Plan today for a morning retreat for tomorrow.  Go to bed a little earlier and set your alarm to get up a little earlier.  Find that place of solitude, open up the Bible, and fellowship with the God who loves you so very much.

Question:  What are some practices you have found helpful in your daily time with God?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you.”  (Matthew 7:7)  He encourages you to be bold in asking for his involvement in your life.  Why?  The answer is simple and profound.  He cares!

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Bold Prayers

The Lord cares for you.  He cares so much that he sent his Son to die on the cross and rise from the dead to secure your redemption, to bring you into right relationship with him.  He wants your prayers to be bold.  He wants you to approach his “throne of grace with confidence.” (Hebrews 4:16)

As parents, when our kids ask us for things we do not want to give, we think of ways to show them what they ask is not wise.  But when they ask us for things that we want to give, we are thrilled they are asking and eager to fill their request.  It is the same with God.

Knowing God necessitates knowing what God wants, what he wants to do in you.  When you know what God wants it is easy to know what you can pray for with confidence.

Here are six things God wants…

  1. He wants to meet your needs.  Paul wrote, “God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)  Often we get our greed confused with our need.  It is not that God wants to give us anything we ask for.  But he is eager to meet our needs.  You can know he wants to take care of you.  Be open to the way God will choose to meet those needs, but be not shy about bringing your need to him.
  2. He wants to guide you with his Word.  The Bible teaches “man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 8:3)  He loves when you submerge yourself in Scripture, seeking guidance from him.  You can ask him to guide you and he will.
  3. He wants to treat you better than you deserve.  In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father (representing God) shows kindness, rather than rebuke, to his repentant son. (Luke 15) He treated the boy better than he deserved.  We didn’t deserve the gift of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, but by his grace he gave it.  Perhaps you have failed, but do not shy away from coming to God in prayer and asking for help.  Maybe you don’t deserve the help.  Truth is none of us do.  But God is inclined to help the broken.
  4. He wants to turn your troubles into teaching moments.  When we are facing difficulties we often think that all is wasted.  But it is not.  God never wastes a hurt.  Every challenge is an opportunity for us to learn.  Instead of asking “Why Me?”  We should be asking, “What are you teaching me in this, LORD?”
  5. He wants us to return from our spiritual wanderings.  Some of us have wandered from our relationship with God, wandered from his ways.  We can be tempted to think that since we have wandered, God has written us off.  But that is not true.  In the parable of the prodigal we see the Father faithfully waiting for the return of his son.  God has not written you off.  He wants you to return and he is waiting to welcome you back into his loving arms.
  6. He wants to fill you with his celebrative love.  The Father in the story of the prodigal welcomes his wayward son home with a lavish celebration.  This is powerful.  It means the God celebrates when we approach him for mercy.  God celebrates over you.  You are that precious to him.

Knowing God wants to do these things, be bold in asking for him to do so.  He will celebrate in your asking.

Question:  How are you going to choose to pray more boldly now that you know God wants to answer your prayers?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Spiritual parenting does not happen by accident.  It takes intention.  It demands making certain choices.

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Family Choosing to Follow Christ

Leading your children to know and follow Christ is critical to their development and their eternal destiny.  It demands you make choices concerning the kind of person you will become and the kinds of things you will do.

You must…

  1. Choose the right direction.  At every point in life you are at a cross-road of decision.  Will you live for yourself and your pleasures or will you live for the purpose of glorifying Christ?  If you are going to inspire your offspring to give their lives to Jesus, you will have to make a fundamental decision to live sold-out to God.  You can’t teach kids to give themselves fully to the Lord if you are only living for him part time.  They will see through the hypocrisy.  They will witness your partial investment and assume the Lord is not worth the price.  Moses said to the Israelites before entering the Promised Land, “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God.”  (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)  Leading kids can never be separated from your personal example.  Decide to live full on for Jesus.
  2. Choose the right mentors.  How are we going to know how to naturally lead our children in the things of God?  It’s best to follow the example of those who have done the same in their own homes and have been successful.  These people might be close to you or people that you do not personally know, but their walk with Christ is real and you are inspired by them to walk with Christ yourself.  These people may be older than you, even younger than you.  They might be alive or they might have been dead for a long time.  I have mentors that are alive and I can phone them up, but some have passed and I can remember their example or read about them in books.
  3. Choose a life of obedience.  There is only one sure sign that we are included in God’s Kingdom.  That is that we are obeying God’s will.  Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)  This is a frightening passage at first reading.  But to the one who is devoted to living out an obedient lifestyle before God, it need not be.  God is looking for people who will really live out their profession of faith.  And in the case of parents, is this not what the next generation is looking for?  They want to know, is this God real, can you really have a walk with Christ that is genuine?  They are looking to you to see if this LORD is really One who is worthy to follow.
  4. Choose to lead your family.  It was Joshua who said, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”  (Joshua 24:15)  Like I said in the beginning of this post, spiritual parenting is not accidental.  You must be intentional.  You have to choose to lead.  That means first you must choose to lead yourself.  Determine to keep your spiritual life on a growth trajectory.  It also means you need to lead your kids into spiritual disciplines.  It would include things as simple as taking the family to church, involving them in church activities, reading the Bible and praying with your kids over dinner or at bedtime.

These simple choices can have incredible power in giving your children every spiritual advantage as they grow up in your home.

Question:  What are other choices that you have found important in leading your children spiritually? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

One night years ago I was jarred out of my sleep when an earthquake struck our area.  Beds shook, figurines fell off of shelves, and cracks formed in the sidewalks.  When tremors strike, things are shaken and forever changed.

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Holy Tremors

I believe in holy tremors!  I believe in a shaking of the soul that comes when God’s holiness is dramatically encountered.  When the soul is shaken by God’s righteous transcendence, then former loyalties, lesser values, and selfish pursuits are abandoned.  When the soul is shaken these things are cleared away, making room for a singular loyalty to God.

We have lost that holy fear of God in our day.  God has become so familiar to us in our minds that we view Him as our big buddy in the sky.

This is disturbing in a couple of ways.

First, it robs God of the honor due Him.  He is the Mighty, Holy, and Transcendent God.

But second, it robs us.  It prevents us from truly being impacted by His Greatness.

I believe that the great need of our day is to be shaken with holy tremors.  O’ that men and women, boys and girls, in our world would be so shaken by God’s holiness that sin would seem utterly foolish and that we would surrender to the Master’s weighty lordship.

What does it take for this to happen?  It takes people like you and me encountering the Awesome Holiness of God.  It takes us willingly humbling ourselves before the Righteous LORD.

The great prophet Isaiah encountered the LORD in His holiness and power and it forever changed him.  In the temple he saw the LORD.  He witnessed angelic creatures proclaim that God is “Holy, Holy, Holy.”  (Isaiah 6:3)

And the temple shook.  But it wasn’t only the house of worship that was shaken, Isaiah trembled.  “Woe to me!” he cried out, “I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

Isaiah encountered the weighty righteousness of God and that shook him to his core.  That caused him to get honest about the sinful condition of his life.  That compelled him to confess his sin and be willing to turn from it.

We must pray for our souls, our church, our community, our country, our world, to shake with holy tremors.  It is time for us to see God as Great and Awesome.

When we read the Scriptures and see God in His greatness, do we humbly tremble?  Do we recognize how grand He is and how small we are?

When we think of Christ’s love, His death for us on the cross, His glorious resurrection, do we tremble?

The old Negro spiritual asks the question, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”  Then the refrain goes like this, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble…tremble…tremble.”

Oh, that our souls would tremble before God’s Greatness, His Holiness, His Righteousness.  Oh that we would be overwhelmed by Him in every way.

It is only when we tremble before Him that we truly understand His power and begin to experience His overwhelming love.  Today, humble yourself before the Greatness of God.

Question:  In what ways have you experienced holy tremors and how has it changed your experience of God?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.