Fatherhood

Parenting On Point Day 3: God’s Love Is Like an Oxygen Mask

by

If someone asked you “what is the most important thing that someone could possibly do,” what would your answer be?
 
Jesus’ answer in Mark 12:30 is “love…God.”
 
Love is one of the most important words in the Bible and appears roughly eight hundred times in the Old and New Testaments. In our culture, though, it is one of the most misunderstood and misused words.
 
Simply put, when the Bible says that God is love, it means that He is relational. God wants a relationship with you. This is why He speaks to us through Scripture and listens to us through prayer. Furthermore, God made us like Him, in a limited sense, to be in loving relationship with Him and others, starting with what Jesus calls our “neighbor.” Therefore, our loving relationships are supposed to start at home with our family members who sleep in the rooms next to ours.
 
Here’s how God explains it in Genesis 1:26, “God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ ” Did you catch the “our” language? Again, this is the Bible’s way of letting us know about the Trinity, that there is “one” God made up of the three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. It’s important to remember that our God is ALL ABOUT loving relationships. This is not merely what God does, this is how God is!
 
Our God is a loving and relational God, and He made us to be loving and relational people. We are literally handmade and hardwired for loving relationships. We are not supposed to live life alone. In fact, while the world was still perfect and before sin occurred, God said it was “not good” for us to be “alone” in Genesis 2:18. Today, in our sin infected and corrupted world, our need for loving relationship is even greater.
 
If you have ever flown on an airplane, you have likely heard the safety speech that is given at the beginning of the flight. We are told that in case of an emergency oxygen masks will drop. The attendant tells us to put our own mask on first before we put the mask on a child with us. This allows us to be healthy and alert when caring for the child.
 
Life is like a flight. Jesus is our captain. Our relationship with Him is our proverbial oxygen mask. On Jesus Airlines, when the storms hit and lightning strikes, there will be times of turbulence until we land in His Kingdom. Both parents and children need to have their masks on so they can stay alive and alert. In order for this to happen, parents (and other caregivers) have to put their mask on first. If we are not in a healthy, life-sustaining relationship with God where the Holy Spirit puts His life-giving nourishment into our soul, then we will not be able to care for the child sitting on the flight next to us. This is what Jesus means in Mark 12:28–31 saying that we need to first “love God” and then second “love our neighbor.”
 
How is your Bible reading? How is your prayer life? How is your relationship with God? How can you improve your relationship with God? What are some practical things you can do this week to help your child’s relationship with God?

Parenting on Point Day 2: God’s Love Is Like Ice Cream We Share

by

Jesus Christ is the most important person who has ever lived. More songs have been sung to Him and books written about Him than anyone who has ever lived in the history of the world. In fact, our calendar is divided around His life into B.C. (before Christ) and A.D. (Anno Domini meaning “the year of our Lord”), including our major holidays of His Christmas birthday party and Easter resurrection celebration.
 
Furthermore, the Bible is the most important book that has ever been written. It is the bestselling book in all of human history, translated into more languages than any other book, and has shaped much of human history.
 
So, when the most important person in the history of the world tells us the most important message of history’s most important book, His words are most important. Jesus does exactly this in Mark 12:29–30 saying, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God…’”
 
Jesus tells us three things. First, we need to know who God is. Second, we need to know that God loves us. Third, we need to know that God’s love for us is a gift to both be enjoyed and shared with others.
 
First, when Jesus tells us that God is “one” He quotes from the ancient book of Deuteronomy 6:4. This was a section of the Bible that God’s people would have memorized and spoken each day as a prayerful reminder of who God is. The word for “one” God is a curious one, it often means multiple who are so unified that they are one. This same word is used in Genesis 2:24 as God’s intention for married couples beginning with Adam and Eve to be “one,” even though they are two. In this, we see what the Bible calls the Trinity. The Trinity is the Christian teaching from the Bible that there is “one” God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
 
Because the three persons of the Trinity are one, the Bible can say in 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” God is not lonely. Throughout all eternity the Father, Son, and Spirit live in loving relationship. They communicate with one another, care for one another, and continue with one another. In some regards, the One God is kind of like a loving family, which may explain why the language of “Father” and “Son” is used to explain their loving relationship.
 
Second, not only is God loving, but God loves you! Apart from your performance, God loves you and accepts you as you are.  God loves you so much that through His Son Jesus Christ, He gladly forgives all of your past; is there for hope, help and healing, in your present; and will walk with you hand-in-hand like a loving parent for the rest of your life and into eternity. God’s love is mind bending, heart changing, and destiny altering. God loves you! God cannot love you any more! God will not love you any less!
 
Third, God and God’s love for you is both a gift for you to enjoy and a gift for you to share with others, starting with your own family. This is exactly what Jesus is saying, and His best friend John (nicknamed “the one Jesus loved”) echoes in 1 John 4:11, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
 
I (Mark) can still remember as a young child, all the wonderful memories I had with my Grandpa George. He passed away when I was 10, and I have missed him ever since. I knew that my grandpa loved me. He was kind to me, generous with me, spent time with me, and made memories with me. One of my favorite memories as a child was when the ice cream truck would come through his neighborhood with the music playing. I would run out to stop the ice cream truck and get a treat. The other kids from the neighborhood would also run out to get their ice cream. My grandpa would hand me the money to buy my ice cream, and hand me extra money to buy ice cream for all the other kids. I had the double joy of experiencing the love of my grandpa and sharing that loving generosity with others. What Jesus is saying, is that God, and His love, are like that.
 
Who has been the most loving person in your life? How can you thank or encourage them today?

Parenting On Point Day 1: Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength 

by

Let’s be honest, kids are a blessing and a burden, often wonderful and sometimes awful, and they do not come with a set of directions. If you are a parent (or grandparent, or caregiver), in a moment of frustration or futility you have likely asked yourself in some form or fashion, “What is the point of parenting?” or “How do I know if I’m doing a good or bad job with this child?” If only there was a bullseye for us to focus in on, then we could start to aim all of our parenting toward a point.
 
With five children (four teenagers) of our own, we’ve asked this question ourselves and found an answer that we are excited to share with you.  It’s the one thing that changes everything. The point of parenting is for you to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and help your kids do the same.
 
There is an account about Jesus in Mark 12:28–31 that says, “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, ‘Which commandment is the most important of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The most important is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.’ 
 
When asked what the Tweet of the Old Testament was, Jesus said to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and help our neighbor do the same. Therefore, the point of parenting is to raise kids in the love of God since they are our closest “neighbor.” In this devotional series, we will get into the practical ways of growing in the point of parenting. Here are the big ideas we will be studying:

Love – God loves the parent and child, and God helps the parent and child love God and each other. This is the entire point of parenting : love.
Heart – How to have the right heart as a parent and get to your child’s heart right, so that they live from a pure heart.
Soul – How to have a deep relationship with God as your Father from which you train your child to tend to their own soul, so they can spiritually mature.
Mind – How to keep your mind sharp as a parent, and how to educate your child, so that they are mentally wise.
Strength – How to guard the physical well being of your child with everything from a safe environment to a good diet, so that they are physically strong.
 
How well are you walking in a loving relationship with Jesus in this season of your life?

Colossians #10 – Enjoy Your Family

by

What does God expect of Christian parents and their children? In this incredibly practical sermon, we explore in great detail what it means for children to obey their parents, and parents to lovingly lead their children toward God’s best for them. This sermon will help you consider how you were raised, and help you correct errors in how you may be raising your children. And, it will give hope to imperfect parents as even Jesus was raised by imperfect parents but turned out just fine.

How do you Honor Bad Parents?

by

Many struggle with the fifth commandment, which says, “Honor your father and mother.” (Exodus 20:12)

There are some people who barely know their parents. Others have painful relationships them. So how does a person honor a mother or father who has wronged them?

Maybe, the key lies in grace and forgiveness.

In the video above, I examine this commandment and talk about ways to honor abusive, absent, or simply bad parents.

I would love to answer your questions. Send them to [email protected] today!

Which is more important: your kids or your marriage?

by

It’s a challenge for all parents: How do you give your kids the time and attention they need and still make sure your marriage grows stronger? Rising divorce rates and so many kids growing up in broken homes show the reality. This is a tough issue!

But God doesn’t want your kids or your marriage to be your number one priority.

If you’re struggling to give time both to your kids and your marriage – or if you want to get a head start on the issue before the kids come along – this video is for you!