Parenting - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

One of my favorite places to visit is the zoo. God's creative genius is apparent at every turn, serving to remind us that no two of His creatures are the same, and that includes each of us, His prized creation.

Psalm 139 proclaims that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made...intricately wrought," and that God knew our entire days before we were born and prepared them for us. In other words, God divinely designed each of us for a purpose that only we are commissioned to fulfill. He mapped out our entire lives so that each day serves to develop in us the strengths and talents He gave us that will enable us to serve our purpose.

Imagine being one of a kind, priceless, irreplaceable, precious. That's who we are in God's eyes. He values us and wants to help us develop the talents and strengths woven into our beings; He provides all we need to become our unique selves, fulfilling our God-appointed mission. Our part is to believe that we are made in His image, that He has assigned us a divine purpose, and that He will use all the days of our lives to perfect those strengths and talents in us, guiding us to use them according to His plan.

If you struggle believing that you are precious to God, begin to study His word. Ask Him to speak to your heart and to show you who you are in Him. Pray for God to reveal to you each day your God-given strengths and talents and purpose. Pray for the ability to really see how God uses you. Rely on Him, and acknowledge that God doesn't make mistakes, and He doesn't make junk! He loves YOU.

As we begin to live in this truth, we will be better equipped to teach and reinforce in our children that they too are one of a kind, lovingly designed by God as someone special.

Psalm 139 - recited by Michael W. Smith

Thank you, Lord, for giving each of us unique qualities and a purpose that only we can fulfill with Your help. Thank you for your love for us and your patience as we learn to become who You have designed us to be.

Please encourage our hearts and strengthen us to serve You according to Your plan. We choose to honor You with our lives.

Help us as we teach our children to be who You want them to be. In Your name we pray, Amen.

Parenting - Knowing When to Duck

Proverbs 22:3 says, "A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered. (The Message)" I don't know how many times I have been the "simpleton." I knew that what I was about to do wasn't going to result in a good outcome, but I still chose to follow my wisdom rather than God's. I got clobbered!

Regardless of how well we understand and even believe the truth of that verse, we still seem to think that we can beat the odds - be smarter than the rules that govern the situation. God knows this about us; that's possibly why we have so many passages in the Bible to instruct us, so many examples from which to learn. He really wants us to know when to duck!

One way we can see trouble coming and know it's trouble is to put the Word of God in our hearts. The Message translation of Psalms 119:105 says, "By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path." In that same Psalm, the writer says that he has hidden God's word in his heart so he won't sin (v11).

II Timothy 2:15, Paul instructs his "son in the faith," Timothy, to study - do his best - to present himself to God "approved, unashamed" and as one who teaches the "word of truth" correctly. Paul wants Timothy to know the Word of God and be so diligent in applying the Word that he will know when to duck rather than get clobbered by the "godless chatter" going on around him (see II Timothy 2:14-18).

By praying and studying what God says, we must prepare ourselves daily to be godly moms and dads. Our world has plenty of convenient answers to how we raise our children. Be on guard; weigh the advice against God's Word:

^23-27 Keep vigilant watch over your heart;
that's where life starts.
Don't talk out of both sides of your mouth;
avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip.
Keep your eyes straight ahead;
ignore all sideshow distractions.
Watch your step,
and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
Look neither right nor left;
leave evil in the dust. (Proverbs 4:23-27, The Message)

Prepare yourself by hiding God's Word in your heart. Trust Him to direct you in all the situations of your life, even your parenting (Proverbs 3:5-12). God's Holy Spirit will bring to your remembrance His Word (John 14:26).

Knowing when to duck is wisdom (Proverbs 9:10)!

Lord, I'm so thankful that you gave us your Word to guide us, to teach us, the protect us, to answer our questions. Please put in our hearts a desire to study your Word and hide it in our hearts.

When we don't know what to do, please let our first response be to ask You, seeking your Word for the help we need. Help us to recognize the voice of your Holy Spirit bringing your Word to our memories and prompting us to follow your wisdom and not our own.

Thank you for providing us wisdom. Give us the courage to practice your wisdom and know when to duck!

In Your Name we pray, Amen.

Parenting - Being an Example of Wisdom

In a time where there are countless sources of "wisdom," discerning what is truth and teaching our children the value of wisdom can seem impossible. We live in a world that has increasingly led us to believe that life should come easy, that we shouldn't have to know struggle to achieve, that we all deserve immediate gratification and resolution to problems, and that each of us is right and truth is relative. The cacophony of advice becomes like a Tower of Babel - so many voices coming from every direction, creating confusion rather than peace. Yet, if we are seriously seeking wisdom, we will shut out the voices of our modern-day wise men and women and will listen to what God tells us; He provides wisdom for all situations and in just one book, the Bible.

In II Chronicles 10:1-19, the account of Solomon's son Jeroboam reveals a young man who chose to ignore the wisdom of his elders for the popular counsel of his peers. The story actually is a continuation his father's story - Solomon's departure from God's wisdom to reliance on his own. Both situations led to the same outcome - destruction. Proverbs 13:20 puts the situation rather bluntly: "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble."

I wish I could claim that I have always made the right choices and set the right example for my children. I would like to be able to say that I paid attention to the wisdom of my elders instead of sometimes following the trends of my generation. I realize now that not everything my parents' and grandparents' generations taught was without value; I just didn't take the time or have the maturity or desire to understand the wisdom of what they believed and taught. On the other hand, not everything they held to be "truth" was; their generations were no more immune to popular cultural influences than ours are. The comfort I take from this understanding is that those things that are wise transcend generations and have their foundations in the Word of God. God's truth remains unchanged through all time.

As parents, we have the responsibility to set the example for our children. If we desire our children to be wise, we have to be wise; if we want them to be like Christ, we have to be like Him. This doesn't mean that we will "get it right" every day and in all situations. What it does mean, though, is that we will put our reliance in the Lord and seek wisdom from Him and His word. It means we commit ourselves first to seeking God's ways and living according to His will for our lives and then ensuring that we are teaching our children through how we live and how we parent them.

God has provided us with the tools we need to be successful. We have his Word, the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us and to guide us, and godly people who can support us. We aren't in this alone.

The Bible isn't short of words of wisdom. As you go through your day, find time to sit with God and His word; ask the Holy Spirit for understanding. God is not unaware of your needs or your situation; He will provide you the guidance you need. You will find that as you study and listen and intentionally walk with the Lord, you will know wisdom. You will become the example of who you want your children to be - a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Thank you, Lord, for providing all we need to be your followers. You created us, You have a unique purpose for us, and You have ensured that we will have what we need to become who You intend us to be.

You have given us a calling to raise our children to know and serve You. Please lead and direct us as we study your word, seek your wisdom, and become more like You before our children. Help us to lead them to know You.

We pray this in Your name, Amen.

Some verses to get you started:
Proverbs 24:3
Proverbs 22:6
Proverbs 23:12
Psalm 111:10
Matthew 6:25-34
Ephesians 6:4
James 1:5

Wisdom: Where to Find It

When I reflect on the individuals with whom I sought to be when I was in turmoil, I realize that these are people who, by biblical standards, were wise. They are people for whom I had, and still do have, great respect; I wanted to be these people. Rarely were they successful and influential by the world's standards, they weren't famous, but in God's economy, they were rich and were people who made significant difference in lives for all eternity.

The Queen of Sheba found herself seeking wisdom (I Kings 10:1-13). She'd heard about Solomon and even doubted he was "all that," but after trekking a great distance with an impressive entourage, the Queen discovered wisdom as a result of spending time with Solomon. What she heard and saw convinced her that wisdom is worth seeking. Proverbs 8:10-11 tells us that wisdom is what we should seek rather than the riches of precious metals and stones.

In James 3:17, the author tells us that God's wisdom is pure and that purity leads us to be peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful, full of good fruits, impartial, and sincere. As a parent, or anyone living in this world, this kind of wisdom, yielding these results is certainly worth seeking. James 1:5 tells us to ask God for wisdom and that He will give it to us with abundance; yet we will only learn to be wise by depending upon God (Proverbs 3:5-6).

As the Queen of Sheba observed, the results of Solomon's God-given wisdom was a life of peace among his people and with his neighboring nations, a happy and prosperous people, and a recognition of his God.

Many of us attempt to navigate this life and parenting in our own wisdom. Rarely does this lead to the outcomes we most desire. Proverbs 14:12 puts into context what happens when we persist in "having it our own way": "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Those are very strong words; yet I can attest to the fact that when I have insisted in using my own wise thinking, I have always experienced some kind of "death."

We want the best for our children; many of us have the resources to purchase anything our children desire, including the "best" schools, the newest technology, the finest neighborhoods. Nothing is wrong with ensuring that our children are treated well, but as we seek to parent with God's wisdom, let's determine to focus on those things that will provide eternal good. As we learn to rely on God's direction and seek and obey His wisdom, we will experience the attributes of wisdom in our lives and in the lives of our children.

Just as the Queen of Sheba went to great lengths to find wisdom, we too must trust and rely daily on God for His direction, we must be faithful to apply His wisdom in all parts of our lives, and we must teach our children to seek God's wisdom. When we do these things, we and our families will know God's peace, provision, blessings, and favor.

Wisdom doesn't arrive on our doorstep, delivered by the UPS guy; it comes through daily experiences. Our Heavenly Father will give us the direction we need to make the right decisions and stand firm with peace that goes beyond our understanding (Phil. 4:7).

Heavenly Father, thank you for your wisdom. Thank you for going to great lengths to teach us to seek wisdom and to be wise according to your leading in our lives.

We pray for the desire to operate in your wisdom, to pray for wisdom daily, and to be obedient as you lead. Remind us, through your Holy Spirit, to lean on your understanding and not our own.

Thank you for being the One we can trust as we parent our children.





Source: The IVP New Testament Commentary Series