Believing What God Says
Pages 173-178
As we proceed through Chapter seven, we discover a lie that affects many practical decisions parents make for their children. Many parents believe that their children need to learn at an early age how to get along in the "real world," or they'll never be able to fit in.
The truth is that God never intended for us to know evil by experiencing it for ourselves. It's important that children be protected from personal exposure to evil until they have had time to develop a love for God and a good understanding of right and wrong. Then, they will be able to make good choices based on firm convictions.
28. The Lie: Children need to get exposed to the "real world" so that they can learn to function in it.
The Truth: Our task is not to raise up children who can fit into this world or merely survive it but to bring up children who will be used by God to change our world.
Romans 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
The Truth: Like young, tender plants, children need to be protected from worldly influences until they are spiritually mature enough to withstand them.
Romans 16:19, "For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil."
The Truth: The fear of the Lord and a vital personal relationship with God are the best means of preparing children to withstand secular culture and to make a difference in our world.
Psalm 92:13-15, "Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him."
The next lie is the assumption that all children must go through a rebellious stage. The truth is that if parents expect their children to rebel, then they probably will.
29. The Lie: All children will go through a rebellious stage.
This deception permeates even Christian communities and reveals that parents have placed their expectations upon what the world tells them, rather than on God Who keeps His promises.
The Truth: If parents expect their children to rebel, they increase the likelihood that they will do so.
Genesis 18:17-19, "And the Lord said, 'Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.'"
The Truth: God promised a blessing to parents who keep His covenant and who teach their children to do the same.
Psalm 103:17-18, "But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them."
Acts 2:39, "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
We know that parents cannot force their children to walk with God. They can, however, model godliness and cultivate a climate in the home that creates an appetite for God and is conducive to the spiritual nurture and growth of their children.
As mothers, we must all pray for our children and trust earnestly in the the Lord Who made this promise in Isaiah 54:13:
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Raising Children
Children are Always a Blessing
Pages 167-172
God blessed women with the unique ability to bear and nurture children. If you ask almost any mother what is most important in her life, she will tell you, "My children."
Chapter 7 deals with several subtle lies and half-truths about children and parenting that have become widely accepted in our culture. Many Christian women have simply adopted the world's way of thinking without stopping to evaluate how those beliefs line up with God's Word.
The first area where many women have been deceived is the matter of childbearing. The world promotes the idea that children are a burden and that every woman has the right to determine if and when she will have children.
27. The Lie: It's up to us to determine the size of our family.
God's Word teaches, on the other hand, that children are a blessing, a gift from God, and a vital part of His plan for passing the Truth on to the next generation.
The Truth: God is the Creator and Giver of life.
The first two chapters of the Old Testament recount the story of creation in divine detail. It tells us that God Himself is the Creator, Author, and Giver of life. Not surprisingly, as the sworn enemy of God, Satan hates life. He has always sought to destroy it.
He persuaded Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, knowing that if they did, they would die, as God had promised. When Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons, Satan incited the elder of the two to murder his younger brother.
Satan is the thief in John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
The Truth: Anything that hinders or discourages women from fulfilling their God-given calling to be bearers and nurturers of life furthers Satan's schemes and aids his efforts.
Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
The Truth: One of the purposes of marriage is to produce a "godly offspring."
Psalm 127:3-4, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
The Truth: Children are to be received as a blessing from God.
Matthew 18:5, "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me [Jesus]."
A Prayer
Lord thank You for the gift of children. Help me to welcome them even as You do. Show me how to fulfill my calling as a woman - to be a bearer and nurturer of life, whether that means having physical children of my own, or "mothering" spiritual children You entrust to me. Amen.
Pages 167-172
God blessed women with the unique ability to bear and nurture children. If you ask almost any mother what is most important in her life, she will tell you, "My children."
Chapter 7 deals with several subtle lies and half-truths about children and parenting that have become widely accepted in our culture. Many Christian women have simply adopted the world's way of thinking without stopping to evaluate how those beliefs line up with God's Word.
The first area where many women have been deceived is the matter of childbearing. The world promotes the idea that children are a burden and that every woman has the right to determine if and when she will have children.
27. The Lie: It's up to us to determine the size of our family.
God's Word teaches, on the other hand, that children are a blessing, a gift from God, and a vital part of His plan for passing the Truth on to the next generation.
The Truth: God is the Creator and Giver of life.
The first two chapters of the Old Testament recount the story of creation in divine detail. It tells us that God Himself is the Creator, Author, and Giver of life. Not surprisingly, as the sworn enemy of God, Satan hates life. He has always sought to destroy it.
He persuaded Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit, knowing that if they did, they would die, as God had promised. When Adam and Eve gave birth to two sons, Satan incited the elder of the two to murder his younger brother.
Satan is the thief in John 10:10, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
The Truth: Anything that hinders or discourages women from fulfilling their God-given calling to be bearers and nurturers of life furthers Satan's schemes and aids his efforts.
Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."
The Truth: One of the purposes of marriage is to produce a "godly offspring."
Psalm 127:3-4, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
The Truth: Children are to be received as a blessing from God.
Matthew 18:5, "Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me [Jesus]."
A Prayer
Lord thank You for the gift of children. Help me to welcome them even as You do. Show me how to fulfill my calling as a woman - to be a bearer and nurturer of life, whether that means having physical children of my own, or "mothering" spiritual children You entrust to me. Amen.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Greatest Truths About Marriage
Exposing the Lie So That Our Marriages May Be Healed
Pages 156-165
Finally, the sixth lie in Chapter 6 has become so ingrained in our society that divorce has become almost "normal," and people who stay married are considered "abnormal." With few exceptions, most people today believe that it is better to divorce than to stay in a "bad marriage."
The Word of God points us to the Truth about God's purposes and design for marriage, which can enable us to patiently work through difficulties rather than running from them through divorce, not matter how desirable that option may seem.
26. The Lie: Sometimes divorce is a better option than staying in a bad marriage.
This is a good place in our studies to be reminded of some stirring Truths about the Enemy of our souls. He is Satan, the same serpent that manipulated, deceived, and confused Eve so many centuries ago in the Garden.
He is the Father of Lies, and will do whatever it takes to cause shipwreck to your faith. He hates your body, hates your marriage, and hates your sons and daughters.
No sooner does a couple say, "I do," than the Serpent rears his ugly head and sets out to destroy that marriage. He knows every divorce is an attack on the character of God and on the earthly picture of divine redemption.
The Truth: Marriage is a lifelong covenant that is intended to reflect the covenant-keeping heart of God. As He is faithful to His covenant, so we must be faithful to keep our marriage covenant.
Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
The Truth: There is no marriage God cannot heal. There is no person God cannot change.
Mark 11:25, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
The Truth: God uses the rough edges of each partner in a marriage to conform the other to the image of Christ.
Ephesians 5:24-27, "Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
The Truth: God's grace is sufficient to enable you to be faithful to your mate and to love and forgive without limit.
2 Corinthians 12:9, "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
The Power of Truth
The Enemy has made a mess and a mockery out of marriage. His lies have resulted in countless fractured lives and homes. Only the Truth has power to redeem, restore, and renew!
Pages 156-165
Finally, the sixth lie in Chapter 6 has become so ingrained in our society that divorce has become almost "normal," and people who stay married are considered "abnormal." With few exceptions, most people today believe that it is better to divorce than to stay in a "bad marriage."
The Word of God points us to the Truth about God's purposes and design for marriage, which can enable us to patiently work through difficulties rather than running from them through divorce, not matter how desirable that option may seem.
26. The Lie: Sometimes divorce is a better option than staying in a bad marriage.
This is a good place in our studies to be reminded of some stirring Truths about the Enemy of our souls. He is Satan, the same serpent that manipulated, deceived, and confused Eve so many centuries ago in the Garden.
He is the Father of Lies, and will do whatever it takes to cause shipwreck to your faith. He hates your body, hates your marriage, and hates your sons and daughters.
No sooner does a couple say, "I do," than the Serpent rears his ugly head and sets out to destroy that marriage. He knows every divorce is an attack on the character of God and on the earthly picture of divine redemption.
The Truth: Marriage is a lifelong covenant that is intended to reflect the covenant-keeping heart of God. As He is faithful to His covenant, so we must be faithful to keep our marriage covenant.
Genesis 2:24, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."
The Truth: There is no marriage God cannot heal. There is no person God cannot change.
Mark 11:25, "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses."
The Truth: God uses the rough edges of each partner in a marriage to conform the other to the image of Christ.
Ephesians 5:24-27, "Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish."
The Truth: God's grace is sufficient to enable you to be faithful to your mate and to love and forgive without limit.
2 Corinthians 12:9, "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
The Power of Truth
The Enemy has made a mess and a mockery out of marriage. His lies have resulted in countless fractured lives and homes. Only the Truth has power to redeem, restore, and renew!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Choosing to Believe the Truth About Marriage
...Because the Lies Continue to Inundate!
Pages 151-156
Let's be very clear that what took place in the Garden of Eden so many centuries ago was an attack on marriage.
Marriage is God's design, and His purpose for it is to reflect His glory. It is not coincidence that Satan launched his devious plan to destroy marriage by approaching a married woman. He lied to her about God and about His character. He lied about God's Word, and about sin and its consequences.
The woman believed and acted on his lie and then turned to her husband and drew him into sin with her.
25. The Lie: If my husband is passive, I've got to take the initiative, or nothing will get done.
The Truth: God created the man to be an initiator and the woman to be a responder.
Genesis 3:6, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
As we can see from this verse, the serpent's strategy was to undermine God's authority structure by going directly to the woman.
The Truth: If a woman takes the reins rather than waiting on God to move her husband, her husband is likely to be less motivated to fulfill his God-given responsibility.
Genesis, 16:1-2, "Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai."
God had a plan for Sarah, but He wanted her to wait for His perfect timing. Instead, Sarah took the situation into her own hands and resorted to a common practice of the day. It was a way in which a barren woman could get a child through one of her own servants.
This method achieved immediate results, but it was not God's plan. The child born to her maid, Ishmael, became a lifelong source of conflict and grief.
Thirteen years later, when Sarah was ninety years old, God super-naturally intervened to give Abraham and his wife a child of their own. Their child, Isaac, brought blessing to his parents lives, and blessing to all generations.
What can free us from the drive to control the men in our lives?
We must learn to WAIT on the Lord; in His time, and in His way, He will act on behalf of those who wait for Him!
Psalm 27:14, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!"
Pages 151-156
Let's be very clear that what took place in the Garden of Eden so many centuries ago was an attack on marriage.
Marriage is God's design, and His purpose for it is to reflect His glory. It is not coincidence that Satan launched his devious plan to destroy marriage by approaching a married woman. He lied to her about God and about His character. He lied about God's Word, and about sin and its consequences.
The woman believed and acted on his lie and then turned to her husband and drew him into sin with her.
25. The Lie: If my husband is passive, I've got to take the initiative, or nothing will get done.
The Truth: God created the man to be an initiator and the woman to be a responder.
Genesis 3:6, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."
As we can see from this verse, the serpent's strategy was to undermine God's authority structure by going directly to the woman.
The Truth: If a woman takes the reins rather than waiting on God to move her husband, her husband is likely to be less motivated to fulfill his God-given responsibility.
Genesis, 16:1-2, "Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai."
God had a plan for Sarah, but He wanted her to wait for His perfect timing. Instead, Sarah took the situation into her own hands and resorted to a common practice of the day. It was a way in which a barren woman could get a child through one of her own servants.
This method achieved immediate results, but it was not God's plan. The child born to her maid, Ishmael, became a lifelong source of conflict and grief.
Thirteen years later, when Sarah was ninety years old, God super-naturally intervened to give Abraham and his wife a child of their own. Their child, Isaac, brought blessing to his parents lives, and blessing to all generations.
What can free us from the drive to control the men in our lives?
We must learn to WAIT on the Lord; in His time, and in His way, He will act on behalf of those who wait for Him!
Psalm 27:14, "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Truth About Submission
Living Under God's Protection
Pages 146-151
As we continue studying through Chapter six, we come upon a lie that is multifaceted and highly prevalent in our culture. It introduces the "s" word - submission. Our society has pummeled this word to death, and even some within the church have attempted to sidestep it.
However, Biblical submission of the wife to her husband is simply the framework that makes a marriage operate in a healthy manner. When women are willing to let their husband lead, they are practicing and demonstrating trust in God's authority over their husband.
24. The Lie: If I submit to my husband, I'll be miserable.
The Truth: Submission places me under the covering and protection of God, who controls the "heart of the king."
Proverbs 21:1, "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
The Truth: When I step out from under authority, I become vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy.
Romans 13:1-2, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
The Truth: My willingness to place myself under God-ordained authority is the greatest evidence of how big I believe God really is.
Ephesians 5:21-22, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord."
The Truth: Reverent submission is a wife's greatest means of influencing a husband who is not walking with God.
1 Peter 2:3-6, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward -- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel -- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."
It's the Liberating Principle!
Satan has done a masterful job of convincing women that submission is a narrow, negative, and confining concept. He knows that if we could see the Truth about Biblical submission - one of the most liberating principles in all of God's Word - we would joyfully embrace it.
Pages 146-151
As we continue studying through Chapter six, we come upon a lie that is multifaceted and highly prevalent in our culture. It introduces the "s" word - submission. Our society has pummeled this word to death, and even some within the church have attempted to sidestep it.
However, Biblical submission of the wife to her husband is simply the framework that makes a marriage operate in a healthy manner. When women are willing to let their husband lead, they are practicing and demonstrating trust in God's authority over their husband.
24. The Lie: If I submit to my husband, I'll be miserable.
The Truth: Submission places me under the covering and protection of God, who controls the "heart of the king."
Proverbs 21:1, "The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes."
The Truth: When I step out from under authority, I become vulnerable to the attacks of the Enemy.
Romans 13:1-2, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."
The Truth: My willingness to place myself under God-ordained authority is the greatest evidence of how big I believe God really is.
Ephesians 5:21-22, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord."
The Truth: Reverent submission is a wife's greatest means of influencing a husband who is not walking with God.
1 Peter 2:3-6, "Do not let your adornment be merely outward -- arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel -- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror."
It's the Liberating Principle!
Satan has done a masterful job of convincing women that submission is a narrow, negative, and confining concept. He knows that if we could see the Truth about Biblical submission - one of the most liberating principles in all of God's Word - we would joyfully embrace it.
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