Why do we need Dads?

There are a lot of articles on the web in the last couple of weeks about fatherhood and dads. There is one thing that I did not see and really did not expect to see. The most crucial reason that children need dads is spiritual. Spirituality is about warfare. It is warfare for the souls of our fellowman and our children. It requires a man to take on this role because it is men who by and large are the warriors in our society. Unfortunately what has happened over the last one hundred years has been the feminization of our Christianity. Men have gradually taken a back seat to women leading spiritually in the home. Shame on us for allowing this to happen. We have young boys growing up associating spirituality with women but not men. These young men have a hard time seeing this role as something they can effectively take on. We need to awaken the warrior inside of us. We need to realize that the battle we are engaged in is eternal and it is for the very soul of our children. Paul calls the Bible the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) for a reason, and the reason is that it cuts to the heart and will ultimately free us from sin (Hebrews 4:12). We need to fortify our souls and overcome the opposition to standing as a spiritual warrior for our children. Men we must immerse ourselves in pursuing God with all that you are. We must cultivate a passionate and vibrant relationship with our Lord Jesus. Extremism in the pursuit of Jesus is no vice and mediocrity in the pursuit of Jesus is no virtue.

Heading off regrets

Raquel Welch who has been in the movie business since 1964 is now talking about morality in an article on CNN called, "It's sex o'clock in America." The article is good because it points out the problems that exist with sexual freedom that has become the norm. She laments the lack of commitment in marriage while lamenting the fact that she has had 4 marriages. I respect the fact that she had the courage to take this stand. But the real question is what expectations can we have for children when the example that they have had is sexual freedom and no commitment? Why are we surprised when they take it one step farther.
This blog is not about social commentary. It is about the reality of how far we have come from living lives that are focused on our Lord Jesus. Raquel is living in the secular community what many believers live in the Christian community. We live before our children a lack of commitment to God. We demonstrate for them an extreme commitment to sports, racing, hunting or any number of other occupations that eclipse our commitment to Jesus Christ. These things are little idols in our lives and our children see it. When our children grow up and leave home is it any wonder that they take the separation from church and God one step farther than we did? Proverbs 22:6 calls on us as parents to train up a child in the way they should go. What is the way that they should go that we are teaching them. Deuteronomy 6:7 gives us some clues. We are to do it diligently. We teach them when we sit down. We teach when we walk and when we lie down and rise up. This sounds like we are teaching all the time. Exactly! I don't know who said it but I think it is true. The most important lessons in life are often caught and not taught. We are teaching our children by what we do. Are they catching God from us? Deuteronomy 6:5-6 clarifies what we are teaching. It tells us in these verses that we are to love the Lord our God. Ultimately the way we want our children to go is to God. Are we training our children to pursue Him by our lives? Or are we going to be like Raquel spiritually looking back and lamenting our actions wanting better things for our kids? We can head off these regrets by living and teaching them to live God focused lives?

Happiness: SELF focused vs. God focused - Part 2

This is a continuation of yesterday's post. Yesterday Lucy Danziger published an article called, "4 Simple Secrets to Feeling Happier Every Day." Lucy is the Editor-in-Chief of SELF magazine. I plan on addressing the points of her article over several days. Point two in the article is, "Now is the moment! Enjoy it!" Her main point here is slow down. Once again a point that needs to be considered by all of us. But the reason we slow down as Christians is so important. For most of us I think we slow down, when we slow down for the same reasons that Lucy states. It seems to me that a focus on God at the heart of our slowing down will not only give us good memories but will rejuvenate our souls. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Let's take her example of the playground. There are so many things there that can draw our hearts to God and to thanking Him for His great works. We can thank Him for providing us with health to be there. We can thank Him for transportation to get there. We can thank Him for senses to be aware of where we are. We can thank Him for the resources that were used to create the playground. We can thank Him for the plants, animals and bugs that might capture our attention there. The list could go on and on. This heart of thanksgiving will rejuvenate our spirits. Not only will it rejuvenate us, it provides an opportunity for us to direct our children's attention to God as well. It is in waiting on God in the midst of life that our hearts are filled.  Isaiah 40:31 says, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Our hearts will rejoice in God as we seek to focus on our Lord Jesus in the midst of the day to day activities of life.

Is the goal of parenting our happiness??

There was an article on my news feed today called, "Two Simple Ways to be a Happier Parent".  While the fundamental premise of having a more peaceful home is laudable it ignores a more important issue that should present itself to each of us as followers of Jesus Christ. The reality is that as we deal with the children that God has blessed us with we are faced with the fact that they are fallen and in rebellion by nature against God. Because of that fallen nature all parents have conflict. Dealing with fallen children with the goal of raising them to develop their own God focused life will result in conflict. The conflict for the Christian parent will result when God's call comes into conflict with our fallen natures. As parents our correction should be focused on directing them toward God. Ultimately one of our key goals should be to help our children develop self-discipline.  Self-discipline is necessary to pursue God on their own should they come to be His followers. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” I seek to instill in my children one primary thing. If they learn nothing else from me I want them to remember, that the most important person they must come to know and pursue with all of their hearts is our Lord Jesus Christ. If they enter into eternity without Him they are bound for eternal death. If they come to repent of their sins and know and pursue Jesus eternal life is theirs. Then they too can end up living a God focused life. For us as christian parents our greatest happiness will be realized not in having a peaceful home but being at peace with God and having children that are at peace with God. Our happiness will be found in Jesus and having a life focused on Him.