children

A Child’s Prayer For Justice

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)

Today’s blog post won’t be my words, but my 12 year old daughter’s.

Before I tuck my kids into bed, we always take time praying together. Last night before she went to sleep I asked her, “Can you pray for the situation our country is in right now, and I’ll pray after you?”

I was so moved by her prayer that I jotted it down practically verbatim afterwards so I wouldn’t forget. Just as it gave me hope and encouragement in today’s climate of inequality, I pray it will do the same for you.

(more…)

Children of Peace and Delight (Proverbs 29:17)

“Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.” (Prov. 29:17)

One of the things I’ve enjoyed most about both the kids being on holiday school break and my wife and I being on holiday work break, is that we’ve been able to spend more time praying and talking about the Lord with them. (more…)

Fear God (Psalm 128:1-4)

“Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord.” (Psa. 128:1-4)

WOW – what an awesome PROMISE from God to husbands and fathers! If you’ve been praying for your wife to overflow with the light and love of Christ, and for your children to be saplings of Jesus, growing in the discipline and fear of the Lord, then the equation is simple: (more…)

Teach Them Well (Psalm 78:4-7)

“We will not hide them [teachings from the past] from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.” (Psa. 78:4-7)

Psalm 78 is a maskil of Asaph. Maskiyl (Hebrew) means that it is a didactic psalm, meant for instruction or teaching. (more…)

Raising Them Right (Proverbs 22:6)

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

Someone from my men’s group at work shared a story this morning in our chat room about his son coming home from school, learning curse words from his classmates. His son was confessing to the dad that he knew it was wrong and shouldn’t be saying those words, but he was having a hard time stopping. (more…)