"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
– Galatians 4:4-7 ESV
25 years ago we were packing our bags to travel to Russia to finalize the adoption process for our son. Adopted as a six-month-old, Nick learned to sit and crawl on our carpeted living room floor. He learned to cruise along our comfy brown couch. He learned to say “Daddy” and “Mommy” on my lap. From the moment he became a part of our family, he was given equal standing with his older sister who had grown in my womb. There were no extra rules to keep. He was our son, and we were his parents. End of story.
Thank You, Father, for adopting me as Your daughter, for placing Your Holy Spirit in my heart as a seal of the genuineness of my faith. You have engraved my name on the palms of Your hands (Isaiah 49:16) and You have caused me to bear the name of Christ. Thank You for causing me to be born again, creating me anew after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:24). In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.
Thank You for the gift of faith, the grace given to me through Jesus Christ, the righteous for the unrighteous. Thank You for the example of Abraham who was counted righteous by his FAITH, not by his works. I pray that my children would indeed be made sons and daughters of Abraham, being recipients of Your blessings because of their faith in Your Son.
Thank You for the gift of the law as a tutor and guardian to protect me and my children until our eyes might be opened by Your grace to the beauty of that Savior hanging on the cross. Please help me to be a good steward of the Law. Let me not breed little Pharisees who take pride in their own good deeds. I don’t want to raise better liars, better hiders, better sin-concealers. Rather may I point them to the perfect Lamb who kept the Law in every point, training them to be quick to repent, to run toward reconciliation with Jesus, with their parents, and with others.
Protect my children from believing the lie that they can be good enough to deserve Your mercy or merit Your grace. Help them to recognize that this is a lie sent from that liar, tempter, and accuser, Satan, who tempts us to sin and then accuses us when we fall.
I pray that my children would receive the gift of redemption found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. May they receive that inheritance found not in the blood running through my blood but in the blood of Christ poured out on the cross.
Help them to believe the truth of Galatians 3:26-28, that we are sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ, that when we are baptized into Christ, we are clothed in Christ, and that we are all one in Christ Jesus. Help my sons take joy in being boys, and help my daughters take joy in being girls. Protect them from the sin of pride, thinking they know better than You do. May they humbly recognize that their inheritance begins and ends in You.
May our faith be in Christ and His grace alone, trusting that He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine.
May we not grow weary of well-doing, knowing that at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not lose heart.
May we open our mouths with wisdom and may the teaching of kindness be on our tongues.
May we look well to the ways of our households and not eat the bread of idleness.
May we refuse to put our hope in wealth, beauty, or popularity because we believe that “charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”
May our husband and children rise up and bless us, saying, “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”
From Ephesians 3:20, Galatians 6:9, Proverbs 31:26-30
Twenty years have passed since I first heard Bev Bradley’s talk titled, “Loving and Teaching the Difficult Child.” I was in the thick of homeschooling my two oldest children along with taking care of a toddler. Mrs. Bradley shared from her heart about how much she had damaged her son (and her relationship with him) through harsh words and critical attitude.
I remember how often I reacted with sinful anger when my child absolutely, positively refused to obey my commands. I remember how often I spanked and shouted and screamed in anger, sin upon sin, in my attempts to get this child to comply. I walked around with a perpetual chip on my shoulder. I was angry at my husband, angry at my child, angry at the world. And underneath it all, I was angry at God.
Why had He done this to me? Why had He given me this difficult, disobedient child?
I went to Mrs. Bradley’s talk looking for some tips for training my child to obey, and I left with a dagger in my heart. Her words brought conviction of sin. I finally saw the log in my own eye, how much my own anger was contributing to this ongoing battle between two very strong-willed individual sinners. It was a turning point in my life as a mom.
But I also remember Mrs. Bradley’s words, “The Lord is restoring the years that the locusts have eaten.”
At the time I wasn’t familiar with the book of Joel. I thought she was referring to the locust plague that God sent on Egypt in Moses’s day, but still, those words encouraged me that it wasn’t too late, that there was still hope.
So I began to pray for that. I began to ask God to do that for me and my child, my family, to restore and heal the barrenness that my sharp tongue had caused.
Lord, please, will You please restore the years that the locusts have eaten?
Give me a new heart. Help me to be patient and kind. Help me to discipline with tenderness and righteousness. Keep my tongue from evil. Forgive me. Do a new thing in our family, Father, please. I need You. My family needs You. Please help us!
I wish I could say that things changed overnight, but that wouldn’t be true. I was still struggling and so was my child, but year after year, the Lord has grown us both. He gave me beauty for ashes and seedlings have sprouted in a desert land.
God has taught us more about the nature of love – that love and forgiveness and grace are intricately woven together.
And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
Mark 11:25 ESV
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your grace and mercy and forgiveness. You have forgiven me, not because I deserve it, not because I’ll never do it again, but because of the blood of Jesus shed on my behalf. Help me to trust You more, to trust that You are good and faithful, that You are sovereign Lord over heaven and earth. And as I trust You, help me to forgive others, to lay them once and for all at Your feet, to stop punishing them myself and let Your justice be enough. In the Name of Jesus Christ, my Savior and Judge and Ruler, I pray. Amen.
And [Jesus and His disciples] came to Capernaum. And when [Jesus] was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”
But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve.
And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”
Mark 9:33-37 ESV
For as much as I love teaching and writing for adults, I think my true calling is to teach children. They have my heart. There is something so special about the childlike faith of a child, their wonder and interest in learning new things, that really gets me excited.
I’m afraid that in the past I preferred focusing my energies on adults because it was a straighter path to becoming “known,” to garnering a larger audience. Like Jesus’s disciples who were arguing about which of them was the greatest, I fear that I was looking for fame, rather than simply being faithful to the Lord’s call.
Which reminds me of the lesson I taught this morning to the 5th-12th graders at my local Community Bible Study class. Here’s an excerpt from the lesson I shared after our study on Joshua 1-5. I hope it blesses you.
So, this week we began our study of the book of Joshua. This year we have already studied Ruth, 1st and 2nd Kings, and Job. These five books feature some of the most famous people in the Bible, people like Ruth, King Saul, King David, Job, and now Joshua.
But what about the two spies whom Rahab hid… Their names were not recorded for us in the scriptures, but they were still vitally important to God. Those two men’s faith was just as valuable as Rahab’s. Or what about the priests who carried the ark of the covenant, or the 12 men who carried the stones, across the Jordan – was their faith any less remarkable?
What about the parents who circumcised their children by faith? Or all those Israelites who kept the Passover by faith?
According to Statista.com, in a 2021 survey, 3,670 American teens between the ages of 13-17 were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”
What do you think these top 5 professions have in common?
Our culture is way too focused on being famous and way too lax about being faithful, simply doing the next thing that God has called us to. We are chasing after “fame and fortune,” instead of “God and goodness.”
If you have been born again, then you have been given the gift of the indwelling of the Holy spirit. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in you. Think about that.
And now He is calling you to just do the next thing, do the next deed of faith.
That may be as simple as reading your Bible and completing your Bible study lesson and then coming here and sharing with your classmates what God taught you that week. That may be as simple as sitting next to or striking up a conversation with someone you don’t know very well. That may be as simple as telling the truth when you want to lie.
Whatever it is, I want you to listen to the Holy Spirit and follow Him. He will never lead you astray.
He might ask you to step out in faith someday, to follow the example of Rahab and hide a fellow believer who is being persecuted for their faith.
He might ask you to step out into your own Jordan River in sharing the gospel with someone, whether a stranger or a friend, trusting that He will keep His promises to be with You as you take that first step.
Your name may never appear on any timeline or any top 10 of anything. You may never be a world-famous athlete or gamer or musician. You may never be a social media influencer or have a YouTube channel with millions of followers and you may never invent anything world-changing.
But, oh think of it, think of this, your name, YOUR name, can be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! And if your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, you can KNOW beyond any doubt that He has a good plan and purpose for you!
Heavenly Father, I pray that You will raise up more parents and more teachers who will invest their lives in training up children in the way that they should go so that the next generation will place their trust in You. Please, Father, stop us from this crazy pursuit of becoming rich and famous, and help us instead to be faithful to do the next thing. By Your grace and for Your glory. Amen.
Heavenly Father, Your Word warns us again and again about the importance of having a godly wife. I pray that my son will heed those warnings. Guard his heart from those who want to steal it away from You. Turn his eyes away from worthless things and focus them on Your commands. Help him to treasure Your Words that he will not be tempted to go astray. Give my son divine discernment and patience, that he will be led by Your Spirit around the pitfalls laid by the enemy of our soul who seeks to trap him in his clutches. Guide him to a woman who loves You with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength, that the two of them would be better together than they could be apart, that 1 + 1 would be 3 squared. Make the two of them a cord of three strands that cannot be easily broken with you that center strand of steel that they will both cling to through good times and bad, plenty and want, sickness and health, until their last day on earth. For Your glory and his good I pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen
David knows he is about to die, so he calls his son, Solomon, to him. What did David say to this son who will be the next king of Israel?
Be strong.
Show yourself a man.
Keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in His ways and keeping his commands as it is written in the Law of Moses.
Deal wisely and justly with Joab, Barzillai, and Shimei.
Now I’m not (and never will be) the king of a nation but I (like everyone else on the planet) will one day draw my last breath. If today were my last day, what final words would I want to share with my children?
What would I say to my children if today was my last day?
I love you. I’m proud of you. You are a gift to me. I’m so thankful you’re mine. God made YOU on purpose, and He has a purpose for your life. Fear not. He’s not finished yet. God is on His throne. He doesn’t save people because they’re good. They’re not. None of us are. He saves them because He is merciful and has a purpose for them. You are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ, not by your works. (Psalm 139:1-16; Romans 3:10-12; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8; 1 Timothy 1:12-17; Romans 6:23)
Trust the Lord with all your heart. He is good. He is wise. Turn away from evil and do good. Choose to do the hard things out of love and trust for the Lord. (Proverbs 3:5-7; Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37)
Love is both an emotion and an action. Love others as God has loved you. Bear with others. Forgive them, remembering how much God has forgiven you. He loved you while you were yet a sinner, loving you even to the point of death, death on a cross. Remember that love is patient and kind. God is patient and kind with you, and He is calling you to be patient and kind with others. Love is not arrogant, rude, boastful, or envious. Love does not insist on its own way. The Lord of the Universe humbled Himself for you, and He is calling you to humble yourself for Him and His creation. Love never ends. Love endures. Love bears all things. He has loved you with a never-ending love. Love others like that. (Colossians 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Philippians 2:1-8; Romans 5:7-8)
Children are a blessing from the Lord. Fill your home with them. Pour into them. Enjoy them. Train them up in the way they should go. Teach them diligently that they, too, will know and love the Lord. (Psalm 127:1-5; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 78:1-8)
So, how about you? If today were your last day, what final words would you want to say to your children and loved ones?
Heavenly Father, How thankful I am for the hope that I have in my Savior, Jesus, who poured out His blood for me. How thankful I am to have the assurance that my last breath here on Earth is just the beginning of eternity with You. I pray that my children and grandchildren will have that assurance. I pray that You will strengthen me to be the mother and grandmother that You want me to be. Give me Your wisdom and lead me in when to speak and when to be silent. Make my words, Your words. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Make me a beacon pointing my family and my community to Him. For His Honor and for His glory I pray. Amen.
Have you ever had those days when you want to say to your growing children, “But, honey, it was me who changed your diaper. It was me who got up with you in the middle of the night. It was me who bathed you and dressed you. It was me who sang to you and rocked you to sleep. It was me who washed your skinned knees when you fell down in the driveway. It was me who brushed the knots out of your hair. It was me who taught you to sing the ABCs and count to ten. You should listen to me.”
God has those days with us, too.
When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to idols.
Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.
Hosea 11:1-4
God hasn’t given up hope for His children, and we shouldn’t either.
Heavenly Father, please, draw our hearts back to You. Discipline us with Your rod of kindness and woo us with Your love. Lead us with the cords of kindness and hold us fast with Your bands of love. And Father, please, draw our children back to You. Discipline them, too, with Your rod of kindness and woo them with Your love. Lead them with the cords of kindness and hold them fast with Your bands of love. Teach us how to parent them with love and grace and humility and gentleness and courage and firmness and truth. Make us parents after You. Teach us how to be godly mommies because You are the perfect daddy. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Our Perfect Example of all things we pray. Amen.
The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built;
as his country improved, he improved his pillars.
Hosea 10:1 ESV
God has given us every good gift to enjoy. He has blessed us with heat and sunshine and air to breathe. He has given us homes to live in and children to fill them. He has blessed us with abundant food and wealth. He has given us eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds to comprehend. Yet, what do we do with all of these gifts?
Do we enjoy them or neglect them? Do we praise Him or take credit for them?
When was the last time you thanked God for the children sitting around your table or clinging to your legs?
When was the last time you took a leisurely walk outside and thanked God for the blue sky and warm sun?
It seems that the more full our homes and lives become, the less interested we become in the Lord. Why is that?
Why would the Lord bless us with more if it will just turn our hearts away from Him? It is His mercy that keeps us begging for our daily bread. It is His mercy that makes us hunger for the gift of a child. It is His mercy that keeps us dependent on Him for a roof over our head and money in our bank account.
My word for 2024 is “Enough.” Is the Lord enough? YES! He is! Has He given me enough? YES! Yes, He has! My cup overflows with His love and grace and goodness.
Heavenly Father, Help me to be faithful in the little things that You might entrust to me more things. Help me to be thankful for every single little gift, the birds that sing before the sun rises, the wind that blows gently through the trees, the sound of trickling water. Thank You for giving me eyes that see and ears that hear. Thank You for giving me a mind and heart that know You. Thank You. You are enough. You are more than I need. In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed and delivered me. Amen.
Teach What is Good 
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