Teach What is Good

Teaching your Children

Published on August 16, 2023August 17, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Deuteronomy 4

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children.’
Deuteronomy 4:9-10 ESV

There is truly no greater joy in my daily life than sitting next to my son, reading and discussing the Bible together. If God has given you children, He wants you to teach those children about Him. Is this a struggle for you? It was for me. I’d love to help.

First, I suggest you consider what roadblocks are getting in your way.

Are you or your children too busy? Do you not have even thirty minutes a day together at home?

Do you have a tense, angry, disrespectful relationship with your children? Do you struggle even just being in the same room with each other or talking for more than a few minutes?
Do you not have your own personal time in prayer and the Word?
Is your husband opposed to you sharing your faith or teaching your children about God?

Different struggles have different solutions.

If you’re overcommitted with extra curricular activities, or spending too much time on schoolwork, housework, or office work, you’ve got to find a way to rearrange your schedule. Get up earlier. Drop a club. Turn off the TV or put away the phone.
If you can’t stand your children and they can’t stand you, humbly approach them and ask for a do-over. Cut out of your life what’s stealing your focus and pay attention to your children. Play some games together. Cook a nice meal together. Listen. Hang out. Speak encouraging words. Show them that they matter to you. Ask them how you can pray for them and then do it.
If you’re not having your own time with the Lord, why would your children? Don’t expect from others what you’re not doing yourself. Your children won’t see the need for prayer and Bible study if you don’t. Reading the Bible isn’t a school subject. It’s an intimate, genuine, personal relationship with the author of the book.
If your husband truly has forbidden you from speaking to your children about God and your faith, this is a very difficult subject. Pray, sister, pray. Humbly petition the Lord to change your husband’s heart. Follow the words of 1 Peter 3 and have a gentle, quiet, meek spirit toward your husband and watch what the Lord does. Get help from your local church body leaders and look for open doors.

After considering the roadblocks and seeking to overcome them, then you’ve got to just start. There will never be a perfect time. Satan will try to keep you discouraged and flustered until the day your kids are grown and gone.

Pick a song and sing together. Singing helps reorient your mind and heart to the Lord.

Next, pray for the Lord to speak during your time together in the Word.

Then read a few verses or even a chapter or two together. If your child can read, let them read. Encourage them. Praise them. Sit next to them. Look them in the eyes and listen to every word they want to share.

After you read together, ask them what their favorite verse was and tell them yours. Have them write that verse down in a journal or in the margin of their Bible, and you do the same.

Finally, pray together. Pray for each other. Pray for your neighbors and friends and family. Pray for your country and for our world. Enjoy your time together. Make it the highlight of your day.

Dear friends, I don’t want to guilt you into teaching your children about God. Rather, I want to come alongside you and encourage you. God is good and He wants to bless you through your children and bless your children through you. I’d love to hear how it goes!

When God says No

Published on August 15, 2023August 15, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Deuteronomy 3

In Deuteronomy 3, we read the words of Moses to the Lord, “Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan …” (verse 25a) and we read the Lord’s answer. Moses would be allowed to view the Promised Land from atop Mount Pisgah, but he would not be allowed to go in with the people he had led for all those years. Despite Moses’s humble plea, God chose young Joshua to lead His people across the Jordan.

Why won’t God let Moses go into the Promised Land with those people that he has served through plagues and battles and complaint after complaint? It seems mean, unfair.

Is there something you’re pleading with God for, something you’ve asked God for time and time again? Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you, that He doesn’t love you, that your requests aren’t important to Him?

Let me first say that if you are not a member of God’s family, if you haven’t been adopted as His Son or daughter, then that’s the first step you need to take. Give your life over to the Lord. Repent of your sins, and ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to put His Holy Spirit in you and turn you from darkness to light. Study His Word and get involved in a local Bible-believing, Bible-preaching body of believers.

But, if you have been born again into the family of God, then let me encourage you that God hears your prayers, but sometimes His answer is no. As His children, we can trust that God has a purpose for our lives even when His answer is ‘no.’

Sometimes He is disciplining us for our past disobedience, like a good Father should.
Sometimes He is giving someone else a blessing, a chance to lead or receive.
Sometimes He knows that giving us what we ask would hurt us and He is protecting us in His refusal.

I may never know why God says No, but I can always trust that no matter what, He is with me, He hears me, and He is at work in my life.

Heavenly Father, Your ways are not my ways. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. Help me to trust You when I don’t understand Your ‘No.’ Help me to believe that You are at work behind the scenes, working all things together for good, because I love You and You have called me for Your purposes. Whether I get to lead my people all the way into the Promised Land or I only get a glimpse of the good things to come, I want to be used by You. I trust You. In the Name of Jesus Christ who is faithful and good. Amen.

All the Way My Savior Leads Me – Deuteronomy 1-2

Published on August 14, 2023August 15, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible: Deuteronomy 1-2

I think there’s something incredibly powerful in true stories. Reading the biographies of Christian brothers and sisters like Hudson Taylor, Gladys Aylward, and Corrie Ten Boom is both inspiring and convicting. It reminds me that God is real, that He is on His throne, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He loves His children. I would highly recommend to you and your family the Christian Heroes books written by the married team, Janet and Geoff Benge. I’ve read at least a dozen of their books and loved every one. In fact, I recently discovered that my local library has several of their Christian biographies available on audiobook. Hooray! Did you know I absolutely love listening to audiobooks?

I absolutely love reading Paul’s words of encouragement and instruction as held in Philippians and Romans, but today, our first day of school – and first day of reading Notgrass Exploring America – was the perfect day to begin reading the story of the Israelite people in Deuteronomy. As immensely valuable as it is to learn the history of America and other countries around the world, it’s so much more important to learn the history of God and His people.

Here are a few takeaways I had from today’s reading:

1. God made a way for His people to enter the Promised Land, but they had to take action, obeying Him, going in and taking possession of the land. (Deuteronomy 1:8) I have found in my own life that the Lord has prepared me and my circumstances to accomplish His purposes, but that doesn’t make me exempt from taking the necessary steps of obedience to achieve them.

2. Moses was a fabulous leader and man of God but even he needed other people to partner with him in leading the Israelites. (Deuteronomy 1:9-18)

3. Even when we get to see first-hand the Lord working before our very eyes, we can forget His love and provision for us. We must be careful to remind ourselves again and again of His faithfulness.

For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.
He knows your going through
this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you.
You have lacked nothing.
Deuteronomy 2:7 ESV

Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, You are as real and powerful and faithful today as You were thousands of years ago. You cared for and provided for Your Hebrew children, and You care for and provide for me. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for Your guidance. Thank You for the nourishing food and clean water and safe shelter that You have given to me. Even when the way seems dark and I feel alone, I can trust that every day of my life You have been with me and I have lacked for nothing. I am grateful. For the glory and majesty of Your Name I pray. Amen.

All the Way my Savior Leads Me

Unique and United

Published on August 6, 2023August 13, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 15-16

At our church’s women’s retreat several years ago, I shared two messages from Romans 15:5-6 — May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has designed each of His children to be a unique individual as well as a valuable part of His united body.

Check them out here:

Part 1 – Unique

Part 2 – United

A Prayer for Purity – Romans 14

Published on August 5, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 14

Pray with me.

Heavenly Father, May my life be lived daily “in honor of the Lord”. Whether I eat or whether I abstain, let me be fully convinced in my own mind, walking by faith and not by flesh. I want to be prepared to give an account to You for how I have lived. I am thankful that You are my judge, because You are impartial and righteous and merciful and wise, and I am selfish and foolish and petty. I am not my brother’s judge. You are. You are the all-knowing, all-righteous judge of the world. I pray that I will pursue what makes for peace and building up the body in unity and holiness. I pray that I would not do anything that would cause my brother or sister to stumble. May the body of Christ be pure and holy, without blemish, in word, thought, and deed, to the glory of Your Name, and may that begin with me. In the perfect name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior I pray. Amen.

Making No Provision for the Flesh

Published on August 4, 2023August 11, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 13:8-14

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Romans 13:8-14 ESV

What do I think about night after night, day after day? Am I thinking about loving and obeying God or loving and obeying my own fleshly lusts?

Before coming to faith in Christ, sexual immorality was a normal part of my life, but by God’s grace those chains have been broken. But what about quarrelling and jealousy? What about selfishness and gluttony? What about laziness and pride?

Am I putting on Jesus Christ every morning, clothing myself with His righteousness? Or am I still walking in the lusts of my flesh?

Am I loving the Lord by loving my neighbor? Or do I simply “love me some ME“?

Again, the Word brings conviction and forces me to ask hard questions about how I’m living and where my treasure and pleasure are found – in Christ or in created things, in the Word or in the World?

Heavenly Father, You are my greatest treasure. Your Word is both convicting and comforting. I need Your help to live a pure, holy life. Please speak deep into my heart, that I would live for You and not for me, that I would follow You rather than my flesh. I know that Your ways are good and good for me. Please help me to trust You moment by moment and walk in the obedience of faith. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior. Amen.

Submission to Authorities

Published on August 3, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 13:1-7

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Romans 13:1-7 ESV

Here in America I don’t often struggle with obeying our government authorities. I have found that most of their decisions are good. I should obey the speed limit and make a complete stop at a stop sign. I shouldn’t steal or murder or lie in court.

I’m allowed to freely teach my children all the ins and outs of our Christian faith. There is absolutely nothing preventing me from practicing my faith and teaching my children the Bible and all of its practices. Even as a homeschooling parent, my state’s rules allow me the freedom to choose any curriculum I believe that is appropriate for my child.

But what would I do if I lived in a nation that forbade such practices?

What if my country regulated what pastors were allowed to say from the pulpit?
What if my country said I wasn’t allowed to teach my children the Bible or take them to church?
What if my country banned prayer altogether, even a child’s silent prayer before eating lunch or taking a test?
What if my nation wouldn’t allow me to choose a private Christian school or Christian homeschooling curriculum?
What if my government banned homeschooling altogether?
When do I say, “I must obey God rather than men,” (Acts 5:29) and refuse to submit to the government’s orders?

Many of our brothers and sisters in other nations are already wrestling with these issues and I’m afraid many of these issues are already on the horizon for us as well. Please join me in prayer.

Heavenly Father, I thank You for the freedom that we in America have enjoyed for hundreds of years, the freedom to worship You in spirit and in truth, the freedom to teach our children the Word with passion and conviction. I pray that we would make the most of this freedom while we have it. I pray that we would not give up meeting together, and that we would teach our children diligently, verse by verse and precept upon precept. I pray for our brothers and sisters and other nations who do not enjoy these freedoms. I pray that You would give them wisdom about when to submit and when to refuse. Help them to have genuine love for their enemies and to overcome evil with good. Help them to remember that Your Word is their most powerful weapon. Please, Father, fight their battles for them and shelter them under Your wings. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.

Overcoming Evil with Good

Published on August 2, 2023August 18, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 12

12:9 ESV — Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

I love Romans 12. It’s so full of practical wisdom. I’d love to memorize all 21 verses in order, so I could remind myself of every ounce of it every time I needed it.

First, I need to be reminded that my body is a living sacrifice for God, that I might walk daily in the holy obedience of faith.

Second, I need to be reminded not to think of myself too highly, but to remember that my faith is a good gift from God, that I might serve Him by serving others in my teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, and serving.

And then, I need to be reminded that my love must be genuine and sincere, free from hypocrisy, that I would hate what is evil and cling to what is good. This reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13:6, Love “does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” Our culture says that we should applaud others’ choices, no matter what they are, but our Lord says that genuine love HATES evil and LOVES good.

And finally, I need to be reminded how to treat those enemies that genuine love will make, that I am not to repay wrong with wrong, but to overcome evil with good.

Light and love are our secret weapons in the fight against the evil one
and those in his grasp.

Vengeance belongs to the Lord, not us. We are His servants, called to put on the full armor of God, to resist the devil and fight the good fight of faith. Let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, please help us to remember that we are Your soldiers, Your workmanship, Your children, Your servants, that we are in a battle between good and evil. Let us fight this battle well, with the sword of the spirit ready in our minds, mouths, and hands, overcoming evil with good by Your power at work in us. Let us not grow weary of doing good, knowing that at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not lose heart. In the Almighty and Good name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

As It is Written

Published on August 1, 2023 by kendraskeLeave a comment

Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Romans 11

I hope that when you’re reading Romans you have noticed how often Paul references The Old Testament – Habakkuk, Hosea, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Genesis, Malachi, 1 Kings, Psalms, and more. For as much as I love the books of Romans and Philippians, we must not limit ourselves to studying the New Testament.

Remember 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” and 2 Peter 1:21, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Let’s be faithful to Psalm 119:11 and store up God’s word in our hearts, that we might not sin against the Lord.

I hope you’ll stick with us and Read through the WHOLE Bible in 2 Years. After we finish Romans, we will be back in the Old Testament mining for nuggets of gold in Deuteronomy.

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