Heavenly Father,
I pray that you will help me to become a woman after your own heart. I know that you who have begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Father, your word says that children are to obey their parents. Likewise Father, make me obedient to you, immediately and in all things, including in my raising my children for You, so that I will be the kind of mother you would have me to be.
As Paul prays for his fellow Jews so I pray for my children: “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”
Help me to remember that you have granted me charge of my children out of his great mercy and love and guide me in setting them on your path that they may be used mightily by you such that we will bring glory to your name.
Lord and Master, God of the Universe, owner of all wisdom, keep me always seeking wisdom only from you and never let me be led astray by the ways of the world.
Forgive me of my sins, especially my sins I have committed in dealing with my children. Cleanse me of all unrighteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross for my sins. Continue to sanctify me as I wait in joyful hope for the coming of my Savior Jesus Christ.
In Jesus’ mighty name I pray,
Amen.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Confession Of Sin: Prayer
This classic prayer, penned by John Calvin in 1543, is good for both personal devotions as well as an appropriate way to begin family devotions. I have recently begun to pray it in the mornings after re-writing it to first-person.
Prayer courtesy of Erskine Theological Seminary.
Lord God, eternal and almighty Father: We acknowledge before your holy majesty that we are poor sinners, conceived and born in guilt and in corruption, prone to do evil, unable of our own power to do good. Because of our sin, we endlessly violate your holy commandments. But, O Lord, with heartfelt sorrow we repent and turn away from all our offenses. We condemn ourselves and our evil ways, with true sorrow asking that your grace will relieve our distress. Have compassion on us, most gracious God, Father of mercies, for the sake of your son Jesus Christ our Lord. And in removing our guilt, also grant us daily increase of the grace of your Holy Spirit, and produce in us the fruits of holiness and of righteousness pleasing in your sight: Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Prayer courtesy of Erskine Theological Seminary.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Behavior Change Through Jesus Christ
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him." Proverbs 22:15
You have probably heard this verse being used to justify spanking children for wrong, bad behavior.
It makes me ask: "What then was the purpose of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins (and the sins of our children) and our sinful nature?"
If all a child needs is the "rod of correction" to make him behave in a way that is pleasing to God and to others, then I guess we do not really need Jesus after all do we?
Whether we use spankings or time-outs in the case of child discipline, asceticism (dressing in rough clothes, eating little and poor-tasting food, sleeping in uncomfortable conditions as Martin Luther and Charles Wesley tried to escape from their sinful nature), or the psychological methods and "Christian" self-help techniques replete in today's women books, magazines and even Bible studies, nothing will drive the natural foolishness, our sin nature, from our hearts or the hearts of our children except for complete dependence on the salvation of Jesus Christ and his subsequent sanctification of us.
Do we want to see the fruit of the Spirit of God in our children?
This basic biblical principle is so important in the sacred trust of being good stewards and raising our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord as his word instructs us.
God forbid if any of our parenting methods change outward behavior at the expense of changing the heart. Our Lord had much to say about wicked hearts hiding underneath righteous behavior.
Should we not focus on taking our children to the cross to show them the tremendous sacrifice made on their behalf so that their behavior changes out of love and reverence for a holy, sacrificing, Sovereign Lord? Do we want to make a child think that Mommy or Daddy, instead of God, has the power to truly change the heart?
Just some thoughts to ponder.
More to follow.
Soli Deo Gloria.
You have probably heard this verse being used to justify spanking children for wrong, bad behavior.
It makes me ask: "What then was the purpose of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins (and the sins of our children) and our sinful nature?"
If all a child needs is the "rod of correction" to make him behave in a way that is pleasing to God and to others, then I guess we do not really need Jesus after all do we?
Whether we use spankings or time-outs in the case of child discipline, asceticism (dressing in rough clothes, eating little and poor-tasting food, sleeping in uncomfortable conditions as Martin Luther and Charles Wesley tried to escape from their sinful nature), or the psychological methods and "Christian" self-help techniques replete in today's women books, magazines and even Bible studies, nothing will drive the natural foolishness, our sin nature, from our hearts or the hearts of our children except for complete dependence on the salvation of Jesus Christ and his subsequent sanctification of us.
"But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life." Romans 6:22
Do we want to see the fruit of the Spirit of God in our children?
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Romans 7:4, 5)They need to be saved through Jesus Christ!
This basic biblical principle is so important in the sacred trust of being good stewards and raising our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord as his word instructs us.
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.(Ephesians 6:4)
God forbid if any of our parenting methods change outward behavior at the expense of changing the heart. Our Lord had much to say about wicked hearts hiding underneath righteous behavior.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.(Matthew 23:27)
Should we not focus on taking our children to the cross to show them the tremendous sacrifice made on their behalf so that their behavior changes out of love and reverence for a holy, sacrificing, Sovereign Lord? Do we want to make a child think that Mommy or Daddy, instead of God, has the power to truly change the heart?
Just some thoughts to ponder.
More to follow.
Soli Deo Gloria.
The New Wife
Many of us have become convicted about the importance of pursuing our callings as godly wives and mothers later in our lives.
Praise the Lord that he is drawing us to himself!
A woman's identity as a wife and as a mother is important to God. Both are mentioned specifically throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Our ultimate identity though is in Christ even as God created us with the earthly identity of being female, made in his image.
It is through Christ and Christ alone that we will be able to assume a new identity that will be pleasing in the sight of our father through the righteousness of Him who died on the cross for us and is seated at the right hand of the father interceding for us.
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)
The Book of Ephesians has a lot to tell us about getting rid of the old man and putting on the new. I will be featuring a series of posts with prayerful responses to help to guide us to become a "New Wife" in Christ.
I am excited to see the work that the Lord will do in me and my marriage through my prayers. How grateful I am for the privilege of prayer!
Praise the Lord that he is drawing us to himself!
A woman's identity as a wife and as a mother is important to God. Both are mentioned specifically throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Our ultimate identity though is in Christ even as God created us with the earthly identity of being female, made in his image.
It is through Christ and Christ alone that we will be able to assume a new identity that will be pleasing in the sight of our father through the righteousness of Him who died on the cross for us and is seated at the right hand of the father interceding for us.
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24)
The Book of Ephesians has a lot to tell us about getting rid of the old man and putting on the new. I will be featuring a series of posts with prayerful responses to help to guide us to become a "New Wife" in Christ.
I am excited to see the work that the Lord will do in me and my marriage through my prayers. How grateful I am for the privilege of prayer!
God's Love
Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!
Here is a slide show that I put together as part of the morning devotion for our homeschool co-op, Deuteronomy 6. It is part of a series that I wrote only by the grace of God and for his glory.
I will work on presenting the rest of the series which is only text.
Please be inspired to work for our Lord as you come to realize how much he loves you. And may I do the same.
Here is a slide show that I put together as part of the morning devotion for our homeschool co-op, Deuteronomy 6. It is part of a series that I wrote only by the grace of God and for his glory.
I will work on presenting the rest of the series which is only text.
Please be inspired to work for our Lord as you come to realize how much he loves you. And may I do the same.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Rebuilding Godly Foundations
A woman's primary identity is that of a wife and mother. The Bible says it and I believe it. This is how we were created and we can easily see this in our everyday lives and in the lives of our daughters.
By destroying the foundation of our primary identity, feminists and the women who have unquestioningly followed them, have succeeded in causing untold misery in our world today. Women are suffering from depression, anxiety and addictions in epidemic proportions. Wives and mothers are abandoning their families and committing adultery at higher rates than ever seen in the history of this country. Women are dying faster than ever of heart disease and suicide. Why?
When you force a house off of it's foundation, it crumbles. The house of female-ness, having been pulled away from it's foundational identity of wife and mother, is falling apart today.
Today, being female means being sexually provocative and available, obsessed with appearances and the accumulation of worldly goods and focused on finding personal fulfillment at any cost.
Floating through life without the anchor of a loving, unchanging God and his decrees to live by does not feel like freedom. It feels like free falling, falling fast without a safety net. Avoiding commitment and a feeling of personal responsibility to a husband or children has become the goal as women's magazines feature countless articles on "How Not To Feel Guilty".
The modern woman's mantra has led to the breakdown of our families, just as Satan would have it. These are the thoughts that society constantly reinforces:
-I should work the same as a man
-I do not need a husband: marriage is unimportant
-I can look young forever
-My money is mine to with as I please
-Caring for children is an unimportant occupation
-Keeping house is demeaning and unnecessary
-The best example I can give my children is that of a working woman
-My children's academic and financial success is most important
-Someone else can care for my children just as well as I can
-I refuse to burdened down with a husband and children
-I do not contribute to society by staying home
-God wants me to use my God-given gifts outside of the home to help bigger numbers of people because it is numbers of people helped that is most important.
Our foundations need to be re-built ladies! The only way to do this is one woman at a time turning her heart to God, her husband, her children and her home. Only then can we begin to change this sad, anxious country into a God-honoring one for the glory of God.
How do I know so much about the mind of the modern career woman? Because I used to be one. Why am I so convicted on the true source of happiness for a woman? Because by God's grace alone, not that I can boast, he has transformed me by allowing me to partake of the true source of happiness, abiding in my Lord Jesus Christ and learning not to live for myself but for Him and those whom He sent to me.
By destroying the foundation of our primary identity, feminists and the women who have unquestioningly followed them, have succeeded in causing untold misery in our world today. Women are suffering from depression, anxiety and addictions in epidemic proportions. Wives and mothers are abandoning their families and committing adultery at higher rates than ever seen in the history of this country. Women are dying faster than ever of heart disease and suicide. Why?
When you force a house off of it's foundation, it crumbles. The house of female-ness, having been pulled away from it's foundational identity of wife and mother, is falling apart today.
Today, being female means being sexually provocative and available, obsessed with appearances and the accumulation of worldly goods and focused on finding personal fulfillment at any cost.
Floating through life without the anchor of a loving, unchanging God and his decrees to live by does not feel like freedom. It feels like free falling, falling fast without a safety net. Avoiding commitment and a feeling of personal responsibility to a husband or children has become the goal as women's magazines feature countless articles on "How Not To Feel Guilty".
The modern woman's mantra has led to the breakdown of our families, just as Satan would have it. These are the thoughts that society constantly reinforces:
-I should work the same as a man
-I do not need a husband: marriage is unimportant
-I can look young forever
-My money is mine to with as I please
-Caring for children is an unimportant occupation
-Keeping house is demeaning and unnecessary
-The best example I can give my children is that of a working woman
-My children's academic and financial success is most important
-Someone else can care for my children just as well as I can
-I refuse to burdened down with a husband and children
-I do not contribute to society by staying home
-God wants me to use my God-given gifts outside of the home to help bigger numbers of people because it is numbers of people helped that is most important.
Our foundations need to be re-built ladies! The only way to do this is one woman at a time turning her heart to God, her husband, her children and her home. Only then can we begin to change this sad, anxious country into a God-honoring one for the glory of God.
How do I know so much about the mind of the modern career woman? Because I used to be one. Why am I so convicted on the true source of happiness for a woman? Because by God's grace alone, not that I can boast, he has transformed me by allowing me to partake of the true source of happiness, abiding in my Lord Jesus Christ and learning not to live for myself but for Him and those whom He sent to me.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Prayer For Becoming A Virtuous Woman
Heavenly Father,
Create in me the heart of a virtuous woman as you make me a new creature in Christ. Help me to take off the old woman with the spirit of the children of disobedience who fulfill the desires of the flesh and the mind. Help me to flee from my identity as a child of wrath.
Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins that I might put off the old woman which was corrupt and filled with deceitful lusts. Instead, let me be renewed in the spirit of my mind and put on the new woman which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Lord, grant me according to the riches of your glory to be strengthened with might by your spirit in me. May Christ dwell in my heart by faith.
Amen.
(From Ephesians 2, 3)
Create in me the heart of a virtuous woman as you make me a new creature in Christ. Help me to take off the old woman with the spirit of the children of disobedience who fulfill the desires of the flesh and the mind. Help me to flee from my identity as a child of wrath.
Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins that I might put off the old woman which was corrupt and filled with deceitful lusts. Instead, let me be renewed in the spirit of my mind and put on the new woman which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Lord, grant me according to the riches of your glory to be strengthened with might by your spirit in me. May Christ dwell in my heart by faith.
Amen.
(From Ephesians 2, 3)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
