Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

This week we continued talking about the Fruit of the Spirit; this week we covered the second fruit of the Spirit joy. Preparing the material for this week was very convicting. I thought about my own attitude, life has been busy and kind of hectic lately, and joyful has not been a characteristic that I would use to describe me. It is easy for me to forget that I am not here to chase after worldly happiness, but to find joy in the reality of a God who would save a sinner like me! When I chase after worldly happiness joy will always allude me. I hope this will minister to you as you seek to minister to your children!

Lesson: Remember that love was what we called a fruit of the spirit, which means that it is something that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. But love is not the only fruit of the spirit Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So, this week we are going to talk a little about joy.

 What do you think of when you think about the word joy?

 For a follower of Christ joy is more than momentary worldly happiness, because thing are going well. Do things always go well? No, sometimes in life things are hard; we have to do work that we don’t want to, people are not always nice to us, and sometimes we get sick, right? But the Bible says that if we have the Holy Spirit living in us that we can still have joy even if all those bad thing happened at the same time. Do you know why? We can have joy because we know that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to save us. All those things that we said about love are things that God does for us. Because of God’s great love for us we can have joy no matter what is going on in life. God saves us from our sin, because he is such a good and loving God. He did not do it because we deserve it, because we do not. That is an amazing reason to have joy! The bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” Philippians 4:4- Joy is what we feel in our heart when we think about God’s love for us; Rejoicing is the outward action of joy.

 Recap:

• What do we mean when we talk about the Fruit of the Spirit? (The Fruit of the Spirit things that describe that people who follow Jesus and have the Holy Spirit in them.)
• What is the difference between joy and  worldly happiness? (Worldly happiness is momentary, it happens when things are going well for us, but joy is something that we can have no matter what is going on because we know how much God loves us and how he sent Jesus to save us.)
• Tell me in your own words why people who follow Jesus and who have the Holy Spirit should have joy?
• Begin to help them memorize Galatians 5:22-23, maybe just “the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy”

As we work through these characteristics it is important that we do not let our children think that these are things that we can do on our own apart from God’s work in our heart through the Holy Spirit. Love and Joy are connected so closely; we love others because of God’s great love for us, and it is because of His great love that we have joy amidst any set of circumstances. Love is the foundation that joy rests on; we cannot expect our children to fully understand this, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work on explaining it to them.

The cross is the source of our joy; it represents our freedom from the bondage from sin, and it reveals God’s great love for utterly depraved sinners living in rebellion to Him. It is not until we truly realize who we were prior to salvation, and who we are in Christ that we can fully experience joy, which is a supernatural fruit of the spirit. Our kid’s lack of joy points them to their need for Christ, and offers us an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:7-8

There is no message our children need to hear more than the message of forgiveness of sin through repentance and faith. The reality that a holy God could not only pardon us for our crimes against Him, but credit us with the good works of Jesus; instead of the punishment we deserve we receive the reward that He deserves. This is a profound truth which we continually grow in our ability to understand; joy is the outgrowth of this understanding!

I hope this is helpful and encouraging as you labor to lead your children to the cross!

Fruit of the Spirit: Love

This week we started working on the Fruits of the Spirit, it will take us nine weeks to go through each of the characteristics described in Galatians 5:22-23.

Lesson: Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 Over the next few weeks we’re going to be learning about the Fruit of the Spirit, these are traits of people who have the Holy Spirit. A trait is something that describes the way a person acts or thinks. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” This week we are going to talk about what the Bible says about love.

 The world tells us that love is a feeling, but that is not all love is, according to the bible love has more to do with actions that with feelings. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 say “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails”

 Love is…

• Patient- suffers for others calmly and without complaint
• Kind- helpful to others
• Not Jealous- does not want to take something good away from someone else
• It does not brag- or talk about how good you are at something
• It is not arrogant or proud- to think that you are better than others
• It does not act unbecomingly- it is not rude or hateful to others
• It does not seek its own- try to get its own way
• It is not provoked- does not get angry easily
• Does not take into account a wrong suffered- It forgets the past
• Does not rejoice in unrighteousness- It is sad over sin
• Rejoices in truth- It loves the truth/God’s word
• Believes all things- It believes the words of others
• Hopes all things- It hopes for the best
• It endures- continues in all these actions even when being treated poorly
• Love never fails

 That is a long list, isn’t it? Do you think that anyone can do this perfectly? The only one who did this perfectly was Jesus, but as we grow in our relationship with Him we will grow in our ability to do these things!

 It is easy to look at the list  found in 1 Cor 13:4-8 and think about how beautiful it or to be comforted by the immense love that God shows to us, and while the importance of what it reveals about God cannot be over look if it all we see or teach we are really missing something big! This is the love that we have been called to have for others, it is a fruit of our salvation. While it is true that fruit is produced based on the genetic material provided, an apple tree can only produce apples not oranges. So too with spiritual fruit, only those who are saved have the spiritual DNA necessary to produce God honoring good works such as love. We cannot sit back and think for a moment that we are passive with nothing to contribute to the process, quite the opposite is true. We may not be able to will ourselves to produce more fruit, just as the apple tree cannot will itself to make more apples, we can participate in the painful pruning process which facilitates the production of more fruit. Our part in this is to repent of selfishness, ask God to give us the grace to love others in a way that is glorifying to him we must ask him to help us die to ourselves.

Just as I am humbled by this list of attributes of love, I hope that my children will be also. Being raised in a Christian home it is easy to put on the attire of a Christian without ever experiencing true heart change. Passages like 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, should be used to explain that apart from God working in them they are helpless to obey the demands of love.  It is not that we do not hold them to this standard, but as we hold them to it we must openly repent of our own shortcomings and we constantly point to the cross for forgiveness of sin and the strength to obey are found. Love is very costly, it means suffering with others which is hard no matter how old or mature you are.

Practical Application: Love is action oriented, it requires effort. I tell my boys this frequently, especially when they are fighting with one another. Something that I have found helpful in teaching my kids about the active nature of love is to have them think of ways they can show love to one another. After they have had an altercation, and they have served their time out; I have them tell me three things that they can do to show love to one another. Sometimes they  need my help, Matthew is only 3 so he needs more help than Jacob, and sometimes Jacob wants to tell Matthew how to show love (“Matt you can show me love by staying out of my room”). Spending time talking practically about what love looks like will help your kids not only understand the concept, but point out their need for a savior because of their inability.

This is by far the area that I fall into sin most often; I fail to love others, my kids in particular, and instead I love myself (looking out to make sure my wants and needs are served). I have gotten to the point that I am very transparent with my kids when I sin against them; this is not easy! After I sin against them, say I respond in an angry way to this disobedience, I am very clear how I have violated God’s call to love them. It might sound something like this, “Jacob I am very sorry that I responded to you that way (raised my voice, yelled, used hard words), no matter what you have done it is no excuse for me to sin against you in that way. I was being impatient and unkind (irritable, selfish…), I was not showing you love the way God has called me to and I need you to forgive me.” I have yet to see my son say, no mommy I will not forgive you. Typically he offers forgiveness immediately, and hugs on me. This helps me now talk with him about his sin, because he is not dwelling on mine. It models what repentance and humility look like in real life.

The call to love others very hard, and one that should leave us continually more dependent on God for the strength to heed the call. I hope this encourages you and you labor to love your children in a way that is honoring to God. This lesson was a huge reminder to me that as we disciple our children they are not the only ones who should be changed!

God’s in Charge of Everything

This week we finished the book of Acts by reviewing Paul’s journey from Ephesus to Rome. It is amazing to see how God worked every event out to accomplish His plan. Paul trusted in God to protect him when he decided to return to Jerusalem, even though he knew the Jew there would try to kill him. Even when Paul was a prisoner, after being arrested in Jerusalem, he had favor with his every Roman official he encountered on his journey, God used these unsaved men to care for Paul and keep him safe.

Lesson:

Over the past few weeks we have been talking about Paul’s Journey from Ephesus to Rome. Paul had been in Ephesus for 3 years teaching about Jesus, many were coming to know Jesus as their savior and were turning from idol worship. However, some were angry that so many were turning from idol worship, and started making trouble for Paul. Paul decided that it was time to return to Jerusalem, but no one wanted him to go, they knew he would be arrested and killed by the Jews if he did. However, Paul would not change his mind; he knew what awaited him yet he went anyway.

 When Paul arrived in Jerusalem he met with the church elders there, and told them all about what God had done on his travels. Everyone rejoiced at what Paul reported! A few days later Paul went to the Temple to worship; while he was there some Jews recognized him, and began to stir up the crowed against him. The Roman officials came to the bring order, and discovered Paul was the source of the conflict so they arrested him. When the head official heard the charges against Paul, he didn’t understand. The Jews wanted to be allowed to put Paul to death, but he had not broken any laws that deserved death. The official decided to send Paul to the governor and let him hear Paul’s case. They Jews planned to kill Paul in route, but the Romans kept him safe.

 Paul was delivered to Felix the governor, when he heard the charges he could not understand why the Jew wanted to put Paul to death. Felix kept Paul in Roman custody for two years, he allowed him to have an apartment and visitors. Felix listened to Paul often, because he enjoyed hearing about Jesus. When Felix left office Paul was still imprisoned, when Festus the new governor took office he decided to hear Paul’s case. However, he too could find no reason for Paul to be put to death or released to the Jews. Festus gave Paul a choice he could either stand trial before the Jews or go and appeal to Cesar in Rome. Paul decided to make an appeal to Cesar, this would give him the opportunity to witness to the most powerful man in Rome.

 Before Paul left for Rome he had the opportunity to give his appeal to King Agrippa, who also saw no reason for Paul to be imprisoned much less put to death. Days later Paul set sail for Rome, during his trip he was shipwrecked and bitten by a poisonous snake. After months of travel, and living in difficult conditions Paul arrived in Rome. Paul remained in Roman custody for two years, and again he was allowed to have his own apartment and receive visitors. During this time Paul wrote many letter that make up our Bibles.

 Paul trusted in God and His plan; he understood that God is in control of everything. History tells us that Paul was eventually killed by the Romans; however, had he not been in Roman custody he would have been killed by the Jews much sooner. God used the Romans to keep Paul safe and allow him to not only minister to the churches that he helped plant, but He also used Paul to reach out to very powerful men in Rome who otherwise would have never known about Jesus. We can trust in God, because nothing can stand in God’s way, His plans will always succeed!

It is my hope that our kids will look at the Apostle Paul as a hero of the faith; not because he preformed so many miracles, but because he trusted in God even when most would take mattes into their own hands. Paul stands as an amazing reminder of what God can do with fallen sinners, no matter how bad their sins (Remember Paul consented to the stoning of Steven). Paul gave up prestige and comfort to serve Jesus with great humility loving others in word and deed. Most of all he was willing to give up his own life to see God glorified through the redemption of fellow sinners!

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.- John 15:13

I encourage you to spend some time reviewing these lessons with your children, and pray they are not the only ones impacted by the message!

Paul Bitten by a Snake

This week we continued to teach the kids at our church about Paul’s journey to Rome, and the trouble that he encountered along the way. After Paul was shipwrecked, a venomous snake bit him; the islanders who saw what happened assumed that he must have been a criminal, and that god sent the snake to kill Paul as just punishment. However, Paul simply shook the snake off his hand into the fire and was unharmed. It is hard to say why exactly this account is in scripture, except it reveals to us God’s faithfulness. God said that Paul was to be his witness to Rome, if Paul died in route than he would not accomplish what God sent him to do. However, given all of the obstacles Paul faced it becomes apparent that the ONLY reason he made it to Rome was because of God’s work behind the sense. When God asks us to do something He is right there with us working to accomplish His goal, He does the hard work all we have to do is trust and obey! Accounts like this one help strengthen us by reminding us of this truth especially when things don’t look like they are going the way we would like!

Lesson: 

After every one made it safely to shore they discovered they were on a little island called Malta. The people on the island showed the shipwrecked men kindness; they gathered wood and made a fire so that the men could warm themselves. Paul helped gather wood to keep the fire going; as he threw some wood on the fire a snake came out of the wood and bit his arm. Paul shook the snake off into the fire. All the natives thought God must have been punishing Paul for some terrible crime he had committed, and they expected him to fall down dead at any moment. However, when Paul was unaffected by the venom the men then began to say Paul must be a god.

 Paul made quite a first impression on the people of Malta! While the Bible does not tell us in this account how Paul responded to the people saying he was a god, we know from other account that this did not please Paul. When others said similar things Paul responded by telling them about the One True God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and the way of salvation; I think it is safe to assume that is how he responded here.

 What we do know for sure is that God proved himself faithful. God told Paul that he must go to Rome and be a witness to the men there, telling them about Jesus and the way of salvation. God will never ask us to do something and then leave us to do it on our own. He is always with us, working behind the scene so that everything works out according to His plan. Paul faced many challenges on his way to Rome; he was shipped wrecked and bitten by a poisonous snake, but God was always with him and He is the one who kept Paul safe.

We should trust God because he is God, but he knows that is hard for us. He gave us His word to help us know just how trust worthy He is; we can obey and know He is the one who will do the hard work to get things done!

 I am continually amazed at how slow to catch on I am, it seems every account in scripture points to our need to trust God; yet I still find it instinctive to trust in my own judgment rather than God’s. I have to work at trusting God; I remind myself constantly that He knows better than I do, and that He does not have to run His plans by me before I accept them. I know my children have the same struggle, they often disobey because they don’t trust that I know better than they do.  I think this is why so much of the Bible points us to the importance of trusting God, because the flesh naturally trusts in itself rather than God. If you think back to the garden not trusting God is what got Adam and Eve (as well as the entire human race) in such trouble; they didn’t trust that God was looking our for their best interest, and so they took matters into their own hands. God never holds out on his children, He always provided what we need (what we actually need, not what we think we need).  As parents it’s important that our walks with God are consistent just like Paul’s was; our children watch us they believe what our actions tell them more than our words. In other words if we do not trust God, we cannot expect our children to either.

I am thankful that as I teach my children about God they are not the only ones who are changed, God has been very gracious to show me where I need to repent, especially of prideful self-reliance, and trust in Him. I pray that this is helpful as you labor to lead your children to the cross!

Gospel Centered Parenting

A must hear for every Christian parent!! So listen up!!

Refreshment for the Soul!

This is one of my favorite gospel presentations ever! The gospel is not just something we give to unbelievers to open their eyes to their need for salvation in hopes that they will repent and trust in Jesus; it holds the answer to every problem we experience in life. It gives us the strength to fight sin, the hope we need to continue on when things are hard, it humbles us when we forget who we are apart from Christ, it shows us how serious God is about holiness, it comforts us when we fall into sin for the hundredth time, and it reveals the great love of God for fallen undeserving sinners!

I listened to this for the first time in a long time this week, and it was like a cold drink on a hot Texas day (and it has been hot)! I hope this refreshes you in your fight against sin!

This is Not What I Expected!

Summer is probably the most sanctifying time of the year for me, three little boys at home provides just the right heat to boil my sin to the surface. I have a routine during the school year, I like my routine. Each day I have a set of chores that do, but during the summer that schedule is disrupted. I don’t know why the addition of one child makes such a big difference, but it really does.

Some days I do well with my disrupted schedule, I tell myself that “eventually everything I need to do will get done.” Most of the time this line of reasoning works, other times it only delays my madness! There are moments, far more than I care to admit, that my heart screams, “I have lots to do, my agenda is important, I’m tired, and I just can’t get a moment of peace! Why won’t these kids just leave me alone!!”

I wish schedule disruptions were the only moments that my sin rises to the surface but they are not. When my children disobey repeatedly after being disciplined, I typically find myself saying something like, “I just can’t believe you did that again! What were you thinking! or How many times do I have to say it…!” Sometimes I am just shocked at disobedience, I mean I always obeyed as a child! Don’t those children know who is in charge here!!   

God’s really been working on me this year, helping me see what is really going on in my heart. The truth is that I expect my children to obey and let me accomplish my daily goals. Not only do I expect it, but I demand it sometimes. My expectations are the problem, not my children!

Parenting is just not what I expect it to be, I realized that I think that I can parent quid pro quo: I do this you do that. I discipline you, then you obey; however, that is just not how it really works. Kids are sinners, just like us, even more most kids are unredeemed sinners; meaning that until they have the Holy Spirit we don’t have hope for true and lasting change. If we can whip our kids into shape without the Holy Spirit, we have done nothing more than created little Pharisees (Do you remember how Jesus talked to the Pharisees, I really don’t want my kids lumped in with that group). Another reality we need to hold onto is that even once they are redeemed growth in holiness is a very slow process. If my expectations are not continually brought back to this reality, I am likely to lose my temper and fall into sin on a daily basis.

What is the solution then, if I am the problem and not my kids? First I need to temper my expectations. Should I expect obedience? That’s kind of tricky isn’t it? I think we can look at how God worked at revealing himself for the answer. In the Bible God progressively revealed himself to His people. First he gave the law through Moses, we may think merely about the ten commandments, but the truth is that was only the moral law. In the book of Leviticus God laid out his ceremonial law, in all there are 613 laws given in the bible. These laws were not give to save anyone; they were given to inform us what it looks like to truly love God, and to point us to our need for a savior, since none of us can love God the way that the law calls us to. Over time God revealed more and more of His plan to redeem sinners from the ultimate penalty of sin death. Everything in the Old Testament points us to Jesus and His atoning sacrifice, then in the New Testament we are informed about how we are to live in light of what was done on the cross. God still held his people accountable to the law which they could not fulfill, and so should we with our children. Just as our failure to keep the law point us to our need, our children’s failures should be used as opportunities to point them to their need. A need that only Jesus can meet. 

As we discipline we MUST remember that our sin was paid for by another. We deserved to hang on that cross, but instead Jesus stood in our place. How can we be surprised at our children’s disobedience, when God tells us that we deserve what Jesus endured! 

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.- Isaiah 53:5

Sin comes with a costly penalty, one which we do not wish to see our children endure. Forgiveness is even more costly, it cost God his only Son. As Christian we are called to lay down our lives, and take up the cause of Christ. That means when I want to accomplish something and my kids are getting in the way, I should not be shocked or angry, I should repent of unrealistic expectations and discipline them appropriately. I find myself asking, “What did I expect, they are sinners?” When my expectations are realistic (in line with reality), I can respond in a God honoring way. However, if my expectations are out of line with reality I will fail and sin against God and my children. I will make the situations worse not better. I need to talk with them about their sin, and point them to the cross where forgiveness is found. Further, when they ask for my forgiveness I must forgive them as I have been forgiven.

As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.- Psalm 103:12

That means that I do not keep a record of their wrongs; I don’t bring their sin up to another, I don’t think on their sin, and I don’t remind them of their sin. Every step of this is hard, the final step may be the hardest. Kids sin in the same way over and over and over again, but when I say that I have forgiven them, I must keep my word. This means that when they sin again in the same way, I do not dig up the sin that was forgiven five minutes ago. Every situation stands on its own, not on the actions of the past. 

Parenting in a God honoring way is hard! It is certainly not what I expected. I thought it was my job to shape them, and while I get to play a part It is God who does the remodeling they require. What surprises me most is how God is using them to reshape me! 

I pray that this is a blessing, it has been on my mind for weeks. I know I am not alone in my struggle, and I hope that God’s work on me can benefit another!

Paul Shipwrecked

This week we taught the kids about Paul’s journey to Rome, and how he was shipwrecked along the way. We continued to talk about being lights in the world, and how people look at how well our words and actions match up. We can’t simply proclaim Jesus with our mouth; we must walk in a manner that is glorifying to Him if we want others to come to know His goodness. Paul is an amazing example for us; because of His great trust in the Lord he was able to love those who held him in captivity. He ministered to those on the ship, giving them hope, even after they ignored his counsel. As a result of Paul’s faithfulness to God those on the ship trusted Paul, and in the end they all lived!

Lesson:

The time came for Paul to go to Rome to make his appeal to Caesar; he was to travel by ship along with some other prisoners. Even though Paul was a prisoner all who had authority over him respected him. Paul had proven himself faithful to his words by always following the standards he gave to others. Do you know what that means? It means if he said it was wrong to act a certain way or talk a certain way, he didn’t act that way or talk that way. He showed his belief to be true by his actions; he showed love to those who held him in captivity by sharing the gospel patiently and remained peaceful always trusting in God in very hard situations.

The trip was going to be very long by ship, and it was not a good time of year to travel by sea. It was fall, and the seas become more dangerous the closer it gets to winter. As time passed and the seas became more difficult, Paul told the Centurion, who was in charge of the transport of Paul and the other prisoners, that he sensed great danger if they continued. However, the ships captain and the ships pilot thought that it was best to continue to the next port and stay there until the end of winter when it would be safer to proceed on their journey.

The Centurion agreed with the majority, and they continued on their journey. However, it was not long before they were caught in a terrible storm, the men on the ship fought for weeks to keep moving in the right direction. As they were losing hope that any would survive Paul encouraged them. He reminded them that He had told them that lay danger ahead if they continued, but they decided to go anyway. He wasn’t reminding them to be prideful, but so that they would listen to him. He told them that the Lord had told him that they would all survive if everyone stayed on the ship. He encouraged them to eat, and after they all ate they ran the ship into the ground near an island; everyone on board made it safe to land.

Remember that last week we talked about being a light in the world, and that Paul was a light to the Romans because he shared the truth of God’s word with them. We can shine like lights thought more than just our words, although our words are very important. People look at our actions and compare them to our words to see if they match up. We need to show people who God is through our words and our actions. We must be kind and loving even when we are in a difficult situation, like Paul was. The Romans respected and listened to Paul because his words and actions matched, and as a result all the passengers were saved.

Tips for daily devotional time with kids:

I think that it is always best review the lesson for several days with the kids, especially if they are younger. Asking questions about the story will help the kids internalize what they heard. At church we give stickers to whoever answers the question correctly, kids love stickers, and at home sometimes I give out Skittles or Jelly beans. I certainly do not do that at home all the time, but the kids really love when I do! We have an older son,  I’ll let him read the story one night or try to tell it  the best he can from memory to the little boys. If your kids are older you could let them act out the story.

Summer is a unique time in that there seems to be more time to fill, you could search online for craft ideas, and do a craft together. Use the time to talk about the story again, see if your child can tell you the principle taught in the story not just what happened. You could play a game in the dark using a flashlight, and talk about what it means to be lights in the world.

I don’t think that every devotional time should be action packed fun, because studying the bible is not always fun. Serious bible study is work, and we should teach our kids that. However, adding something fun here and there will help to engage them, and hopefully they will catch more of what you are trying to teach them.

I hope this is helpful! Please leave a comment telling how you share bible stories at home with your kids!