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Archives for January 2015

DIGGING DEEPER by K-love – 10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Overcome Obstacles

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10 Ways to Teach Your Children to Overcome Obstacles

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  1. Be a role model: Kids learn most of what they know about problem solving by watching their parents deal with difficulty. So, demonstrate the deep satisfaction that comes with negotiating a challenge.

 

  1. Equip them with the right tools: Tools such as motivation, self-confidence, perseverance, faith, strength of character, sound judgment, and experience in solving small problems.

 

  1. Play problem-solving games as a family: Scavenger hunts, boardgames, word puzzles. This helps kids understand that obstacles are an important element of a rich and fulfilling life experience.

 

  1. Understand the difference between “childhood” and “irrelevancy:” This is very important! Too many parents offer children neither responsibility nor the respect of expectation. Two truths come out of this point:
  • When we expect nothing of our children, then that’s exactly what we get. Rather than solve problems, they will likely cause them.

 

  • Children who are not allowed to contribute to family life tend to develop other skills instead – and those are typically destructive. It’s important to act as if our children really are an integral part of family life, and that they really do have something of value to contribute.

 

  1. Provide children with practice: Introduce obstacles that kids can deal with; teach them how to develop strategy; encourage them to persevere; and then make a big deal of it when they succeed. Involve children with planning family outings, working out details on vacation, and handling the logistics for other family events.

 

Be a role model

 

  1. Do not reinforce giving up: Never solve a problem for your child that they can (with guidance) solve themselves. Instead, nudge and encourage so that “hanging in there” for success is experienced as much more rewarding than conceding defeat.

 

  1. Be there when failure threatens to overwhelm: This is the other side of the coin. There’s no benefit to abandoning children to failure when the struggle is too huge. Can you help them re-direct? Can you steer them toward success, then back off? Can you be realistic, and counsel with them when an obstacle simply will not budge?

 

  1. Facilitate solution-oriented conversations at the family table: “Hey, kids, what do you think about such-and-such?” “I’ve got a challenging situation – any ideas?” “We’ve decided to slice 10% off the family budget – let’s all talk about what we can do together to make this work.”

 

  1. Volunteer with your children: Find a facility where so-called “handicapped” individuals work hard to overcome obstacles. Participate in community or church projects that call for creative thinking – then let your kids take the lead.

 

  1. Don’t forget balance: Sometimes it’s appropriate to ask for help when an obstacle won’t budge. We don’t drill our own teeth for a filling, most parents need assistance when it comes to funding a college education, and some of us really shouldn’t mess with our own plumbing. Don’t let your children confuse stubbornness with tenacity and perseverance.

 

God’s Story… For My Life – A Good Example

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Gods story

A Good Example

Read 1 Thessalonians 1:2-10

When we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you. So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord. As a result, you have become an example to all the believers in Greece—throughout both Macedonia and Achaia.

And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. We don’t need to tell them about it, for they keep talking about the wonderful welcome you gave us and how you turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.
(1 Thessalonians 1:5-10)

Reflect

Paul and his companions probably arrived in Thessalonica in the early summer of a.d. 50. They planted the first Christian church in that city, but had to leave in a hurry because their lives were threatened (Acts 17:1-10). At the first opportunity, probably when he stopped at Corinth, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how the new believers were doing. Timothy returned to Paul with good news: The Christians in Thessalonica remained firm in the faith and were unified. But the Thessalonians did have some questions about their new faith. Paul had not had time to answer all their questions during his brief visit, and in the meantime, other questions had arisen. So Paul wrote this letter to answer their questions and to commend them on their faithfulness to Christ.

Paul commended these young Christians for their faithful work, loving deeds, and anticipation of the Lord’s return. These characteristics are the marks of effective Christians in any age.

Respond

Paul wrote, “You know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). The Thessalonians could see that Paul, Silas, and Timothy preached the truth because these men lived it. How does your life confirm what you believe? How are you an example of faith like the believers at Thessalonica?

God’s Story… For My Life – Family Faith

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Gods story

Family Faith

Read Acts 16:16-40

Suddenly, there was a massive earthquake, and the prison was shaken to its foundations. All the doors immediately flew open, and the chains of every prisoner fell off! The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.” And they shared the word of the Lord with him and with all who lived in his household. Even at that hour of the night, the jailer cared for them and washed their wounds. Then he and everyone in his household were immediately baptized. He brought them into his house and set a meal before them, and he and his entire household rejoiced because they all believed in God.
(Acts 16:26-34)

Reflect

Paul and Silas’s reputation in Philippi was well known. When the jailer realized his own true condition and need, he risked everything to find the answer. The Christian Good News of salvation is simply expressed: Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (see Romans 10:9; 1 Corinthians 12:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 2:11). When we recognize Jesus as Lord and trust in him with our entire life, salvation is assured to us.

Paul and Silas took the family unit seriously. So the offer of salvation was made to the jailer’s entire household—family and servants. Yet it was not the jailer’s faith that saved them; they all needed to come to Jesus in faith and believe in him in the same way the jailer had. Yet his entire family did believe and all were saved.

Respond

If you have never trusted in Jesus to save you, do so quickly. Your life can be filled with joy, just as the jailer’s was (Acts 16:34). If you’re already a believer, pray that God will use you to introduce Jesus to your family or friends and that they will come to believe in him.

DIGGING DEEPER K-love – How to Gain Peace for Your Life

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peace

Excerpt from Go Small By Craig Gross

I grew up in California, where you pretty much have to drive wherever you want to go, and since I still live here, I don’t know a whole lot about mass transportation in more compact cities like New York City, Boston, or Chicago.

 

 
But I do know about a man named Clive Jacobsen, and I also know a little bit about how he uses his time on a train that runs from his house in Sydney, Australia, to a town called Shellharbour. Every Sunday, Clive Jacobsen gets on the train with a leather duffel bag, finds a comfortable seat, and settles in for the four-hour journey. He isn’t going to pass the time looking at the scenery out the window, though. Nor will he strike up any conversations with his fellow passengers, read the latest paperback thriller, or scroll through his Twitter feed on a smartphone. Clive Jacobsen will unzip his duffel bag, get out a notepad and a pen, and start writing letters.

 
The letters he writes will eventually find their way to distant countries like Zambia, South Africa, or Thailand. Clive Jacobsen is writing to international prisoners. Criminals.
 He writes to inmates because he was one once. Long ago. Back in the mid-1960s, Clive Jacobsen spent a small amount of time in jail for a relatively minor offense, but he’s never forgotten the sense of isolation and abandonment he felt while he was there. So it seemed only natural that when a letter-writing organization contacted him in 2002 about sending letters to inmates abroad, he seized the opportunity right away.

 
The organization told him he could write to more than one inmate if he liked, so he decided to write to three. As his correspondence went on and he began to develop relationships—however distant—with these men, he began to not only see the massive need for this type of pen pal, but also find some personal fulfillment through it. So he upped it to four. Then ten. Then twenty. Then a hundred.

 

NO ONE IS BEYOND REDEMPTION

 

At last count, Clive Jacobsen now maintains written correspondence with more than 550 prisoners abroad. That is a lot of time on the train. Clive not only sacrifices his time and invites the pain of inevitable hand cramps from handwriting all those letters; he also sacrifices his money. According to Clive, he can spend as much as $200 every month on postage alone, in addition to all the other supplies he uses to organize his correspondence.

 
This guy is an amazing example for all of us, because he’s just doing what God put in front of him. He saw an opportunity to reach out to some of the most marginalized and isolated people in the world and shine a light on them to let them know that no matter what they’ve done, Jesus still loves them and somebody sees them. Clive Jacobsen understands this about them, and his heart goes out to them. In his words, “They can’t undo the crime they’ve done . . . but no one is beyond redemption.”

 
And if you think what Clive Jacobsen is doing does nothing for him, then I would suggest you haven’t thought through this very much. I would imagine that something as small and simple as writing letters to these inmates helps Clive Jacobsen understand his own need for redemption—and reinforces to him how much Jesus has done for him. He isn’t trying to change the world. He’s just trying to bring a little peace into these men’s lives, and in so doing, he brings some peace into his own. And he does it by thinking small.
 Go big or go home? That’s a false choice.
 I encourage you to pull a Clive Jacobsen and go small.

Streams in the Desert – January 24

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But the dove found no rest for or the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him… And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf (Genesis 8:9-11).

God knows just when to withhold from us any visible sign of encouragement, and when to grant us such a sign. How good it is that we may trust Him anyway! When all visible evidences that He is remembering us are withheld, that is best; He wants us to realize that His Word, His promise of remembrance, is more substantial and dependable than any evidence of our senses. When He sends the visible evidence, that is well also; we appreciate it all the more after we have trusted Him without it. Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love.
–C. G. Trumbull

Believing Him; if storm-clouds gather darkly ’round,
And even if the heaven seem brass, without a sound?
He hears each prayer and even notes the sparrow’s fall.
And praising Him; when sorrow, grief, and pain are near,
And even when we lose the thing that seems most dear?
Our loss is gain. Praise Him; in Him we have our All.
Our hand in His; e’en though the path seems long and drear
We scarcely see a step ahead, and almost fear?
He guides aright. He has it thus to keep us near.
And satisfied; when every path is blocked and bare,
And worldly things are gone and dead which were so fair?
Believe and rest and trust in Him, He comes to stay.

Delays are not refusals; many a prayer is registered, and underneath it the words: “My time is not yet come.” God has a set time as well as a set purpose, and He who orders the bounds of our habitation orders also the time of our deliverance.
–Selected

God’s Story… For My Life – Spirit-led Solution

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Gods story

Spirit-led Solution

Read Acts 15:22-35

This is the letter they took with them:

“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!

“We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”

The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.
(Acts 15:23-31)

Reflect

The delegates to the council at Jerusalem came from the churches in Jerusalem and Antioch. The conversion of Gentiles was raising an urgent question for the early church: The real problem for the Jewish Christians was not whether Gentiles could be saved but whether Gentile believers also had to adhere to the laws of Moses and other Jewish traditions. The test of following these laws was circumcision. Paul and Barnabas discussed this problem with the leaders of the church.

The debate over circumcision could have split the church, but Paul, Barnabas, and the Jews in Antioch made the right decision—they sought counsel from the church leaders and from God’s Word. This letter answered their questions and brought great joy to the Gentile Christians in Antioch (Acts 15:31). Beautifully written, it appeals to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and explains what is to be done as though the readers already knew it. It is helpful when believers learn to be careful not only in what they say, but also in how they say it.

Respond

Don’t let disagreements divide you from other believers. Third-party assistance is a sound method for resolving problems and preserving unity. Pray for the Holy Spirit’s assistance and the peace he provides as you seek a solution.

Streams in the Desert – January 23

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Why, Lord, do you stand far off? (Psalms 10:1)

God is “a very present help in trouble.” But He permits trouble to pursue us, as though He were indifferent to its overwhelming pressure, that we may be brought to the end of ourselves, and led to discover the treasure of darkness, the unmeasurable gains of tribulation.

We may be sure that He who permits the suffering is with us in it. It may be that we shall see Him only when the trial is passing; but we must dare to believe that He never leaves the crucible. Our eyes are blinded; and we cannot behold Him whom our soul loves. It is dark–the bandages blind us so that we cannot see the form of our High Priest; but He is there, deeply touched. Let us not rely on feeling, but on faith in His unswerving fidelity; and though we see Him not, let us talk to Him. Directly we begin to speak to Jesus, as being literally present, though His presence is veiled, there comes an answering voice which shows that He is in the shadow, keeping watch upon His own. Your Father is as near when you journey through the dark tunnel as when under the open heaven!
–Daily Devotional Commentary

What though the path be all unknown?
What though the way be drear?
Its shades I traverse not alone
When steps of Thine are near.

God’s Story… For My Life – Persist in Doing Good

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Gods story

Persist in Doing Good

Read Galatians 6:1-10

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.
(Galatians 6:1-10)

Reflect

No Christian should ever think that he or she is totally independent and doesn’t need help from others, and no one should feel excused from the task of helping others. The body of Christ—the church—functions only when the members work together for the common good.

When you do your very best, you feel good about the results. Yet it is discouraging to continue to do right and receive no word of thanks or see no tangible results. But Paul challenged the Galatians, and he challenges us to keep on doing good and to trust God for the results. In due time, we will reap a harvest of blessing.

Respond

Every action has results. If you plant to please your own desires, you’ll reap a crop of sorrow and evil. If you plant to please God, you’ll reap joy and everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you sowing? When you are tempted to compare yourself favorably or unfavorably with someone else, look at Jesus Christ. His example will inspire you to do your very best, and his loving acceptance will comfort you when you fall short of your expectations.

Streams in the Desert – January 22

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He withdrew… to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13).

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end for the song. God sends us time of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymns of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.

God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us. With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, “There is no music in a rest,” let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
–John Ruskin

Called aside–
From the glad working of your busy life,
From the world’s ceaseless stir of care and strife,
Into the shade and stillness by your Heavenly Guide
For a brief time you have been called aside.
Called aside–
Perhaps into a desert garden dim;
And yet not alone, when you have been with Him,
And heard His voice in sweetest accents say:
“Child, will you not with Me this still hour stay?”
Called aside–
In hidden paths with Christ your Lord to tread,
Deeper to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,
Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,
Nearer, perhaps, to feel your Heavenly Home.
Called aside–
Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;
In secret oft His deeper love is shown,
And learned in many an hour of dark distress
Some rare, sweet lesson of His tenderness.
Called aside–
We thank You for the stillness and the shade;
We thank You for the hidden paths Your love has made,
And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,
We thank You for our dark Gethsemane.
Called aside–
O restful thought – He does all things well;
O blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;
So in the shadow of Your cross to hide,
We thank You, Lord, to have been called aside.

God’s Story… For My Life – The Fruit of the Spirit

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Gods story

The Fruit of the Spirit

Read Galatians 5:16-26

The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.
(Galatians 5:22-26)

Reflect

The fruit of the Spirit is the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. The Spirit produces these character traits that are found in the nature of Christ. They are the by-products of Christ’s control—we can’t obtain them by trying to get them without his help. If we want the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, we must join our lives to his (see John 15:4-5). We must know him, love him, remember him, and imitate him. As a result, we will fulfill the intended purpose of the law—to love God and our neighbors.

Because the God who sent the law also sent the Spirit, the by-products of the Spirit-filled life are in perfect harmony with the intent of God’s law. A person who exhibits the fruit of the Spirit fulfills the law far better than a person who observes the rituals but has little love in his or her heart.

In order to accept Christ as Savior, we need to turn from our sins and willingly nail our sinful nature to the cross. This doesn’t mean, however, that we will never see traces of its evil desires again. As Christians we still have the capacity to sin, but we have been set free from sin’s power over us and no longer have to give in to it. We must daily commit our sinful tendencies to God’s control, daily crucify them, and moment by moment draw on the Spirit’s power to overcome them (see Galatians 2:20; 6:14).

Respond

Which of the nine qualities listed in the passage above (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) do you want the Spirit to produce in you? Why? How has God worked within you in the past week?