Love Like Adam

While weeping in prayer one day, I asked the Lord how He could have ever loved His disciples. I was burned out, at the bottom, and totally frustrated with people. I did not feel I could love anyone at that moment—even my own children. I saw everyone’s flaws. I could remember every hurt and frustration, see all they had done wrong, and wanted to level the world instead of loving it.

Love like the second Adam

The Lord spoke to me as I grieved before Him. He impressed something like this on my heart: “I ... → Read More: Drawing Out Wisdom]]> For dad only:

Love Like Adam

While weeping in prayer one day, I asked the Lord how He could have ever loved His disciples. I was burned out, at the bottom, and totally frustrated with people. I did not feel I could love anyone at that moment—even my own children. I saw everyone’s flaws. I could remember every hurt and frustration, see all they had done wrong, and wanted to level the world instead of loving it.

Love like the second Adam

The Lord spoke to me as I grieved before Him. He impressed something like this on my heart: “I do not love people the way you do. You love with the love of fallen man—through the knowledge of good and evil. I do not have the fallen nature and do not see things the way you see them. I love people because they are made in the image of God.”
I tend to love people who are good people and despise people who are evil. God, in His humanity, did not deal with people according to their flaws or their attempts at righteousness. He ministered love because we are creatures He made to receive His love. He does not love us because of what we are.
You can love your kids, no matter what they are like now. If they receive your love, you can develop them into the character of God.

Love from the heart, not the head

If you base your love for people on what you know about them, you will love them less and less the more you learn. Jesus did not come to judge (His second coming will be the time of judgment). He loves us with a pre-adamic love, a love not based on sin. Stop looking at your kids’ faults and love them for who they should be.
Jesus loved the rich young ruler, Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and even Judas enough to wash his feet. If He treated them according to His knowledge of them, they would have had no hope. Love like Jesus.
_________
Read this to the kids:

Drawing from Deep Wells

The sound of smashing glass caused Rusty to turn this head toward the alley just up the street. Dad seemed to notice the sound, too. He pedaled his bike a little faster and Rusty stepped into his a little more, as well.
“Did you hear that?” Rusty asked.
Dad frowned and nodded, not saying anything.
Rusty took the hint to be quiet.
Coming past the old brick building on the edge of the alley, Dad and Rusty stopped their bikes and glanced around the corner. Three young guys were running away from them and turned a corner at the end of the alley.
On the ground by the brick wall, a pile of shattered glace sat as glittering evidence. Shards of glass spread out from the pile into the alleyway where cars would drive. Nearby, a stack of glass bottles stood waiting their doom. Fortunately, Dad and Rusty had frightened the hoodlums off.
“It was the Peterson boys,” Rusty said.
“Are you sure?”
“It looked like them, but I didn’t see their faces.”
Dad sighed. “Those boys cause more trouble.”
Rusty nodded. “How do kids turn out to be such fools?”
Dad looked at Rusty and thought for a moment. “Don’t be too harsh on them, Son. Yes, they are behaving very foolishly, but did you realize that they have a lot of wisdom deep within them?
“What? I don’t think I have ever seen anything wise come from those three.”
“But it is there,” Dad said. “They just have not had anyone draw out the depths of wisdom within them.” Dad stooped down and started picking up the broken glass that might pierce car tires.
“So we all have wisdom in us?” Rusty asked, stooping to help his dad clean up the mess.
“God created us with the ability to be fools or wise men. It is our choice. We can be godly or wicked. Children often lack people in their lives who will draw out their good potential.”
Rusty listened to the clinking sounds of the broken glass as they picked it up and added it to the pile by the wall.
“I was a lot like them when I was their ages,” Dad continued. “It wasn’t until I was an adult on my own that a pastor took my aside and began to show me my potential. He encouraged my right decisions and counseled me against the foolish nature I wanted to follow. It took me many years, but eventually I saw that I could make the right choices with the help of Jesus.”
“I think you make a lot of wise decisions, Dad. Like helping me buy my bike. I wanted to buy the cool-looking one but you showed me the one that would last a long time and not fall apart quickly.”
“Thank you, Rusty. Just by saying that, you are pulling wisdom from the wells deep within me.”
“Me? I never thought I could help you be wise.”
“A wise person knows how to draw wisdom out of someone else. You do not have to be smarter than other people, just help them find their own smartness. Help them see that they can make good decisions.”
The two worked side-by-side for a while in silence.
Finally, Rusty asked, “Are we still going to Carter’s house tonight?”
“Yes,” Dad said, “I just talked to his dad this morning.”
“Cool.” Rusty stood and knocked the dirt off his hands. “I hope Carter doesn’t turn out like those Peterson boys.”
“You see similarities?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“So, you could help him turn out like them if you say that to him. Don’t you imagine the Peterson’s parents have told those boys, ‘You are such fools’?”
“I guess.”
“So, just pointing out a person’s foolishness might just be a way of developing more foolishness. To draw out a person’s wisdom, point out what they have done right and mention good decisions you expect them to make.”
“I think I understand.”
Dad stood and brushed off his hands and said, “I hope whoever owns this building come out and cleans up the rest of this. At least no one will cut their tires, now. We have got to get going so we can make it to Carter’s on time.”
•       •       •
Mom and Dad were in the living room talking to Carter’s dad and stepmom, while Misty and Carter’s little brother Skylar played Chinese checkers on the floor.
“Well, Doug, I am proud of you,” Dad was saying, “you have brought your family to church very faithfully.”
Carter opened a cabinet door in the kitchen and said to Rusty, “Hey, look.”
“What is it?” Rusty asked.
“Ketchup packets.”
“Hmm. You like ketchup?”
“Yeah, especially when you step on them.”
“Oh, I did that once, by accident,” Rusty said. “It went everywhere.”
“Isn’t it awesome?” Carter grabbed a handful of ketchup packets. “Come on.” He headed out the backdoor.
Rusty followed. “What are you going to do?”
“Bust them out behind the garage!”
Rusty’s mind flashed up a scene of the Peterson boys running away from the broken glass. “But Carter, that’s—” Rusty stopped himself. Draw out the wisdom, he reminded himself of what Dad had said.
“It’s what? Not allowed? I won’t get in that big of trouble.”
“Do you think your stepmom will like this?”
“Probably not, but she will get over it.”
“I thought you and her were getting along well since you got baptized.”
“Yeah, mostly.”
“I think you probably want to stay on her good side. I don’t think smashing ketchup all over the back of the garage is going to help you find favor with her.”
Carter looked at the ketchup and thought for a second. “Don’t you think this will be fun?”
Rusty shrugged. “Yeah, it would be fun. But there are better things we could do than destroy stuff. What would you do to help your dad and stepmom out?”
“I was supposed to rake the leaves out by the oak tree today, but they said I could wait until you leave.”
Rusty saw a rake and grabbed it. “Let’s do it and surprise them.”
A while later, the adults came out to check on Rusty and Carter. When Carter’s stepmom saw him raking, she said, “Wow! That lawn looks really good. Now, whose idea was that?”
Rusty stopped raking and pointed at his friend. “Carter thought you would appreciate it.”
Carter looked at Rusty and then at his stepmom.
“Well, Carter, I am so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” Carter said, trying to hide his smile as he went back to raking.
_______

Now discuss it!
What does Proverbs 20:5 say about drawing wisdom from within people?
Read this in the New Century Version, NIV, and/or New Living Translation

How did Rusty draw out wisdom from deep within Carter?

How did Dad draw wisdom out of Rusty?

If you had a chance to talk to the Peterson boys, what could you do to draw out wisdom in them?

Who have you helped find wisdom?

Who has drawn wisdom up from deep within you?

Who can you speak to and help them find the deep wisdom God already put within them?
_________

Read God’s Word together:

Jesus Drawing at Greatness

As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.’ ”
“Teacher,” the man said, “ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”
Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”
When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.
(Mark 10:17-22, GNB)

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?”
They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger. As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.” Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first.
Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. He straightened up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?”
“No one, sir,” she answered.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.”
(John 8:3-11, GNB)
_________

Let’s talk about it!
How did the rich young man respond to Jesus’ love?

Will people always do the right thing because we love them?

Jesus gave the woman who had done bad things a second chance. How do you think she lived after that?

Role play: Your friend borrowed your Frisbee and lost it. Now, he wants to borrow a game you have. What will you say?

How has someone accepted you even after you messed up? How did it make you feel to be loved even when you disappointed them?
_________
Memorize it!

1

For dad only:

Love Like Adam

While weeping in prayer one day, I asked the Lord how He could have ever loved His disciples. I was burned out, at the bottom, and totally frustrated with people. I did not feel I could love anyone at that moment—even my own children. I saw everyone’s flaws. I could remember every hurt and frustration, see all they had done wrong, and wanted to level the world instead of loving it.

Love like the second Adam

The Lord spoke to me as I grieved before Him. He impressed something like this ... → Read More: Drawing Out Wisdom]]> Drawing Out Wisdom

1

For dad only:

Love Like Adam

While weeping in prayer one day, I asked the Lord how He could have ever loved His disciples. I was burned out, at the bottom, and totally frustrated with people. I did not feel I could love anyone at that moment—even my own children. I saw everyone’s flaws. I could remember every hurt and frustration, see all they had done wrong, and wanted to level the world instead of loving it.

Love like the second Adam

The Lord spoke to me as I grieved before Him. He impressed something like this on my heart: “I do not love people the way you do. You love with the love of fallen man—through the knowledge of good and evil. I do not have the fallen nature and do not see things the way you see them. I love people because they are made in the image of God.”
I tend to love people who are good people and despise people who are evil. God, in His humanity, did not deal with people according to their flaws or their attempts at righteousness. He ministered love because we are creatures He made to receive His love. He does not love us because of what we are.
You can love your kids, no matter what they are like now. If they receive your love, you can develop them into the character of God.

Love from the heart, not the head

If you base your love for people on what you know about them, you will love them less and less the more you learn. Jesus did not come to judge (His second coming will be the time of judgment). He loves us with a pre-adamic love, a love not based on sin. Stop looking at your kids’ faults and love them for who they should be.
Jesus loved the rich young ruler, Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter, and even Judas enough to wash his feet. If He treated them according to His knowledge of them, they would have had no hope. Love like Jesus.
_________
Read this to the kids:

Drawing from Deep Wells

The sound of smashing glass caused Rusty to turn this head toward the alley just up the street. Dad seemed to notice the sound, too. He pedaled his bike a little faster and Rusty stepped into his a little more, as well.
“Did you hear that?” Rusty asked.
Dad frowned and nodded, not saying anything.
Rusty took the hint to be quiet.
Coming past the old brick building on the edge of the alley, Dad and Rusty stopped their bikes and glanced around the corner. Three young guys were running away from them and turned a corner at the end of the alley.
On the ground by the brick wall, a pile of shattered glace sat as glittering evidence. Shards of glass spread out from the pile into the alleyway where cars would drive. Nearby, a stack of glass bottles stood waiting their doom. Fortunately, Dad and Rusty had frightened the hoodlums off.
“It was the Peterson boys,” Rusty said.
“Are you sure?”
“It looked like them, but I didn’t see their faces.”
Dad sighed. “Those boys cause more trouble.”
Rusty nodded. “How do kids turn out to be such fools?”
Dad looked at Rusty and thought for a moment. “Don’t be too harsh on them, Son. Yes, they are behaving very foolishly, but did you realize that they have a lot of wisdom deep within them?
“What? I don’t think I have ever seen anything wise come from those three.”
“But it is there,” Dad said. “They just have not had anyone draw out the depths of wisdom within them.” Dad stooped down and started picking up the broken glass that might pierce car tires.
“So we all have wisdom in us?” Rusty asked, stooping to help his dad clean up the mess.
“God created us with the ability to be fools or wise men. It is our choice. We can be godly or wicked. Children often lack people in their lives who will draw out their good potential.”
Rusty listened to the clinking sounds of the broken glass as they picked it up and added it to the pile by the wall.
“I was a lot like them when I was their ages,” Dad continued. “It wasn’t until I was an adult on my own that a pastor took my aside and began to show me my potential. He encouraged my right decisions and counseled me against the foolish nature I wanted to follow. It took me many years, but eventually I saw that I could make the right choices with the help of Jesus.”
“I think you make a lot of wise decisions, Dad. Like helping me buy my bike. I wanted to buy the cool-looking one but you showed me the one that would last a long time and not fall apart quickly.”
“Thank you, Rusty. Just by saying that, you are pulling wisdom from the wells deep within me.”
“Me? I never thought I could help you be wise.”
“A wise person knows how to draw wisdom out of someone else. You do not have to be smarter than other people, just help them find their own smartness. Help them see that they can make good decisions.”
The two worked side-by-side for a while in silence.
Finally, Rusty asked, “Are we still going to Carter’s house tonight?”
“Yes,” Dad said, “I just talked to his dad this morning.”
“Cool.” Rusty stood and knocked the dirt off his hands. “I hope Carter doesn’t turn out like those Peterson boys.”
“You see similarities?”
“Yeah, sometimes.”
“So, you could help him turn out like them if you say that to him. Don’t you imagine the Peterson’s parents have told those boys, ‘You are such fools’?”
“I guess.”
“So, just pointing out a person’s foolishness might just be a way of developing more foolishness. To draw out a person’s wisdom, point out what they have done right and mention good decisions you expect them to make.”
“I think I understand.”
Dad stood and brushed off his hands and said, “I hope whoever owns this building come out and cleans up the rest of this. At least no one will cut their tires, now. We have got to get going so we can make it to Carter’s on time.”
•       •       •
Mom and Dad were in the living room talking to Carter’s dad and stepmom, while Misty and Carter’s little brother Skylar played Chinese checkers on the floor.
“Well, Doug, I am proud of you,” Dad was saying, “you have brought your family to church very faithfully.”
Carter opened a cabinet door in the kitchen and said to Rusty, “Hey, look.”
“What is it?” Rusty asked.
“Ketchup packets.”
“Hmm. You like ketchup?”
“Yeah, especially when you step on them.”
“Oh, I did that once, by accident,” Rusty said. “It went everywhere.”
“Isn’t it awesome?” Carter grabbed a handful of ketchup packets. “Come on.” He headed out the backdoor.
Rusty followed. “What are you going to do?”
“Bust them out behind the garage!”
Rusty’s mind flashed up a scene of the Peterson boys running away from the broken glass. “But Carter, that’s—” Rusty stopped himself. Draw out the wisdom, he reminded himself of what Dad had said.
“It’s what? Not allowed? I won’t get in that big of trouble.”
“Do you think your stepmom will like this?”
“Probably not, but she will get over it.”
“I thought you and her were getting along well since you got baptized.”
“Yeah, mostly.”
“I think you probably want to stay on her good side. I don’t think smashing ketchup all over the back of the garage is going to help you find favor with her.”
Carter looked at the ketchup and thought for a second. “Don’t you think this will be fun?”
Rusty shrugged. “Yeah, it would be fun. But there are better things we could do than destroy stuff. What would you do to help your dad and stepmom out?”
“I was supposed to rake the leaves out by the oak tree today, but they said I could wait until you leave.”
Rusty saw a rake and grabbed it. “Let’s do it and surprise them.”
A while later, the adults came out to check on Rusty and Carter. When Carter’s stepmom saw him raking, she said, “Wow! That lawn looks really good. Now, whose idea was that?”
Rusty stopped raking and pointed at his friend. “Carter thought you would appreciate it.”
Carter looked at Rusty and then at his stepmom.
“Well, Carter, I am so proud of you.”
“Thank you,” Carter said, trying to hide his smile as he went back to raking.
_______

Now discuss it!
What does Proverbs 20:5 say about drawing wisdom from within people?
Read this in the New Century Version, NIV, and/or New Living Translation

How did Rusty draw out wisdom from deep within Carter?

How did Dad draw wisdom out of Rusty?

If you had a chance to talk to the Peterson boys, what could you do to draw out wisdom in them?

Who have you helped find wisdom?

Who has drawn wisdom up from deep within you?

Who can you speak to and help them find the deep wisdom God already put within them?
_________

Read God’s Word together:

Jesus Drawing at Greatness

As Jesus was starting on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to receive eternal life?”
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not accuse anyone falsely; do not cheat; respect your father and your mother.’ ”
“Teacher,” the man said, “ever since I was young, I have obeyed all these commandments.”
Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.”
When the man heard this, gloom spread over his face, and he went away sad, because he was very rich.
(Mark 10:17-22, GNB)

The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery, and they made her stand before them all. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. In our Law Moses commanded that such a woman must be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?”
They said this to trap Jesus, so that they could accuse him. But he bent over and wrote on the ground with his finger. As they stood there asking him questions, he straightened up and said to them, “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone at her.” Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first.
Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there. He straightened up and said to her, “Where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?”
“No one, sir,” she answered.
“Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.”
(John 8:3-11, GNB)
_________

Let’s talk about it!
How did the rich young man respond to Jesus’ love?

Will people always do the right thing because we love them?

Jesus gave the woman who had done bad things a second chance. How do you think she lived after that?

Role play: Your friend borrowed your Frisbee and lost it. Now, he wants to borrow a game you have. What will you say?

How has someone accepted you even after you messed up? How did it make you feel to be loved even when you disappointed them?
_________
Memorize it!

Debby and I never had a son but have been blessed with four wonderful daughters, all of whom have reached adulthood (if age alone is a reliable barometer).  And, yes, all four have the same father and mother.  I taught our girls to experience some of the things that may generally be considered the exclusive domain of the more masculine creatures (yes, girls think that boys, including Dads, are creatures possibly from a different planet).

Climbing trees, playing with Tonka trucks, popping “wheelies” on bikes, riding in the back of an open pick-up truck (that’s right, ... → Read More: Disposable Children]]> by Paul Howe, my dad-in-law

Debby and I never had a son but have been blessed with four wonderful daughters, all of whom have reached adulthood (if age alone is a reliable barometer).  And, yes, all four have the same father and mother.  I taught our girls to experience some of the things that may generally be considered the exclusive domain of the more masculine creatures (yes, girls think that boys, including Dads, are creatures possibly from a different planet).

Climbing trees, playing with Tonka trucks, popping “wheelies” on bikes, riding in the back of an open pick-up truck (that’s right, no seatbelts), accompanying Dad on late-night service calls, shoveling snow, and carrying firewood are only some of the activities that earned our daughters the reputation of “tom-boys.”  It was even said by some, “If you go to New Hampshire, watch out for those Howe girls!”  We have had our share of challenges raising these kids.  If you were to talk to them they would probably say that they have had their share raising their parents, too.  Despite the challenges, we have never been at a point so low that we wanted to sacrifice any of them.  (I’m not entirely certain that they would say the same of us).

Children are given to us by God

It is our responsibility to bring them to a realization of what their purpose is in life.  It has been said that one of the responsibilities of parents is to bring their children to a controlled discovery of their short-comings as well as their positive attributes.  Children are frequently forced into an uncomfortable and ill-fitting mold in a futile attempt to conform to a parent’s expectations.  They must attend the same college.  They must follow the same career track.  They must reach for the same goals and attain similar, or higher, achievements.  No child should ever be offered on the sacrificial altar of his/her parents’ ego.

Throughout human history there have always been pagan gods whose worship rituals required the sacrifice of children.  The Canaanite god, Moloch, was one such false deity.  Statues of this god were hollow with a large mouth, and outstretched arms to accept the body of a child.  The base was sufficiently large enough to accommodate a fire that would cause this statue to become very hot.  Parents would be encouraged – perhaps even forced – to toss their children into the mouth or place them into the hot arms of this god in order to gain his favor or appease his wrath.  Barbaric?  Without a doubt.  When Israel adopted this practice God brought His judgment upon them. (2 Kings 16; 2 Kings 21).

Our society sacrifices children

Children today become sacrifices that feed the never-satisfied gods of our society!  A night filled with immoral pleasure results in a pregnancy that is terminated by abortion.  A child is diagnosed in the womb to have some disease or disability that will require expensive treatment and care so his life is snuffed out by abortion.  A mother considers herself too young–or perhaps too old–to have a child, so her pregnancy is also terminated by abortion.  Disposable children.

But the real thrust of this article is found in Micah 6:7.  “Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  It is understood that the context of this verse is telling Israel that it is not in the sacrificing of animals that they were to gain God’s favor.  However, as is the case with so many Bible verses, there is an underlying, perhaps nearly hidden, meaning.  God is trying to tell those of us who would never consider offering our children as a literal sacrifice, that there is yet another way in which we may ultimately sacrifice them.

I am referencing, of course, the kind of life we live in front of our kids.  Parents, especially Dads since they are the God-ordained leader in the home, will have a profound influence on their children.  While some children who grow up in homes where sin, evil and crime are commonplace will ultimately reject that life and embrace something more godly and moral, most will not.  It is not uncommon for the child of a drug dealer to become one himself at a very young age.  An alcoholic dad will often have an alcoholic son.  The daughter of a promiscuous father will often adopt the same lifestyle.  Yes, we risk “offering the fruit of our bodies for the sin of our soul.”

Poor character is child sacrifice

Within the context of the Christian community why do so many of the children of “Christian” homes walk away from the church and God?  Here are a few of the ways in which we endanger our children.

• We gossip about other members in the congregation
• We talk negatively about the pastor or other church leaders
• We teach our sons to respect women but then mistreat their mother
• We stingily hold back from giving to God what is rightfully His – our tithes and offerings
• We preach one thing and do the opposite
• We teach our children to not lie but then have them inform someone on the telephone that we are not home when actually we are.  Our actions teach them to lie.
• Dad teaches his children to be moral but himself visits pornographic web sites

We would never consider offering our children up as human sacrifices.  The very thought is repugnant and offends the nature of any decent person.  But let us be careful with our actions and lifestyle lest we, in a figurative sense, “offer the fruit of our bodies for the sin of our soul.”

Perhaps you have a child who has rejected Jesus and the church because of some inappropriate actions on your part.  To redeem that child back you must ask his forgiveness and then proceed to live a life consistent with the precepts of Christianity.  It is harder to win an offended child than to conquer a walled city, but if your child is important to you, then you will dedicate your life to winning him back. If you quit serving Jesus when you still had children at home, and those children, following your example, rejected Jesus as well, you will carry a sense of guilt with you throughout your life. Prayer and kindness may win them back but will never bring back the lost years. Before you leave the church and stop serving God, you need to consider that such action will likely cause you to “offer the fruit of your body for the sin of your soul.”

Overcoming the sin of offense

In forty years of ministry I have seen many parents who have sacrificed their own children in the arms of modern day “Molochs”.  Some took offense at their pastor or some other member in the church. Others became too involved with their vocations and were ensnared by the lure of money and material goods. Some of these simply did not insist that their children go to church, giving in to the silliness of the concept of “letting the children choose for themselves.” Some fathers paid more attention to their ministry than their own children. Then they lament over the spiritual loss of a child when just a little attention would have made all of the difference in the world.

Joshua declared that whoever would attempt to rebuild the fallen, heathen city of Jericho would do so at the expense of both his oldest and youngest sons (Joshua 6:26). We run similar risks whenever we build something into our lives that is ungodly, especially if it is something that we have previously torn down. Did Joshua’s prophecy come true? Read 1 Kings 16:34 and you will find that a man named Hiel decided to go against the counsel of the prophet Joshua, and we are told that “He laid its foundations at the cost of the life of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub” (AMP). Hiel found out the reality of the consequences of defying godly advice when he “offered the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul.” Dad, learn a lesson by his example.

Our children are not disposable, rather they are indispensible. We as parents are charged with the responsibility of rearing children in both a spiritually and physically nourishing environment.  When we fall short of that we risk sacrificing them. But that need not be. For every story I could tell of parents who let down their responsibility, I could tell ten about parents who did not.  Children are very forgiving and you can make a lot of mistakes raising them and still retain their trust and confidence. Remain true to Jesus Christ, love the Word of God, honor the pastor and other church leaders in every way, develop positive relationships with those of like precious faith, and your children will likely follow in your footsteps. There will be no need for you to fear “offering the fruit of your body for the sin of your soul.”

My dad and I used to go fishing quite often. It was always an enjoyment to get in the boat with anticipation of catching the big one. I knew there was a large-mouth bass just waiting under the surface to be caught. There is something about seeing the water boil all of a sudden as that large-mouth opens wide, the scales glistening in the light as it goes for your bait. There is an adrenalin rush as you anticipate the duel between the caught and the catcher.

We would (most of the time) cast from the boat ... → Read More: The Big Catch]]> by Roger Koren (my father)

My dad and I used to go fishing quite often. It was always an enjoyment to get in the boat with anticipation of catching the big one. I knew there was a large-mouth bass just waiting under the surface to be caught. There is something about seeing the water boil all of a sudden as that large-mouth opens wide, the scales glistening in the light as it goes for your bait. There is an adrenalin rush as you anticipate the duel between the caught and the catcher.

We would (most of the time) cast from the boat towards the shore line. That is where the lunkers (our term for big fish) were located, in the lily pads, and under the trees that hang over the bank.

We did well without any mishaps all day, until I cast towards the shore and my bait went over the tip of a tree branch. There it dangled while I attempted to eradicate it from the branch slowly. Well I pulled too hard and it wound not once but twice around the branch. Now I was in real trouble. I jerked trying to break the end of the branch and caused the lure to bob right above the water. I jerked again, same result.

The water swirled under the bait as it dangled there. I thought, If that is a fish I am in trouble if he gets a hold of that bait. With mouth wide-open and scales glistening in the light, he connected with the bait and was firmly hooked. Talk about an adrenalin rush! This was completely unexpected.

I looked to my dad for some fatherly help. He just shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s your fish.” Come on, I need a little help here, not only did I have a lunker on my line, but I was still attached to the branch. Well, between me and the fish we managed to break the branch and I was able to reel in both fish and branch.

How many times have I, as a dad, tried to place the “bait” out there for my children, only to have it tangled up in my human weaknesses. I did not do everything right, I was angry (a tangle), there were times I shoved them away with my words (another tangle) because I was not in the mood to deal with them. When I look back I see how tangled up in self I was and I had to go to the Lord and get myself untangled.

Even though we make mistakes, make a few loops around the branch so to speak, the Lord in His mercy sees our efforts, brings the children right to the bait in spite of us. I only know that my tangled efforts were honored by God and the children I raised have been baptized in Jesus name and have the Holy Ghost with power. You want an adrenalin rush? Wait until you see your children take the teaching you have given them and receive what has been there all the time you have been casting out the bait. It beats fishing.

________________________

I thank God for the heritage and leadership my father provided (and still provides). We shared so many wonderful times of family prayer, fellowship, and devotions together. We even had fun fishing together, too.