The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men, men of prayer.”- E. M. Bounds
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10 Suggestions for Raising Godly Children By Ron Edmondson
10 Suggestions for Raising Godly Children By Ron Edmondson EmailEmail FacebookShare On Facebook TwitterTwitter Like Us Most of the believers I know have a strong desire to raise their children to be godly; to be passionate followers of Christ. Years ago, before I even had children, God laid on my heart to develop a plan for my fathering. Though at the time I didn’t put this on paper, over the years I have begun to write it down in an effort to encourage other parents to have a plan for their parenting in the area of spiritual development. That plan was covered in previous posts—this is an expansion of that—but in addition to having a plan, we thought through as a couple actions which could help attain our plan for parenting. You can have the best plan in the world, but with no steps to implement them they will just be pretty words on paper. That’s true in every area of our life, including parenting. One of the things we wanted to see was our children following after Christ. W
Short and sweet or long and salty? A sugar donut or some oatmeal? Out of respect for you and your efforts in getting your degree, I thought long and hard about what I could share with you tonight. Did I want to stand at a podium and read you your rights? Did I want to come up here and just share some really funny stories? I thought about what you would WANT. I thought about what you might NEED. I also thought about what I WANT to say. What I NEED to say… Hopefully, we’ll both be happy on both accounts… And as the saying goes, take what you like, leave the rest. Thank you for having me. So, before I share with you some “what I do knows,” let’s talk about a “what I don’t know.” I have 2 older brothers. One was in high school in the early 1970s — a time when a high school GED got you a job and college degree was exemplary. My other brother was in HS in the early 1980s, and by this time the GED wasn’t enough to guarantee employment, you needed a college degree, and if you got one, you
Lust is more than looking. It is different from feeling attraction or involuntary sexual arousal. Lust entails seeing another’s body as an object for self-gratification. It defines the person not as a human, created in the image of God, but as a means of carnal pleasure. We get it wrong when limiting our discussions of modesty to sexuality. Shechem’s lust led him to sexually assault Dinah in Genesis 34. Scholar and pastor Ron Clark explains, “Shechem has violated the rights of Dinah as well as the covenant with the Jacobites.” Clearly men do not rape women because of how they dress. “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15). True modesty comes from dressing in the spirit of Jesus. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them
When the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing… When the rulers take a stand and gather together against the Lord…4 When the earth gives way… When the mountains fall into the midst of the sea… When the waters roar and foam… When nations are in uproar and kingdoms fall…5 When everything that is familiar unravels, You are the Rock on which we stand! You are our Stronghold. We take refuge in You.6 We worship You alone. As we plunge into spiritual and moral darkness, You are our Light. As political, social, racial, financial, and environmental storms break out all around us, You are our Anchor. As we face terrorism’s threat and vows of annihilation from our enemies, You are our Shield. When there are wars and rumors of wars—when nations rise against nations and there is rioting in our streets, You are our Peace. In our weakness, You are our Strength. As we grieve over lost freedoms and lost futures and lost values and lost loved ones, You are our Comfort. In our despair over o
“Here are your keys,” muttered the secretary when I arrived to pick up the keys to my office at Aberdeen University, where I would be studying for my doctorate in theology. “It looks like you’re in The Old Brewery.” Intrigued by the name, I later found out that it reflected the building’s original function. Aberdeen was founded in the 15th century and used to train monks for ministry. In the brewery, monks brewed vast quantities of Scottish ale, which was served by the liter at mealtimes. And here I was, a post-fundamentalist Ph.D. student studying the Scriptures in a malted sanctuary where late medieval Bible college students once clapped mugs together in an act of worship. Throughout Christian history, alcohol was rarely a taboo as it is in some circles today. John Calvin had a stipend of 250 gallons of wine per year written into his church contract. Martin Luther’s wife was a famed brewer of beer, which certainly won Martin’s heart. And the Guinness family created their renowned I
Many people desperately search for an ear that will listen. Sometimes, sadly, they do not find the ear they need among Christians because these Christians are talking when they should be listening! But if we can no longer listen to our sisters and brothers, we will soon no longer to able to listen to God. As Bonhoeffer says, whenever we think our time is too valuable to spend keeping quiet, we will eventually have no time for God and for others--only time for ourselves and our own little plans. We live in a world where a lot of talk goes on; all around us, most of the time. And we contribute our share to that talk (some a bigger share than others!). We love to do it. We love to get our ideas out, share our views with others. But in the midst of it all, how many of us take the time to listen? To listen. To hear what others are saying. As the theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted, "Just as love to God begins with listening to [God's] word, our love for others is learning to lis