Sound Mind Set

Psalm 77:11-15 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;     yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works     and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Your ways, God, are holy.     What god is as great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles;     you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,     the descendants of J...

Psalm 107:1-9 Oh, thank God—he’s so good!     His love never runs out.  All of you set free by God, tell the world!     Tell how he freed you from oppression,  Then rounded you up from all over the place,     from the four winds, from the seven seas. Some of you wandered for years in the desert,     looking but not finding a good place to live,  Half-starved and parched with thirst,     staggering...

Today our scripture reading is from  Colossians 3:15-17   Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.   Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whe...

2 Corinthians 12:5-10 ….I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.   Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my...

Today, I want us to take a close and honest look at where we are spiritually. Guiding our kids spiritually starts with us, in our life. Here’s a question … was there a time in your life when you were closer to Christ? When was that? Why were you closer then? What happened? Regardless of your answer, what will it take for you to grow and mature to the next place God has for you? Listen to Hebrews 6...

Today, I want to focus on a very simple yet profound statement that I hope you will memorize and repeat as needed. What I allow God to transform in me, I will be able to transfer to my children. Let’s repeat that … What I allow God to transform in me, I will be able to transfer to my children Listen to Paul in Romans 12:1-2 … Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform...

A huge part of training our children in the ways of God is, first, not being afraid to do it in a culture that is going in the opposite direction. And two, is to be confident that, regardless of your past and whatever has happened in your family, God wants you to teach your kids. Let go of your fears. Let go of the “who am I to teach anyone about God?” lies. Please know that in Christ you have all...

The old saying goes: “We can’t take anyone any farther than we are.” I can’t teach you things that I don’t know. I can tell you, but I can’t teach you. So, that is a challenge for us that if we want our kids to grow deep in Christ, we will have to go deep first. Listen to Psalm 25:4-10 … Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for yo...

Discipling our kids comes in two forms—taught and caught. We need to teach them about our faith, how to have a relationship with Christ, and the value of God’s Word. But what is so crucial is to allow them to catch us living out our faith in front of them. Honestly, the “taught” part is often easier than the “caught”. Because it’s more of a “don’t do as I do, do as I say” thing. But God wants to u...

Today, as we close out our focus on the illusion of control and the reality of God being in control, especially in the area of our parenting and connected relationships, a fair question for us to ask is this: “Okay, God, if You are in control, when will you take total control? Like take away all our false ideas and futile attempts to be in control for ourselves?” Listen once again to Paul, this ti...

When we feel like life or parenting, or schedule, or money, or all of it is out of control, we really mean out of our control, don’t we? It’s very important in those moments to evaluate what is in control. Living in a fallen world, so often we see sin controlling things. Selfishness, self-serving, self-gratification. The crucial thing to do is take an honest look at our own lives and ask, Is sin c...

If there is any story in the Bible that shows the lengths a human will go to stay in control, do his own will, and avoid God, it’s the story of Jonah. It’s funny how over the years we have made this entire book to be all about the apparent bad thing of getting swallowed by a whale, when in reality the whale was sent by God to save the man from self-destruction. That metaphor can be used a lot in a...

In the Book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon in all his wisdom worked hard to figure out why life is completely out of his control, even as a powerful king. In his writings, he was frustrated and angry and cynical and flippant and sarcastic. Does that sound familiar at all? Thank God that He gave us such a wide variety of people and circumstances in His Word to show us the collision between the divine and...

One of the toughest things we have to deal with in life is when something we care about is taken completely out of our control. Then anytime it involves our kids, that adds a heightened level of emotions. And if you add issues like hurt, distrust, betrayal, and being unfair, all of life can quickly seem unbearable and confusing. Fortunately, the Bible has a lot to say about these very human dynami...

The toughest thing about trying to live as a Christ-follower is being beat down by the world, all the while knowing Heaven is a reality waiting for us one day. But it’s hard to see Heaven when we feel like Hell is constantly on our doorstep, isn’t it? We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your bene...

From a teenage boy in the fields alone with the sheep to a king in the palace, David’s life knew trouble … trouble he made for himself, trouble from others, and a lot of trouble with his kids. Despite his issues, David constantly showed us how to turn to the Lord with anything and everything. Listen to Psalm 18:1-6 … I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my s...

When we face tough times, when we don’t know what to do as a parent, when disappointment and heartache comes, we have to remember Jesus came and experienced all these same hurts and emotions and so He understands how we feel. Listen to Hebrews 4:14-16 … So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest o...

Parenting is a long-haul job. A job we don’t get days off from and we cannot quit. We all need constant emotional, mental, and spiritual fuel to keep on keeping on in raising our kids. Listen to Romans 5:2-5 … Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, t...

Galatians 5:22 and 23 offers us a list of qualities and characteristics that God will give us. Then, as parents, can become a blessing to our children. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (NLT) Picture a fruit tree … whatever fruit is your favorite … when that tree begins to show t...

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.  When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay do...

One of the most telling and incredible passages in the New Testament is where Jesus talks about the difference in those who follow Him and those who don’t, and how you can tell them apart here on earth. What is also fascinating here is the things He cares about the most in what we do with our lives. “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his...

Billy Graham once said, “The true test of who we really are is found inside our own families.” And let’s be honest, we see the very best of one another and then the very worst. Watching video from our homes, someone might accuse any of us of being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right? But God knows that … it’s called flesh and spirit. The apostle Paul was a brilliant and articulate man. But a man with a...

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We hav...

Timothy 3:14-17 … But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures …, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what...

Today we close out our theme of love for this month, as well as this week as we have been talking about intimacy. We’ve looked at a level of closeness that God can provide that should affect every relationship we have in life—from our families to the groups of people we associate with. God allowing us to be His temple changes everything as to how we approach all of life and every relationship. In...