Discipleship Parenting

Jesus has won us an incredible prize. Do you know what it is? Do you understand why this prize is so valuable? It is important to know the answers to these questions because they are eye-opening and life-changing.

Back to school is in the air, on our minds and all over social media. Why? Because our kids' education is a big deal. As we launch into a new year of academics and extra curricular activities, let's stop and take a step back and look towards the future. What does a successful education look like? Are we taking the right steps towards that goal? How can we keep the right perspective about our kids' education and make sure we are equipping them for real success?

Is your life marked by unending forgiveness? As Christians, this is how God has called us to live in response to the love and forgiveness he has given to us. This sounds great until we have to do it day after day to people that have wronged us and possibly in terrible ways. So, how do we do it? How do we live as followers of Jesus and offer all unending forgiveness?

Is the phrase "radical love" just Christian jargon, something cool to use for a book title or possibly a podcast? The answer is absolutely not! The love that causes a perfect, holy God to come to earth and give his life to save his wicked, rebellious creation is truly a radical love. The crazy thing is that Jesus now tells us, as Christians, to follow in his footsteps and live this radical love for the world. We love others because he first loved us.

Can you imagine living a life of unwavering trust in God? The awesome thing is that God hasn't made it an unattainable goal. It simply takes getting into God's Word to remember who he is and the promises he has given to us as his children.

Bad news abounds and sin flourishes. Yet, as Christians, we have an unshakable hope! The Bible reminds us of many important truths that conquer the discouraging lies of Satan. We are equipped to lift our eyes and not just survive this world, but to move forward in boldness, bringing this light and hope to a dark, lost world.

Life's worries. Thorn. Desire for riches. Thorn. Chasing after pleasures. Thorn. Do you have any thorns in your life? As Christians, we want to produce a crop for God and this requires understanding the danger of thorns and then getting rid of them. Let's remove the thorns and let God cultivate good soil in our lives!

The path, rocky ground, among the thorns, and good soil. Guess what? One of these is you. In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes a farmer sowing seed, which is the word of God, onto these unique grounds. Each soil represents different people from unbelievers to believers that produce a large crop. As Christians, we need to honestly examine our lives and see which one describes us. Yes, we all want to be the good soil, but I think for many of us that isn't the case... yet.

I've got some juicy news! You won't believe what I just heard! The Bible compares the tongue to a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. We can all understand this comparison. We have all used our words to hurt others and have experienced the same pain when it has happened to us. God tells Christians to love one another and to build each other up. When we obey this command and practice self-control over our tongues, we will see an increase in the unity of our churches, marriages, and families.

The world is full of division and that spills into the Church. Yet, it doesn't have to be this way. As Christians, it is possible to end these divisions when we find our unity in the Spirit, living as one body to accomplish the work of Jesus. Let's rise up as a Church, in our marriages, and as parents!