This week we’ll be talking about teaching our children how to know their purpose by specifically helping them understand how much God values their lives and who He made them to be.

The first thing we must say, though, is that a parent that struggles to see value in their own lives is going to have a very difficult time teaching His value to their children. To truly transfer truth, we must first believe that truth for ourselves. We can’t pass on what we don’t have. Hopefully, this Sound Mind Set series is helping you accept and receive God’s value for you. If you view your child to be of great value to you, if you would do anything for them to see and find their purpose in life to thrive and succeed, you must know this: that is exactly how your Heavenly Father views you and what He wants for you. One of the reasons God allows us to be parents is to see our children and understand that is how He sees us.

Let me ask you: Why else would God have created your children and given them life other than to have value and purpose?

Listen to the powerful passage in Psalm 139:

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body;

I want to encourage you to accept this truth about yourself and then pass this on to your children. In fact, why not read these very words to them? If they are old enough to read, let ask them to read it out loud to you, so it is first-person about them. You can find this exact passage on any Bible app.

Do you believe your child is marvelously made? If it is true for your child, it is also true for you. God says so.

Let’s pray together: “Father, the psalmist’s words about your thoughts of our creation are amazing. My kids are beautiful and I have You to thank for that. Help me to teach them that truth and help me to believe it about myself as well. As above, so below.”

Today, we continue talking about how we can transfer and convey God’s value to our kids so they accept and receive it as they grow up.

The world tends to always take any milestone or accomplishment and respond with, “That’s great. So what’s next?” Think about it: You graduate from high school after 12 long years of school and everyone asks, “So, what’s next? College? Career?” You graduate from 4 or more years of college and everyone asks, “What’s next? Career? Marriage?” You get married and everyone asks, “What are you two going to do? Where will you live? When will you have kids?” Fast forward to the season after someone retires—even then we ask, “What’s next?” “Golfing? Fishing? Move to Florida?”

On and on through life, the question comes on constant repeat. Until we die, we ask each other, “What’s next?” But there’s even then the question of “What’s next?” after we die.

Today, let’s listen to a passage that will be the most negative and depressing we will likely ever share here, from King Solomon in his frustration with the “What’s next?”

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth never changes. The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles. Rivers run into the sea, but the sea is never full. Then the water returns again to the rivers and flows out again to the sea. Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new. We don’t remember what happened in the past, and in future generations, no one will remember what we are doing now. (Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 NLT)

Petty cynical, huh? Well, we all have days when we feel this same way. Solomon was simply voicing what we in the human race feel quite often. Now, listen to him in chapter 3, verses 11-13: Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

Just like you, your kids are going to eventually feel the weight of what Solomon expressed in the first passage: meaningless feelings about their days. But God is the crucial element in life to bring value and purpose, even to the mundane and the seemingly meaningless. Teach your kids to find beauty in the world, that He has planted eternity in every human heart, so everyone has value, that while not everyone will see the work of God, that’s okay, because they can, and to enjoy every blessing that God brings, no matter how small. Life itself, even on the meaningless days, is indeed a gift from Him.

Let’s pray: “Father, help me to teach my kids beauty, value, purpose, eternity, and to look for Your work in their world and celebrate your gifts, especially the gift of life. As above, so below.”

Have you ever thought how death is what makes life so valuable and crucial? The end brings value and purpose to the journey, because we don’t know how much time we have. Every day, any day, could be the last. We just don’t know. This creates an urgency that, honestly, few embrace, in fact, most ignore. So many folks live in denial that the end is coming.

When we’re young, it is really easy to live like we have 60-70 years ahead of us and statistics prove that may be true. But, still, no one knows. Yet we all assume we’re the exception. But this is also why when a young person is tragically killed; it is so devastating to family, friends, and the community. It drives home the reality of a short-lived life.

But the real tragedy is not a short-lived life, but an un-lived life. Linda Ellis wrote a poem simply called “The Dash.” She refers to the birth year and the death year on every headstone, but writes the line: “What matters most of all is the dash between those years.” When she writes and speaks, she encourages people with this advice: “Live your dash!”

In Deuteronomy 30, we hear God speaking to the children of Israel through Moses:

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land …” (Deut. 30:19-20 NLT)

Listen once again to these words in verse 20: You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life.

Funny how every human seeks the key to life and God has told us clearly in just one verse where it can be found. Teach this truth to your children. Life has a beginning, an end, and a dash in between. They can live their dash well with no regrets if they will follow the key to life: Loving God. … Why can’t it really be that simple?

Let’s pray: “Father, help me to choose your life and live that in front of my kids. Help me to love You and show that to my kids. Help me to obey and commit my life to You and pass that on to my kids. As above, so below.”

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

We hope this week you are allowing the truth to sink in that the value of your kids’ lives is going to be best spoken, taught, expressed, and passed on by you. You will verbally and non-verbally transfer that spiritual life dynamic to your kids.

One of the most crucial truths you must somehow help your kids to accept is God’s unconditional love and grace. So many people come to believe that salvation is somehow up to them through performance, good works, or even thinking they have the ability to get to Heaven on their own—the “but I’m a good person so why wouldn’t God let me into Heaven.” The reality of sin creating an unreachable chasm between us and God is important to understand, but also the reality of a God who created a solution for that divide by the sacrificing His Son for us is equally as important.

Listen to how Jesus explained the reality of salvation:

Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” (Luke 15:1-10 NLT)

If it was important to Jesus to tell stories to help us understand how God feels about saving us, then it is also important to pass those on, as well as the truths of His great love and grace, to our children. People turning their lives to Jesus is the source of joy in Heaven. What a beautiful picture to paint for our kids.

Let’s pray: “Father, thank You for salvation, rescue, redemption, and Your amazing love and grace. Thank You that I have been found. I want my children to know what that means and what that feels like—to be found and held by You. As above, so below.”

We hope this week has been helpful to you as a parent, but also inspirational to you as a child of God. Today, as we close out this week, we will listen to a powerful and popular passage from the Apostle Paul, but also show you how to make his words a prayer for your kids, to not only communicate their value, but to pray that for them as well.

When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT)

What if on a regular basis, you prayed this prayer over, for, and with your children? You, along with their heavenly Father, expressing how much you want them to grow in His love and grace? What if through your prayer He “accomplished infinitely more than you might ask or think” for your kids?

Incorporating prayer and Scripture is a powerful way for You to have a one-two punch against the plans of the enemy for your kids. To cover them, bless them, encourage them, and teach them what God has in store.

I want to encourage you, on your very next opportunity, using the version of Scripture of your choice, to read and pray this over your child, out loud. Imagine what God could do over time in you and your children with a prayer such as this.

Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word. Please give me the boldness and the wisdom to teach my kids Who you are and who they are in You. As above, so below.”

This week we’ll be focusing on our purpose through the lens of living as a child of God. When we see Him as Father and ourselves as His children, then all of life—relationships, parenting, career, everything—filters and funnels through that relationship to create a higher purpose for all we are and all we do.

Throughout this week, we’ll be reading from the life of Joseph, one of the most compelling and incredible stories in Scripture. Every time life dealt Joseph a tragic and challenging hand, God came through to redeem and restore Joseph’s life. Our prayer is that you would view yourself as a modern-day Joseph—that no matter what has or will happen, God will be at work on your behalf for your good.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe. But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him. (Genesis 37:2-4 NLT)

Now, fast-forward to Joseph being sent by his dad to check on his brothers who were working in the field …

When Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders … Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.  Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. (Genesis 37:23-28 NLT)

Do you have a memory in your own life that this story triggered for you? Something tragic? Betrayal? An injustice?

While this story is painful to hear, the bottom line is we all understand family dysfunction that causes pain and creates scars that we have to deal with for a long time. But these events in our lives offer us a choice: will I let this define me or will I allow this to become a defining moment?

Your relationship with God can bring purpose to create a greater, stronger you out of any circumstance. But for this to happen, the pain and the process has to be surrendered to God and then stay submitted to Him on the journey to wholeness and healing.

Let’s pray: “Father, thank You for providing examples in Scripture that show me how to navigate the tragedies of life through You. Right now, I surrender my hurts, my pain, and my process of healing to You. Use it all—the good and bad—to bring me a greater sense of purpose about my life, as You lead me. As above, so below.”

Today, we continue our look into our purpose as a child of God. As we also continue to read the life of Joseph, we’ll see the roller coaster of good and evil in his life. But most importantly, his response to the injustices done to him and God’s response to Joseph’s faith.

When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.  The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. … This pleased Potiphar, so he … put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. … With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. … How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her … One day … She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house. Soon all the men came running. “Look!” she said. “… this Hebrew slave … came into my room to rape me, but I screamed.  … Potiphar was furious when he heard his wife’s story … So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison …  But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. (from Genesis 39:1-21 NLT)

Among the evil Joseph had to endure, what were the two phrases that created game changers for him?

“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did …”

“But the Lord was with Joseph … and showed him his faithful love.”

“The Lord was with” simply means there was a constant, continual relationship between God and Joseph. Like a hybrid of family and friend. No matter what you have been through, are walking through now, or will endure in your life, that “with” is available to you 24/7. The difference made is simply found through obedience, awareness, and agreement that God is involved in your life, offering His purpose through His plan.

These same thoughts are what Paul meant when in Romans 8:31, he stated, “If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”

Let’s personalize and repeat that phrase right now: “If God is for me, who can ever be against me?” … “If God is for me, who can ever be against me?” … “If God is for me, who can ever be against me?”

Let’s pray together: “Father, thank You that nothing that can happen to me is bigger, stronger, or greater than You. I want my life to be marked by the “with” of being in a relationship with You. I invite You into my life to experience the same closeness as Joseph had. As above, so below.”

For our third day of focusing on our purpose as a child of God, if you either didn’t know the story of Joseph or haven’t heard it in a very long time, the back-and-forth that happened to him is mind-boggling. Today is certainly no different. I want, as you hear Joseph’s story, to overlay your own circumstances to know that God desires to create the same type of outcome for you.

But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed. (Genesis 39:26-31 NLT)

Are you starting to see the pattern? When Joseph is put in a bad situation, he responds by working hard and having the best attitude he can. That has to be true or these people in authority wouldn’t have done the things they did for Joseph. His life must have expressed something very different than other servants or prisoners. His life reflected, not his own, but that of the God who gave purpose to Joseph’s life.

Ultimately, Joseph spent years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Even once when he thought one of the king’s staff would tell the king of Joseph’s ability to hear and interpret dreams for a possible release for service, verse 23 states: “Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer, however, forgot all about Joseph, never giving him another thought.”

It is so crucial and important for us to not miss the many times Joseph had the opportunity to get bitter, to be vengeful, to hate, to curse, and to decide God had forgotten all about him. But he didn’t. He knew that son or servant, palace or prison, God was with him, showing him the way through, not the way out. Apply these truths to your own life today, because they are certainly very real and available to you right now.

Let’s pray: “Father, I know what it feels like to be forgotten by people and start to believe that nothing good is going to happen. But with You, that is simply not true. You never forget. You always see me. You are always with me. Help me to accept and know that truth today and every day. As above, so below.”

We really hope you are enjoying this week and the amazing story of Joseph. God had given him a strange, mystical gift of being ability to hear someone’s crazy-sounding dream and be able to offer a credible interpretation that applied to the person’s future. And would most certainly come true.

When Pharaoh was finally made aware of Joseph and called him before the throne to hear a dream, Joseph made it clear who would actually be giving the interpretation. He responded to Pharaoh: “It is beyond my power to do this, … But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

When the dust had settled after Joseph heard, interpreted, and offered solutions for all of Pharaoh’s dreams, the ruler of Egypt made a surprising declaration to everyone, but most especially to Joseph:

Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

Every problem that humans threw at Joseph, God always in time provided a promotion for him. Ultimately, he became the second most powerful leader in the known world.

This story is much like when Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 19:26: “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”

I hope you are starting to realize that God can overcome anything if we will simply place the circumstance in His hands. The handing-over can be very hard sometimes, because we feel out-of-control. But giving control of something we cannot control anyway to the God who is always in control will be the best decisions we make—every time. Like Joseph told Pharaoh: “It is beyond my power to do this, but God can …”

Let’s pray: “Father, thank You that whatever happens, You can. What is impossible for me is always possible for You. What seems impossible to happen or not happen, You have control over. I submit my life, my purpose, my own need to be in control to You. As above, so below.”

I hope this week has inspired you, encouraged you, or reminded you that God can make something out of nothing. He can redeem anything, and be the Gamechanger for us, no matter how things might look. For our final day this week, we’ll see how, surprisingly, Joseph’s life was brought full circle for a total and complete redemption. Why? Because he followed the purpose and plan of God.

When Jacob heard that grain was available in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at one another? I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy enough grain to keep us alive. Otherwise we’ll die.” So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain. (Genesis 42:1-3 NLT)

You know what’s coming, don’t you?

Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers instantly, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where are you from?” he demanded. “From the land of Canaan,” they replied. “We have come to buy food.” Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. (Genesis 42:6-8 NLT)

Chapters 42-44 detail an amazing story of Joseph’s brothers never realizing who he is, as he had obviously grown from a boy to a man. But finally, the moment came for the reveal.

And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. … God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! (Genesis 45:4-8 NLT)

What if we decided like Joseph to take every tragedy, every injustice, every wrong done to us, and ask God to show us the “why,” the greater purpose that could come from the “what?” How might some things come full-circle like Joseph’s family reunion? How can you take the Joseph pattern we have seen all week, from his being sold into slavery, to Potiphar’s house, from years in prison to Pharaoh’s right-hand man, and take a fresh look at your own life and circumstances? To see God’s greater purpose for you, to see His plan, and to see your future with Him?

Let’s pray together: “Heavenly Father, there are things in my life that I know You want to restore and redeem like Joseph’s. Help me to see my life through Your eyes, to hear Your truth, and to live my purpose just as You planned when You created me. As above, so below.”