–Originally posted on FWB21 May 12, 2011– Upon the news of Osama Bin Laden’s recent death, I heard strong reactions from Christians that hit both ends of the spectrum. Some celebrated his death with great victory, relishing that justice had been met; others mourned the loss of a soul made in the image of God, despite his actions on earth. Still others tried to work through–out loud–what a Christian’s reaction should be in the face of such news. I can honestly say I had no immediate reaction. I absorbed the information the same way as if you had told me that my book is lying on the table. I’m still trying to process it all, and I have no answers […]
Why Honor?
–Originally published on FWB21 May 6, 2011– Does it ever seem strange to those of you who are parents that we are the ones who have to teach our kids to honor us? There have been times that I feel quite uncomfortable demanding that my son honor and obey me, for I am keenly aware of my own shortcomings and inconsistencies. It is those times that I have to remind myself that it is not I who demand honor and obedience, but God: Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving […]
C.S. Lewis on Faith: Part 2
–Originally published on FWB21 May 2, 2011– My previous post covered Lewis’ take on Faith in the first sense: Belief. His comments concerning the second, higher sense are even more compelling, for I have personally experienced that of which he speaks: No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. … Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. … That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. … The main thing we learn from a serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues is that we fail. … Then comes another discovery. Every faculty you have… is given you by God. If you devoted […]
C.S. Lewis on Faith: Part 1
–Originally published on FWB21 May 2, 2011– As I said before, lately I have been devouring Lewis’ Mere Christianity. I just finished the chapters on Faith, and I felt that I must share some thoughts on the subject as I feel they must have some implication for parenting. Lewis talks about Faith in two senses: 1) Belief, and 2) a higher sense. For space, I’ll share these two treatments of Faith in two different posts. First: Belief. Faith [in the first sense] is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes. … This rebellion of your moods against your real self […]
Redemptive Analogies in Phantom of the Opera
–Originally published on FWB21 April 28, 2011– I recently watched Phantom of the Opera with my 16-year-old sister-in-law, who had never seen it. When the movie credits started to roll, she said, “I don’t get it.” My brain, on the other hand, was about to explode. There is a thing in missiology called a “redemptive analogy.” Don Richardson first coined the term to describe those things that are inherent within a culture that either point to Christ or could be used to demonstrate the gospel. (If you haven’t read Peace Child or Eternity in Their Hearts–the two books that birthed this concept–I recommend that you do so immediately.) Phantom of the Opera is chock full of redemptive anaolgies. Themes of […]
Connecting the Dots
–Originally published on FWB21 April 25, 2011– This Easter weekend, I had the wonderful privilege of sharing the Story in a way that was meaningful to my son for the first time. He is finally old enough to remember facts from the stories he hears, and as we read picture books that spoke of the last supper, the betrayal, the trial, the crucifixion, the burial, and the resurrection, I could see understanding beginning to dawn. As we tie in some of the things we have discussed in previous months, he is beginning to comprehend some of the importance of Jesus’ death and life. It hit me yesterday that sharing the gospel with my children is turning out to be a […]
C.S. Lewis on the Virtue of Temperance
–Originally published on FWB21 April 25, 2011– This morning I read the following passage from Lewis’ Mere Christianity, which was first given as a series of radio talks in the 1940s. The chapter deals with the Cardinal virtues, and his comments on temperance were of particular interest to me: In the days when the second Cardinal virtue was christened ‘Temperance,’ it meant… going to the right length and no further. One great piece of mischief has been done by the modern restriction of the word Temperance to the question of drink. It helps people to forget that you can be just as intemperate about lots of other things. A man who makes his golf or his motor-bicycle the center of […]
A New Perspective on Patience
–Originally published on FWB21 April 22, 2011– Yesterday morning the first two verses I read for the day were Judges 3:1-2. Now these are the nations that the LORD left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before. For two days now the thought has not left me that God must be awfully patient to have to teach each new generation the same things over and over. As I read once again of the history of Israel’s downward spiral of following God, […]
What if…?
–Originally published on FWB21 April 19, 2012– The Holy Spirit has been teaching me so many things lately, I hardly have time to process them all. Right now, it’s 3:00 in the morning and my mind is racing with questions. Here they are, with some of the scriptures that prompted them. What if we really took God at His Word, face value? What if we lived every waking moment conscious of the fact that we live and move on this earth as God’s ambassadors to the people around us–a kingdom of priests sent to minister for Him? As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like […]
Defining Obedience for Our Children
–Originally posted on FWB21 April 10, 2011– 3rd post in the series: Seeing the correlation between obedience and true faith, it is imperative that we train our children to mold their hearts after obedience. As Paul points out in Ephesians 6, the way children obey God is to obey their parents. Since we are responsible for training our children to love and obey God, we are responsible to hold them to God’s standard. Anything less is an injustice to them. When we give ultimatums or show inconsistency in our expectations, we do not give our children a clear picture of our unchanging, holy God. If we give our children a set of rules and expectations that they are capable of […]