Category: Today’s Truth

One of the best things we can do as Christians is to disciple and invest in new believers. After all, this is part of God‘s plan for the world in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20). He tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. What does that mean to make disciples? We can’t make disciples if we never talk about God with others. If we want the good news about Jesus Christ to spread throughout the world, then we have to make sure we are making disciples so they can go to the ends of the earth as well. So how do we make disciples?

First of all, when someone comes to know Christ, we do not want to just leave them out on their own to try and learn everything about the Lord. So when you meet a new believer, try to get them plugged into a church. Second, pray and ask God to reveal someone to you that needs to be discipled. Even if you don’t feel like you are equipped, know that if you are obedient to the Lord, He will give you the wisdom you need to make disciples. Third, trust that when you start discipling someone, they will not be the only person to grow, but you will also grow in your faith.

When we make disciples of all nations, we are growing the family of God. This is what he has asked us to do and wants us to be obedient. Disciples can be everywhere: your work, your circle of friends, even in your home. Trust that God will help you reach out to others.

Philippians 2:12b tells us to work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. This is not telling us that our salvation is based on works, but rather that our works are a product of our salvation. Being a Christian is not always an easy thing. There can be many struggles and trials, so when this verse says to work out your salvation, it just means continually following the Lord and his will.

The evidence of a believer’s life is in the way he walks with God, talks with other believers and nonbelievers, and his actions. If someone professes to know Christ, but denies him by the way they live, then do they really know him? Works and faith go together. Your faith is not based on your works, but your works are based on your faith. So when you study God’s word and pray fervently, you will find it easier to obey God with deep reference and fear as this verse states. A car cannot run unless the gas tank has something in it. Our Christian lives are the same way. We have to make sure we are always filling up our tank so we can go out and serve the Lord. When we do that, we will be working out our salvation.

Make every effort to grow in your relationship with God. Live your life in such a way that others can look and see the handprints of God at work in your life. A life with God is so much better than a life on your own.

Hebrews 11 gives us a summary of the faith of men and women in the Bible. Hebrews 11:1-2 begins by saying “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.” These were not perfect people by any means, but they were men who trusted in the Lord and were shown to be faithful.

We see men like Abel, who gave God first fruits and Enoch who walked with God. Noah remained steadfast and continued to obey God even when ridiculed by the world. Abraham journeyed to an unknown land out of obedience to God, and his wife Sarah believed God would fulfill his promise to her. Joseph trusted God even when he didn’t know what his life would become and knew that when he died, God would deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses chose a life of hardship instead of riches. Faith is what caused the people to venture through the Red Sea to escape Pharoah. Faith brought the walls of Jericho down after the Israelites obediently marched around them. Rahab, a prostitute, was spared from disaster when she secretly helped the Israelites.

All of these people showed great faith because they looked forward to the rewards of God instead of the temporary rewards of man. This is faith. It is the reality of everything we hope for in God and the evidence of what we cannot see in this life.

One of the problems that can occur in marriage and parenting is when the mom and dad do not parent together and instead one is more in charge than the other. This can create friction between the parents and friction between the children and their parents. So how can parents work together to create a unified team for their children?

First, always make big decisions together. You do not ever have to give your children an answer right away and instead can say, “your father (or mother) and I are going to discuss this together.” Then, present your answer together as well. Second, work to create a list of boundaries and possible consequences for your children. It is never too late to do this. When you discipline the same way, your children will see that you are a team. We all know that sometimes they like to pit one parent against the other, so this will prevent some of that from occurring. Third, spend some time in prayer together for each of your children. When you go before the Lord on behalf of your children, it will bring you closer together as a couple. It is so important to seek out parenting advice from the Lord. He will give you wisdom in making decisions.

Parenting together is always the best option for your children. Ecclesiastes 4:12 states, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” Think about those three strands as being you, your spouse, and the Lord. No one is ever alone in parenting if they seek out the Lord and His wisdom. Just imagine what you can do when you parent together!

Most parents want to make a lasting impression on their children. They don’t set out to destroy the lives of their children or leave them with nothing, but this can happen when parents are not intentional about leaving a godly legacy for their children. The legacy we should want to leave should not only be a physical inheritance, but also a godly inheritance.

Let’s focus first on the physical inheritance. Do you want to have something to leave your children after you are gone? If this is you, then you need to understand how to manage your finances. Leaving a legacy starts long before you are gone. You need to plan when you begin having children. You can honor God by managing your money. This means not living in debt (as it says in Proverbs 22:7, the borrower is a slave to the lender), putting away money to save, and investing for their future. All of these things will help you leave a lasting physical legacy. You can also leave a spiritual legacy, which is even more important. You can leave a lasting spiritual legacy by getting involved in a church, reading the Word with your children, and putting God first so they can see how important God is as the foundation of your life.

Leaving a legacy is important in raising your children. In a time when we as a society only focus on the here and now, Christians need to focus on the future and leaving a lasting impact on the next generation.

Parenting takes an act of love and can be a laborious journey. It can be difficult, but it also can be such a blessing if you follow the Lord and trust Him to be a part of your life. There is no manual that comes with your children when they are born, and no book can hold all of the answers you need. However, the Bible is the Christian manual with all of the answers for living a godly life, so if you seek its wisdom, you will find hope and love in your parenting journey. One definition of labor means “to strive, as toward a goal; work hard” (Dictionary.com). That describes parenting.

What is your goal when it comes to parenting? Do you want to see your children be successful? Or maybe you want them to know the Lord and live a life that is pleasing to him. Whatever your goal for them may be, it definitely takes a labor of love to help guide them in the way they should go as Proverbs 22:6 states (Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it). Parenting takes seeking the wisdom of God, setting boundaries and disciplining, loving and giving grace as needed. When you do those things, you will see God work in the lives of your children, and in your life as well.

While you will labor in your parenting journey to provide the love and care your children need, you will also find that you are not the only one who labors. Pray and ask God to care for your children and you will watch Him work in the lives of His children.

God made man and woman for each other to complement each other. It would be quite boring if we were all the same with the same personalities! He made each person unique. He gave men the ability to lead his family and train up his children. He gave women the ability to care for and nurture her children and to be a partner for the man. When they work together in marriage, they can create the beautiful picture God intended for them.

In Colossians 3:18, Paul tells wives to submit to their husbands as is fitting for the Lord. The word submit can seem like a weak term to society, but it takes a lot of strength and selflessness to submit to someone else’s authority. The Lord wants all of us to submit to Him and His authority, so by submitting to the husband, the woman is showing her trust and faith in her spouse. In verse 19, Paul says for husbands to love their wives and to not be harsh with them. God knew that women had tender spirits and would need their husbands to be gentle with them. These qualities fit together to create a godly marriage, a partnership or team. The wife trusts and respects her husband as the leader of the family and the husband will love his wife and treat her with kindness.

Not everyone trusts in the Lord’s institution of marriage and even try to distort it, but the couple who follows this wisdom, will find God at the center of their marriage and will see how they can complement each other to create the best possible marriage.

We live in a culture that gives up easily. When something gets hard, it is easy to just throw in the towel and give up. We see this in Hollywood all the time. They are married for a short time, and then they divorce and start over with someone newer, younger, more fun, different than what they had. They are a dangerous example to follow, and we should never place our hope in them. Instead, we should look to godly couples who have invested time and effort into their marriage.

A godly example of a marriage will teach us how to persevere in times of trouble and will give us hope. They will show us how to love and respect each other. Get involved in a church family and seek out another couple to help mentor you and your spouse. This can only be done, when you are plugged into a church family. However, if you seek advice about your marriage from people who are not plugged into a church or have a relationship with God, then expect that you are not going to get godly advice. For example, there was a girl who needed advice about her marriage, so she went to her family to seek advice. Her family did not know the Lord and so the advice that they gave her was to leave her husband. Then, she sought out the advice of a godly friend, and her friend encouraged her to fight for her marriage.She and her husband sought marriage counseling and fought to save their marriage. Now, they are in the ministry working with other couples.
Your marriage can be a thriving, godly marriage that stands the test of time when you invest in your marriage by seeking out people who love the Lord to help you. Fight for your marriage and watch the Lord do his work.

Marriage was created in the beginning of time by the God of the Universe. It was set up to be a picture of the relationship between Christ and man. The scripture says that Christ is the bride groom and we are the bride of Christ. It is a beautiful picture of eternal love. But this is something that the world cannot quite understand. They want to understand more about love, but they look everywhere except for God‘s word.

A marriage that is based on the relationship between Christ and man will survive. When both husband and wife seek God together, the marriage will not only survive, but it will thrive. We were not made to do anything on our own. We need the love of God in our hearts pouring out of us so we know how to love each other. Yes, marriage is still difficult. There are still broken relationships. And there are marriages that begin again after a divorce. We live in a broken world so there are broken relationships. But that is not God‘s will for marriage. His will is that we would seek him together, unified, and build our relationship upon him. That is the ideal marriage.

So you must decide whether or not you are going to allow God to be the foundation for the marriage you are building. The beautiful thing about living in a broken world, is that it is always in need of restoration, and we serve a God who restores and mends what has been broken if we allowed him to. It is never too late to begin anew.

In this life we will have times when we struggle with our faith, stumble and fall, and even times when we try to run away from God. However, He is willing to pour out His grace and mercy over us time and time again. He knows that our flesh is weak, and we can be influenced by the world. He promises to restore us and reconcile us back to Him when we run away if we turn back toward Him.

Look at the story of the prodigal son. In this story, you have two sons. They were both given everything they needed, but one son worked hard while the other spent his time enjoying life. He was favored by his father. He decided to take his inheritance and run away to find a better life. This drove him to spend all of his inheritance and destroy his life. He was in such a low place that he decided it would be better to be with his father and eat with the pigs than to stay in that low place, so he returned to his father’s house. When he returned, his father was so overjoyed that he threw a party in his honor. His prodigal son had returned. The other son was angry and jealous because he had served his father all that time and did not receive the same reception.

We are like that prodigal son. Even when we run away and try to do things on our own, if we return and truly repent (which means to turn away from sin), then we will experience the same reception from our heavenly Father. He will be so overjoyed that we returned. That is reconciliation.