Category: Today’s Truth

Parenting takes patience and prayer. Some days it takes more patience and some days it takes more prayer! When you first become a parent, it can feel like you’re on a beautiful journey to a new land. When parenting toddlers, it can feel like you are reliving the same day over and over again. As they grow into school age kids, some days will feel like a new learning experience and other days will feel like you’re running a marathon. When your children enter their teenage years, there will be times that you will feel like you both are living on different planets. Before you know it, your children are off to college. How can we make the most of the time God has given us with our children and still have patience?

Find the good in every day. If you slow down and take the time to look, you will see the good in your children. It could be as little as a smile, a funny story, or a hobby or talent they have. Invest in the things they love and spend time with them. Encourage your children when they need it and even when they don’t. Children need to hear when you are proud of them or when they do something hard or well. Encouragement helps both their spiritual life and their mental health. Most of all pray for them daily. Go before the Lord on their behalf. Tell them you’re praying for them so they know that you care about them and their future.

Part of growing and training your children in the Lord is matching hour actions with the words you say. When you live out how you feel about your children, you will grow your relationship with them.

Parenting can be both rewarding and trying at times. It can be a joy to watch your children learn and grow. As they are growing, each stage comes with its own troubles and how we handle each stage shapes who our children become. Parenting is a job that we cannot do on our own. The world is trying to teach our children lessons that are not in the Bible. We need the help of the one who created our children: God the Father. So how can we persevere and train our children up to love the Lord in a world that works against us?

Trust in the Lord with your children. He created them and knows them better than even you do! Psalm 139 says He knit us together in our mother’s womb. He knows everything about us because that is the way He created us. This makes trusting Him even easier when we know that He knows what is best for them. If you trust Him as your Father, then you should be able to trust Him with your children. If this is a struggle for you, pray and ask God to help you give Him control.

While it is helpful to read parenting books, join groups or Bible Studies that give parenting tips, the best thing to do is to pray and seek God’s face. Ask Him to place people in your life who will help mentor and train you as a parent. Pray for opportunities to grow as a parent. Just as our children need to grow and learn, we do too!

Have you ever really thought about the marriage vows that people say on their wedding day? They pledge to stay for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part…Think about these two examples of marriage and their commitment to the vows they made.

There was a woman who fell in love with a man who had brain cancer. He was given a short time to live and they both knew that if they married, it would be a brief marriage with a lot of heartache. Yet, she married the man she loved, took him to doctor’s appointments, sat in the hospital with him as the cancer was having its way in his body, and held his hand as he stepped from this life into the next. She took her vows “in sickness and in health” to heart and trusted that the memory of their love and her trust in the Lord would sustain her long after he was gone. Now, there was another couple whose marriage began with troubles and trials. They married young with little to their names, but they had love, so they thought they could survive anything. As the years went on, their money problems increased and they did nothing to try and seek help. They became resentful of each other, and even though they committed to stay together for richer and poorer, they gave up and went their separate ways.

Both couples endured hardships, but one chose to honor their commitments and trusted the Lord, while the other one gave up when times were tough. God is the only one who can help you honor your spouse. He is the one who will carry you on this journey.

In the US, we have rules and regulations for almost everything. In Oklahoma it is illegal to eavesdrop, in North Dakota you need permission before killing a pigeon, and in North Carolina it is illegal to participate in a meeting if you are dressed in costume (“Weirdest Laws Passed in Every State,” USA Today). Some of these laws seem silly and unnecessary. However, there are many laws that are very necessary for maintaining order among people. People need laws about marriage and divorce, property, driving, and many others. Laws govern a society. They provide limitations and boundaries for people to live within and show how far a person can go before bringing ruin upon themselves. Laws are needed because we live in a lawless land full of sin. If there were no laws we would have destroyed ourselves a long time ago. This was the whole reason the Israelites needed the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament. They showed the people how to live and helped govern their nation. It is difficult to picture a world without laws.

However, there is no law against what is good. Galatians 5:23 says there is no law against the fruit of the spirit. This means there is no law about how much kindness you can show, how much love you can give, or how faithful you can be. Laws are only needed to show the lawless how to live. There is no law needed to show you how to do godly things for others.

When you understand that laws are needed to govern sin, but there are no laws needed to govern the good that comes from God, you will find freedom. You will find the freedom to serve, freedom to praise, and freedom to live in Christ!

There is a reason why self-control is considered one of the fruit of the spirit. It is something that people have struggled with since the beginning of time in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve and we still lack self-control today. The word self-control means control or restraint of oneself or one’s actions. Everywhere you look, you will see a lack of self-control. Look at how people drive on the road as if they are the only ones in need of going somewhere. Look at how people leave a concert, even Christian concerts, pushing and shoving. You won’t have to look very long at social media before you see a lack of self control. It is everywhere, and it is becoming harder and harder to maintain control over the things we say and do when we see people everywhere living unrestrained lives.

How can you show that God is the Lord of your life in a world that lacks any kind of self-control? First, let God guide you with your words. Before you post something or say something, take some time to think about if your words are going to bless God or not. Don’t react, but pray and ask Him to give you the words to say. Second, make sure your actions match the things you say. Be faithful and true to your word. If you say you will do something for someone, do it! If you tell someone you will pray for them, do it! Live a life controlled by the Holy Spirit, not a life controlled by your words and actions. A life that lacks self-control is a selfish life, but a life that has self-control is a selfless life.

Self-control is a fruit of the spirit because it is evidence that the gospel and the Holy Spirit are in control of the believer’s life. So take some time today to pray and ask God to help you stay in control of your mind, body, and spirit.

A gentle word or action can completely alter someone’s day. After a long day, it can be difficult to show someone gentleness, especially family members. Many times we lash out at each other when we’ve had a hard day or when we’ve dealt with people all day long at work. Sometimes it is difficult to show gentleness with those we live with and work with as well. Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit for a reason. Christ showed His gentleness time and time again when dealing with sinners, the brokenhearted, and even His disciples. When people make the same mistake again and again, Christ continues to be gentle. It is part of His character.

Christ was gentle with the little children when they came to Him, placing them on His lap and teaching them. He was gentle with Zacchaeus, coaxing Him to come down out of the tree so He could fellowship with him at his house. Jesus was gentle with his friends Mary and Martha when visiting them at their house after Lazarus died. They didn’t understand why Jesus would let him die, yet Jesus was gentle with them wanting them to believe in Him and trust that He knew what He was doing. He was gentle with His disciples, loving them, teaching them, and showing them patience when they didn’t understand. God’s desire is for us to show gentleness to those we love, the unsaved, and even the people who we get impatient with.

How can you show gentleness with others today? Who do you need to show gentleness to? Think about the people who are in your life: family members, church members, coworkers, friends, and do a little evaluation of who you could show more gentleness to. Make a decision today of how and when you are going to be gentle with that person and commit to changing in your life.

Who do you attribute your journey towards salvation? For some, it was a Sunday school teacher who invested in children’s spiritual lives Sunday after Sunday. For others, it was a family member, maybe a parent or grandparent who took them to church every week. Discipleship is a very important part of the Christian faith. God wants us to invest in others so they will grow in their walk with Him. We need to find others we can grow with as well as invest in others. How can you make discipleship or mentoring a part of your Christian walk?

First, find a church that is growing disciples. Churches that are growing disciples will have Bible studies and other activities that focus on growing in the Lord together. While fellowship is important, that cannot be the only focus in a church. Next, if you don’t have a mentor or someone who can keep you accountable, spend some time in prayer asking God to provide an opportunity for you to be mentored. It doesn’t matter if you’re a new Christian or have known the Lord for years, we could all use someone to help us keep growing and keep us accountable so we stay on the right track. Last, look for someone you can pour into. Find a new believer or someone who needs to be discipled. A tree cannot grow if it is not watered, and God uses His believers to help grow other believers!

You will find that when you make discipleship an active part of your Christian walk, you will grow in the Lord. Studying the Word with other believers and helping someone grow will be so rewarding. It will be impossible to stay where you are!

God never promised us that we would go throughout our Christian lives without heartache and grief. In fact, it is just the opposite; because we live in a fallen world, we will definitely experience sorrow and tragedies. It is what we do with those moments that defines who we are and who God is to us. If we allow the tragedies in our lives to overtake us, then we will never move forward and open ourselves up to what God is doing in our lives. We must take our sorrow and grief and give it to Him so He will make something beautiful of it.

We all have moments of grief and sadness. Even Jesus grieved over His dear friend Lazarus and his death. John 11:35 says that Jesus wept. We can allow Jesus to comfort us because He understands the emotions that we are going through. It is okay to grieve for a while. You don’t have to immediately move on. People leave impressions on our lives and in our hearts, and their memories live on in us forever. We can allow those memories to comfort us; that is why God gave us a mind that remembers! He wanted us to remember our loved ones and the impact they made on this world. God will eventually turn our mourning into dancing. That doesn’t mean that we will forget and move on, but that we will celebrate who they were and carry them with us throughout the rest of this life.

God mourns with you. He is grieved when He sees His children grieved. Give in to the emotions He’s given you and allow Him to wrap you up in His arms. He will be your peace and comfort!

We were placed on this earth to worship and serve the Lord. While God could have made the rocks cry out in praise to Him, He wanted to create man instead to worship Him. He gave man a mind to think about the things of God, hands to lift up in worship to Him, a voice to sing praises to His name, and a heart to live a life of worship as Romans 12:2 tells us. He wants us to bring glory to His name in everything we do. When we go to work, we should praise Him. When we are loving our spouses and children, we should praise Him. When we meet people, we should praise Him. When we go out into the community, we should praise Him.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31-32 Paul says, “So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles or the church of God. I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.” Paul lived a life worthy of God’s praise. He tried to be all things to all people because he cared about their salvation. So in everything he did, he thought about the lives of others.

Whatever you do, think about the lives of the people around you: your coworkers, your friends, your family, the lost community, anyone you come in contact with. How can you live your life in such a way that brings them to know the Lord?

Have you ever wanted to start over? Wipe the slate clean? Start fresh? That is exactly what Christianity offers, a chance to start over. The salvation that God gives through Jesus Christ allows us to have a new life. The Bible calls it a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Many religions are about what you can do to earn your reward, but Christianity is about what God does inside of us. He is the one who gives new life; it is nothing that we can do.

Think about the dirtiest clothes you have ever seen. What happened when you put it in the wash? Maybe you added special detergent to take out the difficult stains. It more than likely came out pretty clean, but not like new. Washing it and removing the stains is the closest you can come to making a shirt brand new again. God not only cleans us, removes all of the dirty stains, but He makes us brand new! He makes us a new creation! This verse says that the old is gone! It is no longer there! We can trust that if we submit to the Lord and allow Him to clean us, He will make us brand new! He is the only one who can do this miraculous thing. That is what sanctification is. It is the process of making holy.

If you have never given your heart to the Lord, pray and ask Him to make you a new creation and take away the old life. Be careful because the enemy will try to make you focus on your old life and whether or not you deserve this salvation, but focus on God instead and how He cleans you and makes you new!