Enjoying the Journey
Posts Tagged ‘son’
It’s Family!
Family was God’s idea. It is the perfect expression of the Heavenly Father’s heart. “God setteth the solitary in families” (Psalm 68:6). From the beginning He knew that it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). And yet in our sin cursed world, even with the existence of physical families, there are so many abandoned, neglected, and lonely people. One of the miracles of salvation is that through Christ we are placed into a new family – the greatest family in the world! Scripture refers to it as “the whole family in heaven and earth” (Ephesians 3:15). This family has never all met together at one time…but we will one day. In fact, there is going to…
Read MoreA Big Day
Tomorrow is a big day for our family. In just a few hours Lauren will turn 16 and Morgan will graduate from high school. As a dad it is both joyful and sobering to watch my baby girls grow up. Later this summer our youngest, Grant, will turn 13. (Pray for us, please!) Today is reflective for me and for their mother. Where has time gone? Just last month they were all born. Just last week they were learning to walk. Just yesterday they started school. Or at least that’s how it all seems. Life…a vapor. I am not writing these things to depress you! Instead, I am encouraging you to make the most of every day. Don’t waste one.…
Read MoreGo East Young Man!
Our culture is obsessed with the ability, beauty, and virility of youth. Somehow in all of this obsession we have forgotten the wisdom of age. Young people miss the examples of parents and grandparents. Young couples fail to draw from the experience of more mature married couples. Young ministers often reject the insight of seasoned pastors. The mantra is the same, “They are from another generation…they wouldn’t understand.” This is a lie of the devil. Listen to the words of Scripture… “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee” (Deuteronomy 32:7). “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding”…
Read MoreThe Power of Parents
As I sit in my study at home there are two pictures of my parents on the desk in front of me. One is a photograph taken on the night that I graduated from high school. It is hard to believe that I will soon be the age that they were then. This picture is the way they are indelibly impressed on my mind. Time has moved on, but some things do not change. The other picture is a recent photograph taken of mom and dad. They have aged very little through the years but my appreciation for them has grown more than I could ever express. Children are in so many ways a product of their parents influence. All…
Read MoreA Word for Young People About Parents
Like most children, when I was very young, I memorized the Ten Commandments. The fifth commandment says, “Honour thy father and thy mother.” It is repeated eight times in the Bible. As a boy, if my mother said something once I was supposed to listen. If she said it twice, I was definitely supposed to listen. If she had to say it three times, it was too late to listen! When God repeats something it is always for emphasis. This is God’s word to every young person: “Honour thy father and thy mother.” For many years I quoted it without even knowing what it meant. The word honor means to assign value to something, to treat it as a prize. …
Read MoreA Faithful Man
On this Father’s Day my heart is full of gratitude for my dad. He has always been my best friend, but he is also the best man I know. He has been a faithful man – faithful to God, faithful to my mother, faithful to his friends, and faithful to his life’s work. Dad has taught me more than I could ever express. Here are a few of the things my father has taught me. 1. Dad taught me the meaning of true friendship. He has as many friends as anyone I know. More than that, he has been a friend. I have watched him be a friend to hurting people, to those who had failed and others shunned. He has…
Read MoreJust for Men
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13 In a day of effeminate men I am more grateful than I have ever been for real men who have influenced my life. My grandpa was a real man. He taught me how to get my hands dirty and work harder than I ever thought I could. My dad is a real man. He taught me how to shake hands, how to walk, and how to speak like a man. He also taught me how to treat a lady by the way he treated my mother. Most of all they, along with other godly men, taught me by example what it means to be…
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