Category Archives: Family

God Cares How We Raise Our Children!

God has a lot to say about parenting. Whoever has ears, let them hear…

Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. [Psalm 127:3-5]

Train up a child in the way he should go,  And when he is old he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6]

The rod and rebuke give wisdom,  But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. [Proverbs 29:15]

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. [Ephesians 6:4]

 

Children are truly a blessing. It is important though for us to train them up properly. We must always remember that they are smart and will learn first from what we do and remember that far longer than they remember what we say!

Don’t just go through the motions and do what your parents did when you were a kid or what others around you or the world do. Seek and understand what God wants us to do. You can set a strong foundation that they can build upon.

Challenge yourself to put God as the focus of celebrations and holidays, and especially our day to day. What media (e.g. movies, books, games, apps ,etc.) do you allow? Do they honor God? or do you rationalize that they are probably not as bad as other stuff that is out there? We should raise our expectations to follow God’s standard, not just try to be less bad than those around us!

And always remember that the best way to show love is not to buy something but rather to spend quality time with them doing something they enjoy.

Focused Ministry

  • Focus on the Family is a ministry with specific focus around marriage and family. There are many resources available including material focused on parenting.

Books and Other Resources

  •  While They Were Sleeping  is a prayer guide that guides moms (and dads) through prayer for their children focused around 12 important character traits we all want our children to have.

Check out our website resource page for Parenting to follow as we add more resources that help us honor God as we raise our children.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please lead and guide Your people as parents raising children. Help us to raise godly seed. Help us to set the example of being set apart from society. Help us to set and lead to Your standards and not simply be “less bad” than others around us, because that standard is constantly changing and moving further and further from You. Prepare our children to be bold and courageous in living for You and embracing Your ways. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Marriage and Divorce

Yeshua clearly reminds us in Matthew 19:3-11 that when we marry it should be “until death do us part”. Divorce only exists because of the hardness of our hearts. We should not marry until we are ready to commit before God that it is for life… for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.  

Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’[a] And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’[b] Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?”[c] they asked.

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful.[d]

10 Jesus’ disciples then said to him, “If this is the case, it is better not to marry!”

11 “Not everyone can accept this statement,” Jesus said. “Only those whom God helps. 12 Some are born as eunuchs, some have been made eunuchs by others, and some choose not to marry[e] for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.” 

I have found it helpful to invest time and resources together with my wife toward strengthening our marriage before we have trouble. I liken it to doing routine maintenance (e.g. like an oil change) in my car. I don’t wait for it to break down to change the oil. So for my marriage I should also invest before I experience difficulty.

Please take a look around our website on the Marriage page to see some simple advice and some recommended resources that can help you or someone you know with their marriage.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please lead and guide Your people to have more discernment with regard to marriage. Let us not rush into what should be a well thought out decision. Let us not decide only on emotions and passion of the moment, which may come and go over time. Let us seek wisdom in Your word and truly seek out the heart of a good and lasting marriage before we ever decide to make that commitment. “For better or for worse” does not mean “leave when it gets hard”. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Pray with Me for YHWH to Heal and Strengthen Marriages

Periodically we bring forth a prayer request in lieu of studying scripture for our daily walk. We invite you to pray with us for the marriages of those who follow Yeshua.

Father, please open the eyes and ears of Christians around the world to the truth and depth of your word. Help create a revival in Christian marriages by convicting your people of their selfishness and sin in marriage toward you and their spouse. Create in them a new spirit to seek to understand your word and follow you and as result experience the true joy that You intend for a godly marriage.

Let not people turn toward divorce and accept it because of the hardness of their hearts, but rather overcome it by living your word in their lives! Let your people truly be a light to the nations, demonstrating loving, kind, selfless, marriages that are filled with joy. 

Thank you for praying with us today.  To pray with us regularly for one another and for Biblical examples of prayer, please visit our Prayer Requests page.

A Virtuous and Capable Wife Is More Precious Than Rubies

What is a virtuous wife? By what standard do we judge? Many people groups have identified different “virtues” over time. We certainly should take care to not just measure against our own preferences and call that virtuous. Similarly, we should not just accept culture’s definition of a virtuous wife. That standard changes over time. We should look to Yahweh and the scriptures He provided.

For example, In Proverbs 31:10-31 we are shown the picture of what it means to be a virtuous woman.

Proverbs 31:10-31

Description of a Worthy Woman

10An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.

      11The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.

      12She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.

      13She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.

      14She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.

      15She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.

      16She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

      17She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.

      18She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.

      19She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.

      20She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

      21She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.

      22She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

      23Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.

      24She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.

      25Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.

      26She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

      27She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.

      28Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:

      29“Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all.”

      30Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

      31Give her the product of her hands,
And let her works praise her in the gates.

It is an amazing and timeless list. Some key principles summarized:

  • A virtuous woman respects and supports her husband. She is a very present help, not a hindrance.  Her husband can trust her.
  • A virtuous woman is an energetic, strong, and hard worker. She runs her household in a godly way. This is not an easy task!
  • A virtuous woman helps the poor and needy. Actively serves God in the home and with outreach outside the home.
  • A virtuous woman trusts God and diligently plans ahead. She has no fear of the future.
  • A virtuous woman speaks and gives instruction with wisdom and kindness.
  • A virtuous woman raises her children in a godly way. They stand and bless her.
  • A virtuous woman fears the Lord. She seeks to understand and live out God’s will with all her heart, soul, mind and strength.
  • A virtuous woman should be rewarded and praised! Do not forget this one husbands and fathers of girls.

Women… do not be discouraged. God does set the bar high and challenges us to strive toward it rather than rationalize why we should lower the bar or why today it does not apply. But He knows we are not perfect. It is a goal to work toward, a journey that will never be completed but transforms your life on the way.  Start by taking it in pieces one day at a time. Link up with other Christian women who share a passion to honor God in this way.  (Check out links to two online women’s ministries at bottom of post.)

Husbands… we don’t get off easy either. Ephesians 5:25 calls us to love our wives as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for the church and we are to give our lives to serve and lead the ones we love. Measuring up to Jesus Christ is a target we can never achieve, but we are called to work toward it!

Proverbs 31 Ministries and a virtuous woman.org are two separate ministries with an online presence that help women in the midst of their busy lives grow toward becoming a Proverbs 31 woman.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for helping us to have clear record of Your standards. Thank You for raising up virtuous women who want to strive to live according to Your instructions. Raise up more and more virtuous women to live to Your standard for excellent wives. Help daughters to learn from their example. Help husbands to appreciate and support them! Help the husbands also live up to Your standard in Ephesians 5:25 for them as well. In this way, help Your people be set apart from others and be blessed and joyful. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

What Does God Say about Mixed Marriages?

For starters, let us ensure we are all aligned on the context in scripture. A mixed marriage is not based on appearance or what many define today as “race”. Truly, we are one race of humans, made in the image of God. We are not separated by what many today call “black” or “white”. That is not how God sees us, nor how we should see one another, any more than we would divide over who has blonde or brown hair. Rather, appreciate the variety God has created!

A mixed marriage in the context of scripture is one that involves God’s people marrying someone from a culture or nation that does not live in accordance with the instructions and law of God. More specifically, there was direct instruction not to intermarry with the inhabitants of the promised land as it would lead God’s people away from Him as they blend with other faiths and practices. With that in mind, you can probably see where this is going.

Ezra 9

Mixed Marriages

      1Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites. 2“For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.” 3When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled. 4Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.

Prayer of Confession

      5But at the evening offering I arose from my humiliation, even with my garment and my robe torn, and I fell on my knees and stretched out my hands to the LORD my God; 6and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. 7“Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt, and on account of our iniquities we, our kings and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity and to plunder and to open shame, as it is this day. 8“But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. 9“For we are slaves; yet in our bondage our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

      10“Now, our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11which You have commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from end to end and with their impurity. 12‘So now do not give your daughters to their sons nor take their daughters to your sons, and never seek their peace or their prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’ 13“After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt, since You our God have requited us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us an escaped remnant as this, 14shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who commit these abominations? Would You not be angry with us to the point of destruction, until there is no remnant nor any who escape? 15“O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this.”

Clearly, the LORD is against His people marrying someone who has beliefs and traditions and ways of living that conflict with His ways, His instructions, His traditions.  Further, it is not because He is harsh or wants to make life difficult, but rather the opposite. He warns us to avoid something that will clearly create division between us and Him. He wants to help us stay near to Him. Consider carefully what someone holds as their core beliefs when considering marriage, even among those who claim to follow Messiah, but may blend many practices or traditions that Messiah Himself did not and would not practice.  One example that comes to mind is Solomon, who drifted from God and blended with other pagan practices and worship through the influence of his many pagan wives and concubines.

It is also interesting to observe that Ezra interceded with God on behalf of the people of Israel. He was not just concerned with his own actions. Most of us today do not do this enough.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, thank You for leaders like Ezra, who cry out to You on behalf of all Your people. Thank You for raising up righteous leaders who will help lead us to You. Please bring more workers to the harvest to bring about restoration and revival among Your people. Help us gather together in unity and support one another. Help us intercede for one another. Have mercy on us as sinners. Help us turn about and repent to return to Your ways. Give us as Your people wisdom in regards to marriage. Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Get Comfortable Being Different

Josiah was a righteous king. When he died, his son Joahaz became king, but was quickly deposed by Egypt. Jehoiakim became king in his place and did evil in the site of the LORD. He was removed by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon after 11 years. His son, Jehoiachin, reigned only 3 months but is still highlighted as doing evil.

As I reflect on this pattern in 2 Chronicles, I cannot help but think how easy it is for a nation, a family, or even an individual to slip into the traditions of men instead of the instructions of Yahweh.  It takes strong leadership and courage to lead a family or nation out of ways that are wicked in the face of Yah, but well accepted by man. It is very easy to get accustomed to the ways of men around you and move further and further away from the LORD’s ways.

We truly must remind ourselves and pray for Yah to help us to remain set apart from the ways of man. That means we will often stand alone or in the minority. Many around us will not understand the choices we make. We will be different than those around us. But this is also necessary to be set apart and holy for Yah’s use.

Get comfortable being different.

2 Chronicles 36:1-9

Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, then Jehoiachin Rule

      1Then the people of the land took Joahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in place of his father in Jerusalem. 2Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold. 4The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt.

      5Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon. 8Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and the abominations which he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son became king in his place.

      9Jehoiachin was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem, and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please raise up righteous leaders who will lead us in the restoration of Your ways. Give them courage, discernment and Your hand of blessing to help them prosper in Your work. Please remove wicked leaders from our local, state, and national (and global) government and leadership in business, education and other areas. Lead us in the restoration of Your ways! Draw Your people together in unity, standing against and separate from the ways of men. Bring us together in greater and greater numbers. Help us to be teachable and submitted as You call us away from many traditions and inaccurate teachings of men that Christians have followed for centuries so that we could embrace a return to Your ways fully! Amen. 

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ


Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Will You Lead Your Children in Righteousness or Be a Stumbling Block?

The actions of parents can have significant impact on the path which their children follow. Parents who live in sin and rebellion, apart from Yahweh, set that example for their children. Even if the parents later repent, and humble themselves before Yahweh, there is still opportunity for their children to stay on the wrong path.  Parents have potential to be a big help or a stumbling block for their children in their walk with the Yahweh.

2 Chronicles 33:21-25

Amon Becomes King in Judah

      21Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. 22He did evil in the sight of the LORD as Manasseh his father had done, and Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them. 23Moreover, he did not humble himself before the LORD as his father Manasseh had done, but Amon multiplied guilt. 24Finally his servants conspired against him and put him to death in his own house. 25But the people of the land killed all the conspirators against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place.

I am sure Manasseh would not have wanted this path for Amon. Manasseh humbled himself and repented before the LORD. However, Manasseh had previously created idols and led the people to wrongful worship of false gods and even after he repented, the people still worshipped at the high places, against Yah’s instruction. Manasseh’s actions, even though he later repented, established potential to impact not only his people, but his own children.

Let us humbly remember the same for our own lives. We have impact on those around us. In particular, we have impact on those who are closest to us. Keep this in mind when considering your relationship with Yahweh. If there are things that you should repent of, do so early and take on the hard work of change and repentance so your children may not have to or so they have a better chance of success doing so! Do not be a stumbling block for your own children in their pursuit of Yahweh.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help me see and repent from anything in my life which calls for repentance. Help parents of Your people have wisdom, discernment and courage in leading their children. Help us to worship You in the way You ask and to turn from the ways of men. Amen.