Category Archives: Children

Children, Consequences of Sin, Family, Hearing from God, Obeying God, Parenting

Seek God for Decisions in Your Life

Genesis 19:30-38 shows us a dramatic example of the foolishness of people when we try to solve our problems without God and without even working together as a family.

30 Afterward Lot left Zoar because he was afraid of the people there, and he went to live in a cave in the mountains with his two daughters. 31 One day the older daughter said to her sister, “There are no men left anywhere in this entire area, so we can’t get married like everyone else. And our father will soon be too old to have children. 32 Come, let’s get him drunk with wine, and then we will have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.”

33 So that night they got him drunk with wine, and the older daughter went in and had intercourse with her father. He was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

34 The next morning the older daughter said to her younger sister, “I had sex with our father last night. Let’s get him drunk with wine again tonight, and you go in and have sex with him. That way we will preserve our family line through our father.” 35 So that night they got him drunk with wine again, and the younger daughter went in and had intercourse with him. As before, he was unaware of her lying down or getting up again.

36 As a result, both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their own father. 37 When the older daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Moab.[b] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Moabites. 38 When the younger daughter gave birth to a son, she named him Ben-ammi.[c] He became the ancestor of the nation now known as the Ammonites.

Once again we gain insight into Lot and how poorly he led his family to know God and to follow God. They were likely influenced by their time in Sodom and a lack of strong godly leadership from their father.

Lot’s daughters identified a problem that was of great concern to them. They decided it was better to try to solve it on their own than to seek God or even discuss it with their father. They end up with a foolish solution. They still have a lack of men for more children or a community in which to raise their children.  The Moabites and Ammonites as a culture continued the way they were started… far from God. They later become a thorn in the side for Israel at times.

It seems obvious that Lot’s daughters did not know how to relate to God. They did not seek His help and instruction when confronting a big issue in their lives. Further, they did not even approach their father to discuss it. Granted, Lot did not have a strong track record for godly decision making… but perhaps he could have sought out Abraham if confronted by this situation.

Of course, one could also ask why Lot was not paying enough attention to his daughters to notice their concern and ask about it. There is not much detail provided, but it seems the family was far from God and did not have good communication within the family to work together to solve problems.

Although this type of incestuous relationship is not common, the world is full of young women and men making foolish choices about sex outside marriage, about adultery after marriage, about marrying the wrong person because they are in a hurry. Some feel a “biological clock ticking” and feel pressure to hurry and marry and have children. They move quickly and marry the wrong person. Some just do not understand what real love is and respond to hormones that may lead them to feel “attracted” to someone. That is not love. Love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

It is important to raise children to know and serve God and to seek Him in these situations. Further, it is important to lead your children in such a way that they can approach you about these personal issues and discuss them so you can help as a parent. Don’t wait until they are teenagers, start when they are very young.  Encourage them to make decisions based on God’s word, prayer, and consulting their parents. Respect their concerns and issues at an early age and give them the opportunity to discuss anything with you as their parent. Teach them you are a resource to help them.

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Bad Habits, Children, Consequences of Sin, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Righteousness / Serving God, Selfishness

Reject Sin In Your Life, No Matter How “Small”

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Many of us who follow Jesus can easily recognize some obvious sin in our lives or the lives of others. We may even aggressively work to change some elements of our lives. However, Satan tempts Christians to accept some sin and leads us into rationalizing it.  To follow Jesus we must continually look to His word and the Holy Spirit to identify and then help us eliminate all sin from our lives. Though we will never fully eliminate all sin, we should not accept any.

[Psalm 119:9-11] 9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word. 10 I have tried hard to find you— don’t let me wander from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

[Luke 9:23-25] 23 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. 24 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?

[Romans 6:10-14] 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

12 Do not let sin control the way you live;[a] do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

A few examples of sin we may be tempted to rationalize… there are many…

  • Someone who does not have much money and likes to shop or spend money carelessly may say “shopping is my hobby” or “It helps me relax”.
  • Someone who reacts with harsh and angry words, easily upset, may say to themselves “I am just hot-tempered.”
  • Someone who is overweight may just accept poor eating habits or lack of exercise saying they “have a slow metabolism”… to the detriment of their own health.
  • Someone who is selfish may accept and acknowledge it, even when it affects others around them negatively, and rationalize that it is ok or that they “deserve” whatever time, attention, or thing is in question… often putting themselves first.
  • Someone who is drawn to sexual sin outside marriage may rationalize that “I am not hurting anyone” or “we are consenting adults” or “I do not commit adultery because I and the other person are not married”.
  • Someone in a difficult marriage may convince themselves it is ok to be mad and harsh toward their spouse because their spouse is harsh toward them.

Don’t accept sin in your life. Don’t let Satan or the world tell you it is ok. Change your behaviors and thoughts to honor God. Even something you consider to be “just a bad habit” is still, by definition, bad. Do not accept it. Instead, overcome it through Christ Jesus.

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Children, Hearing from God, Obeying God

God Promises a Baby to Sarah

Sometimes it is difficult even for those who walk with God to accept that He may intervene in their  lives and deliver something incredible… something very personal they could never expect outside of His direct intervention.

In Genesis 18:1-15 we see God promising a baby to Sarah, who is old and well past child bearing years by normal standards. Sarah struggles to believe it and even laughs.

18 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

3 “My lord,” he said, “if it pleases you, stop here for a while. 4 Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. 5 And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.”

“All right,” they said. “Do as you have said.”

6 So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, “Hurry! Get three large measures[a] of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.” 7 Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. 8 When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.

9 “Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors asked.

“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.

10 Then one of them said, “I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”

Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. 11 Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. 12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?”

13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

15 Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh.”

But the Lord said, “No, you did laugh.”

Though we do not read it in this scripture verse, God indeed fulfills the promise. How gracious of God to continue with the promise despite Sarah’s laughter and unbelief. Despite even her lie to deny she had mocked the promise. God was going to keep His promise to Abraham.

Do you believe He can and may intervene directly in your life? Have you witnessed God doing incredible things before? When He delivers something you never expected was possible, do you glorify Him and praise Him, telling others? or do you keep it to yourself and eventually reason why it really may not have been God involved after all?

A good idea to consider… when God clearly moves in your life or in another way around you, write it down in a journal. Keep a record of God’s involvement in your life for encouragement and reminder that our gracious creator can and does intervene in the lives of His people.

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