FRUITFUL PARENTING

Posted on February 6, 2011 @ focusontheheart.org ("heart for the home" page)

How in the world can we be fruitful in a barren world?

Fruitful parenting comes with consistently loving, teaching and living according to the core values that we know in our heart to be true and right before God. As we find in the first few verses written by David in the book of Psalms, where he describes a tree that is planted by the rivers of water; he begins to tell us all about the man or woman that is blessed. Then David tells us in the second verse about the thing that makes this person happy and how he never ceases to meditate on this all through the day. He even says that it's on their minds all night! Let's look at David's message to us all in the first chapter of Psalms;

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth(abiding) in the way(course of life) of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat(spend time abiding with) of the scornful(one who mocks or scoffs). 2 But his delight(valuable thing) is in the law(precepts) of the LORD; and in his law(in His precepts) doth he meditate(they ponder) day and night." ~ Psalms 1:1-2

David was talking about the core values of a man or woman who was blessed by God. This blessed man or woman that he spoke of here wouldn't entertain the idea of receiving counsel from an ungodly person about anything that had to do with his heart, mind or soul. Neither would they find themselves following after or abiding in the sinful course of life. This describes the people we meet or maybe even some of our friends who would tempt us to join with them in fulfilling the desires of the flesh for a short season. Beware my brothers and sisters where you find yourself abiding, not only in the day, but in the nighttime too! This is exactly why it's so important; as the great Psalmist begins this awesome book of songs with divine guidance from his God Almighty to meditate day and night on the Word of God. Then David tells us that this blessed man or woman doesn't spend their time abiding with those assemblies, populations or in the dwellings of those who have become scorners or mockers of who? Mockers of the man who's core values are found in the LORD.
Oh no, the blessed man or woman will not find themselves in any of those places, but rather in the precepts of the LORD! I don't know for sure about you, but I have felt that some of the laws that we have been forced to live by in the U.S. have been unacceptable. Yet we are made to follow them, even though they may violate our core values as holy children of Christ. For example, the liquor laws, the abortion laws, the laws about open pornography and nudity on TV as well as the internet. What about the laws protecting the rights of the criminal who repeatedly chooses to abuse the minds of other adults and helpless children? Then there's the laws that affect what can and cannot be mentioned in the schools, government facilities and clinics of OUR LAND! All of these are precepts made by and for our country to follow and if you don't respect and abide by them, you'll be punished under the law. Are these laws productive or are they destructive? Does the LORD GOD Almighty look upon our land with joy or are His eyes filled with tears today?

THANK GOD that His precepts will never bring a parent or child harm. God's laws will never bring shame and reproach to the population of the blessed! I have a leader and LORD who gives me laws(precepts) that bring value to my home, my life and the lives of my children!

Now that we have taken time to ponder this vital introduction to the book of Psalms; we see David's inspiration to write concerning the importance of where we place our core values and learn how to welcome God's blessings into our dwellings as parents. Couples, single moms and dads, separated parents and widows, we can all learn from David's message today; pondering the precepts of God; receiving the blessed life and every parent has the equal opportunity to pass this lesson and blessing on to our children too! Our fruitfulness as a mom or dad must begin in our hearts and in our home as we hold to our core values and see our children doing the same!

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it (His desires) to pass." ~Psalms 37:4-5

*Literal translations from Strong's Hebrew & Greek Dictionary in parenthesis (*)

AWAKE - Be Strong Cont.

Doing the right thing requires strength!

It is so easy to agree with the scriptures concerning relationship and then go right on with our life as usual. That is not only a sign that we are asleep but also that we may be doing the things we do for our mates with the wrong attitude. Let's take a look, while continuing in the third chapter of Colossians, at the attitude that we are to have when we do things for each other.

Colossians 3:22,23 - Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men;

You're probably saying to yourself by now, wait a minute, I'm not a servant! But think about this for a minute; didn't Jesus teach us to serve others? Why wouldn't that apply to our relationships at home too? I bet that was one of the first things that God taught Adam and Eve while they were out walking together in the mornings of that very first week in the Garden of Eden. I bet the temperature was perfect and the sun was just the right distance away that they didn't even break a sweat. They probably enjoyed every minute of every day!

You know what else! I'm not a betting man, but I would be willing to bet that Eve was so pleased with Adam as he served her like he was suppose to as her husband. I would also bet that Adam was just as happy because Eve served him with the right heart attitude also as his wife? This was not only the first marriage on earth, but it was the perfect marriage designed and created by the God of all our universe!

Why then, when men and women attempt to live like that, does something happen that creates friction between us? Well, we have to examine our motives and ask ourselves ,"Am I attempting to serve as unto the Lord or am I serving as unto people?". This can apply to parent/child as well.  As a servant in my home I must become humble and bring peace to my family. How? By reminding myself of the most important part of this passage. Take notice, it starts out with a command and then we learn how to live it out in our relationships successfully.

We are instructed that a servant is to obey their master. From a man's perspective I was thinking, "How would that apply to our relationship with our wife or children?".  But then it kind of sunk in slowly as I finished reading the rest of the passage. Who is my Master, I thought to myself? Who is your Master? Who do you serve in life? Then it hit me! Jesus talks all through the scriptures about how we can only serve one master, right? If you think that I am going to tell you to start calling each other "Master", I'm not. But, just imagine for a minute what a difference it would make if we treated each other as if they were the master and we were their servant?

So it got a little more confusing as I thought about the passage that says, Don't be a person pleaser using the eyes to give favor; BUT in singleness of heart fearing God. I am to do the best I can with sincerity; but fearing God alone because He alone is our only Master and we are to do it as unto Him. Wow! What kind of difference would it make if we would remember that it is God, our only Master, that we are serving every time we stop to do something for our mates, our family and our friends?

I imagine Adam and Eve before the fall of sin, feeling the perfect joy of serving God when they reached out to serve and care for each other. Try it! Serve God as you reach out to care for family and friends, I guarantee that you will experience that perfect joy as well.

One last point from passage that will strengthen our relationships is concerning the heart.

Some people can act so awesome whenever anyone is around to notice, but at home they may exibit a proud and self-centered attitude. That is what we are told not to be like when this passage tells us not to be eyepleasers. Be careful, men and women, husbands and wives, when you take notice of another man or woman that's always serving people in the eye of the public. Not that it is wrong to behave this way, but we should be focused on our own mates and what we can do to serve that special person that God has put into our lives. It is easy to put on an act in public, but your mate will know if you are doing things heartily (with your whole heart) by the way that you act in private! So, beware of this deceitful temptation to become men pleasers as this way of living doesn't follow the teachings of our Lord, our only true Master. We must do ALL that we do for the Lord and our mates will know without a doubt that they are truly appreciated and loved!

Luke 16:13 - No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.(wealth)

"AWAKE" - A Strong Home

Author-Robert Bailes

DETERMINE TO HAVE A STRONG HOME

When it comes to relationships, they're all different in some way or another, but there are certain principles in a relationship that apply to every person alive today. These principles were established by our creator, our God. It is so important to pay attention to them and adhere to what God has laid down for us in order to avoid the consequences that follow when we rebel and choose our own ways, rather than the way our Lord God Almighty planned for us.

When we say that God is love; we must also realize that He is the Master of love and therefore, His divine Word is not going to tell us something that would guide us into a relationship full of hatred, conflicts and abuse. So I tell you once more as we begin to discover and explore the ingredients that make a Strong Home, AWAKE! Pay close attention and get ready to start filling up those half full love tanks! Could it be that your ship has been tossed around in the storms of life and that your love tank is so empty that the engine isn't even running and you are just drifting through life with no direction or purpose? If so, don't abandon ship yet! Hold on tight and let's find out, as we explore God's Word, how you can begin to refuel your relation"ship" and get your engines running full throttle again!

A house is a place, but a home is made of people. A Godly home is a home where people are living their Christian faith each day.

I spent about twelve years of my life, following my college days, building homes of all types. There were houses with only a couple of bedrooms made of average building materials and there were homes that were large enough to house several families made of a nicer grade material. Then there were what we call mansions. These homes took almost a year to build and the materials were ordered special from all over the globe. One couple even went overseas to find a house with the type of chimney they wanted for their home. They then took the mason and showed him their choice so he could build it over here in the United States. Regardless of how much each home owner spent on materials, whether it be thousands or millions of dollars, the cheapest was just as much a house as the most expensive was a house. The more expensive house was a better house because of the quality of the products used, but it did cost allot more than the houses built with the lower quality products. It costs more to have a better house because the quality of the products are better. Many people appear to be working hard on their home life, but they are using the wrong materials.

In Colossians, chapter three,verses fifteen through twenty-one, the Bible says, " And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged."

THREE HOMES WE ALL NEED

Everyone should have three homes. We need to know that we have a heavenly home. If we have asked the Lord to forgive our sin and received Him by faith, we have a heavenly home.

We all need to have a good church home. Please, don't underestimate the power and influence of a good, Bible believing, Bible preaching church. We know that Paul taught us that Jesus is the foundation and the head of the church, but we can't have strong churches without having strong families. Interestingly enough, we can't have strong homes either, without a good church home. They work together hand in hand.

Not only do we need a heavenly home and a good church home, but we need a Godly Christian home. I have seen Satan's hand at work in homes everywhere and it is so important to build our homes of the things that will withstand his attacks. Let's look at how to build a strong home and what it takes to do this!

WHAT DEFINES A CHRISTIAN HOME?

There are many who claim to be Christian and even have a testimony of salvation, but don't have a Christian home. You may be thinking, how can that be? Well, let's look at what makes a Christian home.

Some of you may say,"My husband is a Christian. Doesn't that make my home a Christian home?". Or you may be saying the same about the wife or mother of the home. You might even attend church faithfully, but these things do not make a Christian home.

Let's look at the text in verses twelve through thirteen of chapter three in Colossians and we will discover the vital ingredients of a Christian home. In this passage, seven things are listed for us to have in our homes. Let's consider them carefully: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering; forbearing one another and forgiving one another..."

After giving us these seven ingredients to apply, the Lord covers them all up with something like a glue that holds all the other ingredients together. This is the bond of Christian love that is the most important ingredient to apply to our homes. We find this in verse fourteen,"And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness."

Have you ever come across a home that was built with average materials and during construction of the home something went wrong and the house was never quite finished. You could see that the house was left there through the winter and summer without the final coatings applied. As those average materials that were used to build that home were exposed to the elements of nature, without the proper protection they began to curl and swell and fall apart. It wasn't too long before the walls began to crack inside and the ceilings began to stain from the leaks of an unprotected roof as well.

It is like that house that was built and then left unprotected without the final materials that may have seemed to be insignificant at the time; we also can find the value of protecting our homes. We must protect our home with the ingredient valued above all other ingredients if we want to build a Godly Christian home. What God has valued above all else is LOVE! We must ask ourselves; each and every one of us, "Do I have the love that God has placed so much value on? Is my home strong?". Are the materials (mercy, kindness, humbleness, meekness, long suffering, forgiveness) that my house is made of, going to be bond together when the difficult seasons of life arrive? Could it be that my house going to begin to curl and fall apart or show stains of leaking because of the lack of the one ingredient that God valued above all the others? We must ask ourselves, "Is my home protected by the covering of Love, which is the bond of perfectness?"

AWAKENING!

PRAISE OUR ALMIGHTY GOD TODAY!
PRAISE HIS NAME ON HIGH!
PRAISE HIM FOR HIS MERCY!

LET US SING, "AWAKE MY SOUL, LET YOUR WILL BE DONE IN ME!"

Romans 13:11
11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.