“Love you!” “Love you, too!” I hear these words almost every time my children phone me and we say goodbye. I also hear these words often at church as members say goodbye after meetings. It is common to hear these words in public places, as well. One might think there is a lot of love going around! Perhaps many of the love messages we hear are sincere. That is such a good, wonderful, feeling to know that Christian brothers and sisters in the church family and children in the … [Read more...]
‘Those Ungrateful Kids!’
Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name,make known his deeds among the people. – I Chronicles 16:8 How can we get kids to appreciate their blessings? Can we just tell them they should be thankful and expect their attitudes to change? In today’s culture of materialism, it is not surprising that children often do not feel thankful for what they have. Things come easily. In many middle-class homes, one can go into the room of a child and see hundreds of dollars worth of toys or other … [Read more...]
The Worth of a Child
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. – Psalm 127: 3-5 A little boy named John was born into a family that did not attend church. When he was old enough to go to Sunday School, a Sunday School teacher picked him up each Sunday and took him with her to Sunday School and church. When the church had picnics, the teacher always took the … [Read more...]
Turning in thanks to God
“ And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?” What a sweet, warm feeling it is when a child spontaneously grabs a mom or dad and exuberantly says, “Thanks!” Everyone is smiling and feeling good for the moment. The child is like the leper who ran back to Jesus and glorified … [Read more...]
Halloween Hoopla
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear,…” I John 4: 18 Halloween is a holiday that presents a real challenge to Christians. Many would like to ignore it. Some try to shield children from it by forbidding any participation in various activities at that time. Many Christians do not even know the origin of the holiday and allow their children to participate freely as they desire. What is a sensible way to deal with children at Halloween? Halloween is a holiday that will … [Read more...]
Preparing our children for the future
“Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.” I Peter 2:17 As Independence Day approaches, we turn our thoughts again to the condition of our country and speculate as to what the future holds for our children. We are seeing more and more conflicts in rendering unto Caesar and at the same time being able to render unto God. No one knows exactly what the future holds, but certain trends seem quite evident. We are seeing greater antagonism … [Read more...]
‘My dad’s the greatest’
Every child wants to be able to boast about his/her dad! Little boys may be heard to say, “My dad can beat up your dad!” The truth is that in our era of time, many dads are absent or confused about the roles they should play. Recently a dad was shown on TV taking his son to a marijuana festival in Colorado. He said he thought it was good for his son to see!?? What makes a great dad? The Bible tells us that the father should be the spiritual head of the home. Research tells us that dads, … [Read more...]
BlessMom on Mother’s Day
“Her children arise and call her blessed.” – Proverbs 31:28 Wouldn’t it be nice if children would appreciate and bless their mothers from birth? Why is it that so many people really don’t appreciate their moms until they are grown? Young children cling to their moms, but often teens will shout, “I hate you” so convincingly that we may believe it. Whatever the reasons, it is nice to know that in many cases children do come to realize the importance of their mothers once they are on their … [Read more...]
Lessons on resurrection
“But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come? How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.” – I Cor. 15:35, 36 Even very young children wonder about death. God has created us with a curiosity that causes all to seek answers. We make a mistake when we think we must wait until children are a certain age to learn about death and the resurrection. When they start asking questions, we need to provide answers at a rate and depth they … [Read more...]
Teaching children the joyous blessing of giving to others
“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35 There is no doubt that giving gifts can be much more fun than receiving gifts. It is tempting to think that all children simply want toys for Christmas and that they are too young to understand that giving is better than getting. This is simply not true. If they don’t learn as children, they will grow up always wanting things for self pleasure rather than thinking of … [Read more...]