What does the Bible say about sibling rivalry and how can I get my kids to get along? (Part 3)

After we all agreed (in our family meeting) that one of our key home values was to leave strife behind, the Christian parenting work started.

Notice that on this parenting website we are not afraid to call parenting ‘work.’

I have actually found something of a parenting skills paradox in the concept of parental work. Although what seems to be lazy parenting will get you nowhere, working hard at it will give you the time and peace to be lazy.

Let me explain. Armchair parenting is a parenting style that doesn’t work; parenting is a participation sport. It is always tempting to stay seated in my favorite chair (or continue doing whatever I was doing) and fling instructions, commands and threats about the house aimed at one child, or many, (the all-in-one fling) but that is not effective parenting.

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What does the Bible say about sibling rivalry and how can I get my kids to get along? (Part 2)

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4: 20)

Years ago while I was reading through the Bible book of 1 John, I suddenly saw how this verse was relevant for parenting and my family life.

The Apostle John states that if you do not love your Christian brother you do not love God. Why? Simple, it’s easier to love someone that you can see than it is to love God who you cannot see.

The principle involved is that we all must walk before we run, the simple before the difficult.

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What does the Bible say about sibling rivalry and how can I get my kids to get along? (Part 1)

Can you imagine your home truly being a ‘home sweet home’? What if everyone in our families always spoke gently and kindly to one another? What if everyone got along famously, loved and respected one another and enjoyed each other’s company?

No sibling rivalry, no fighting, no arguing, no yelling, no unkind words, no whining, no complaining or blaming, can you imagine what that would be like?

Well, that family does not just exist in your imagination or in a Sunday school picture. Having your Christian home look and feel like that is not only possible, it is Biblical.

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What role did God intend for the Christian home and family to play in his salvation plan, the Gospel? (Part 3)

So how exactly can God use our Christian families (Christian parents and Christian children) to impact the world and bring God’s blessing to the nations?

I believe he wants us to raise a generation of Christian kids that will do major damage to the gates of hell. Let me explain.

If Israel could become great and powerful by teaching their children to walk with God and keep the Old Covenant how much more can the Body of Christ grow and powerfully impact the nations, according to God’s promise, if we were to teach our children to walk in the power and grace of the New Covenant.

Can you imagine if instead of losing our kids to the world we kept them all in the church. I’m not talking about just having more bodies to warm the pews. I’m talking about a generation that grows up learning God’s Word, walking in relationship with God and growing in his grace. A generation that is excited about being used by God and about taking ground for the Kingdom of God. Like the generation of Israelites that took the Promised Land only each one of these would be under the New Covenant and filled with God’s Spirit.

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What role did God intend for the Christian home and family to play in his salvation plan, the Gospel? (Part 2)

In part one we talked about how God wants to have salvation and his blessing come to our families. In part two I would like to talk about God’s calling on Christian families and how God wants to work through them.

Let’s go back and take a closer look at the verses about why God called Abraham.

Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:18, 19)

Let’s look at all three parts of what the Lord said here. First he outlines his promise, Abraham is to become a great and powerful nation and (also) all the nations on the earth are to be blessed through him.

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What role did God intend for the Christian home and family to play in his salvation plan, the Gospel? (Part 1)

When my mother gave her life to Christ and started attending church every Sunday she had a husband, (my step dad) six children (ranging from toddler to adult) and a large extended family. She was understandably worried about how her new Faith would be viewed and if everyone would embrace it as well or reject it and her. She even started taking the youngest of my siblings to Sunday School on her own.

One evening not too long after her decision to live her life for Christ, no matter what the cost, she attended a Gospel dinner with a special Christian speaker. That speaker prayed for her and while he was praying, even though he did not know her or her situation, he said, “Don’t worry, today salvation has come to your house.”

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Can you recommend a Bible that my son might be interested in and actually use?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My first two children were girls. I had a wonderful time and spent many hours reading Bible stories to my first daughter which, for the most part she attentively listen to.

The things I learned with my first helped me get a head start with my second daughter. It was a different experience because she’s a different girl but for the most part it was easy to stay on the track that I started on with my first. This Christian dad was in the groove.

Then my son was born and in his younger years much of what I had learned worked but when he got a little older it was like starting all over. Many times what had worked wonderfully with the girls did not even register with my boy. So I pressed into prayer asking God for help and wisdom and slowly but surely the seemingly obvious started to sink in. So here is some sound parenting advice, boys and girls are different and they learn differently.

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How can I know which children’s bible is the best one for my child? (ages 8-12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I make some suggestions, let me briefly blog about why getting the right Bible for your children in this age group is so incredibly important.

Once we are Christians, the foundation for building our relationship with God is regular time in the Bible and in prayer. Yet how many of us as adults, struggle with this?

My daughter was seventeen when she told me that her and several Christian friends were talking about their time with God and most of them said that they had a real struggle with it. My daughter went on to say that she had not realized that people struggled with this.

If our children are guided through the process of developing a relationship with God progressively, from sitting on our knee right up to doing it on their own, they establish a habit and a relationship that is easy to maintain and difficult to walk away from.

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What Should I Look For When Buying A Bible Storybook For My Children?

I probably get asked this question and ones like it more often than any other question.

When I first started developing Bibles for children it was in response to the frustration I experienced over the years when trying to find Bibles that I could use with my own children.

At first the publishers I went to with my ideas responded by telling me the market was already glutted with Bible Storybooks.

They were shocked to hear me tell them that unfortunately many of them are useless when it comes to teaching children the Bible.

Let me pass on to you what we should be looking for in a Bible for our kids and why.

I think the first thing we need to ask is what is God’s purpose for the Bible. In a nutshell, the Bible reveals God’s story and plan for humankind, it focuses on God’s salvation plan and brings us to Jesus and it teaches us how to live as Christians.

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How Do I Get Started Parenting God’s Way?

Now that you know that God never intended us to parent without his help, that he is the third parent, that he has promised to work in you and cause you to be the parent He wants you to be, that He is working in your children as you trust Him and that He will even help you trust Him, you should be ready to move forward.

God has given you everything you need to get the job done. Nothing can prevent you from parenting God’s way; negative examples, bad experiences, lack of know-how, big mistakes you have made, the mistakes of others involved, NOTHING!

I am not saying that you should pretend that problems and pain do not exist. I am just saying that God is bigger than all of that and none of it can hold you back unless you let it.

Now all you need to do is start moving. Here are my suggestions for starting this obstacle course. First pray and let God know that you are on board for transformation. Ask him to cause you to be all that he has created you to be and more specifically to help you be a great Christian parent. Now do not stop praying that! Every time you run into a problem, fall into a bad habit, make a mistake, or just need help and wisdom for moving forward go to God. Transformation does not happen overnight—it is a lifetime thing.

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