Be holy; for I am holy (1Peter 1:16) (no pressure eh? - thank God for Grace and the Holy Spirit)
This weeks reading resources:
Growing Kids God's Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo -Introduction
Growing Kids God's Way 1st time obedience chart
Main points for me:
The most important duty of a parent is that of nurturing the ministry of reconciliation.
"But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God." 2 Corintians 5:18-20 (Amplified Bible)
Practical holiness is not merely a state of mind but a lifestyle--a moral lifestyle established by God and one in which parents are to instruct their children, "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 (Amplified Bible)
The word "salvation" is the all- inclusive word of the gospel. It brings together all the redemptive acts and processes--justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. The place where God claims lost people is at the Cross. The Cross is where Jesus died the death that we by all rights should die, and would die, apart from Him.
Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6 The Bible tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto rightiousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" Romans 10:9-10
It is eternally important that you make sure it is not just head knowledge and intellectual assent your children have given to the Lord. Jesus Christ wants your child's heart not just their head.
...the goal of parenting is to raise, by way of salvation, a morally responsible and Biblically responsive child.
What is it God requires of us? "He has shown you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
Authority of Scripture
Biblical parenting must spring forth from the canon of Scripture. It is authoritative in that it requires a response to its demands; it is sufficient in that regenerate man can participate in the full grace of God when he abides in the truth of God's Word.
Training the Heart
...the human heart requires attention....
We know that the human heart is the center of all of life and behavior. "Jesus said that all behavior and words have their origin in the heart." Matthew 12:34-35 "warns us that in the heart the impressions of a joung life are molded, and that the issues of life flow form it." Proverbs 4:23
general goal of heart training, help child gain personal self-control which in turn helps child with controlling his tongue (Proverbs 13:3, 15:2) , actions (Proverbs 14:29), handling negative emotions (Proverbs 25:28), making sound judgements (Proverbs 1:3), guides child to an honest life (Proverbs 10:9), non-offensive (Proverbs 16:7), filled with righteous deeds (Proverbs 1:3), brings peaceable fruit (Hebrews 12:11)
Two phases of moral training are development of moral behaviour and development of moral reasons.
We need to assess where our child is at and where we as parents have come from.
Avoid parenting extremes. Both authoritarian and permissive parenting are detrimental to the welfare of a child.
The duty of Christian parents to instruct their children in the knowledge of God cannot be achieved apart from His grace.
Three ways by which God communicates His grace that we need to look at are:
This weeks reading resources:
Growing Kids God's Way by Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo -Introduction
Growing Kids God's Way 1st time obedience chart
Main points for me:
The most important duty of a parent is that of nurturing the ministry of reconciliation.
"But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him].
It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor).
So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God." 2 Corintians 5:18-20 (Amplified Bible)
Practical holiness is not merely a state of mind but a lifestyle--a moral lifestyle established by God and one in which parents are to instruct their children, "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4 (Amplified Bible)
The word "salvation" is the all- inclusive word of the gospel. It brings together all the redemptive acts and processes--justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. The place where God claims lost people is at the Cross. The Cross is where Jesus died the death that we by all rights should die, and would die, apart from Him.
Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me" John 14:6 The Bible tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto rightiousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" Romans 10:9-10
It is eternally important that you make sure it is not just head knowledge and intellectual assent your children have given to the Lord. Jesus Christ wants your child's heart not just their head.
...the goal of parenting is to raise, by way of salvation, a morally responsible and Biblically responsive child.
What is it God requires of us? "He has shown you O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8
Authority of Scripture
Biblical parenting must spring forth from the canon of Scripture. It is authoritative in that it requires a response to its demands; it is sufficient in that regenerate man can participate in the full grace of God when he abides in the truth of God's Word.
Training the Heart
...the human heart requires attention....
We know that the human heart is the center of all of life and behavior. "Jesus said that all behavior and words have their origin in the heart." Matthew 12:34-35 "warns us that in the heart the impressions of a joung life are molded, and that the issues of life flow form it." Proverbs 4:23
general goal of heart training, help child gain personal self-control which in turn helps child with controlling his tongue (Proverbs 13:3, 15:2) , actions (Proverbs 14:29), handling negative emotions (Proverbs 25:28), making sound judgements (Proverbs 1:3), guides child to an honest life (Proverbs 10:9), non-offensive (Proverbs 16:7), filled with righteous deeds (Proverbs 1:3), brings peaceable fruit (Hebrews 12:11)
Two phases of moral training are development of moral behaviour and development of moral reasons.
We need to assess where our child is at and where we as parents have come from.
Avoid parenting extremes. Both authoritarian and permissive parenting are detrimental to the welfare of a child.
The duty of Christian parents to instruct their children in the knowledge of God cannot be achieved apart from His grace.
Three ways by which God communicates His grace that we need to look at are:
1. common grace-given to all mankind (eg. God brings refreshing rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike.)
2. sanctifying grace- God's grace flows to families through the sanctifying grace of believing spouses and parents. That is, when mom and dad have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, children receive the overflow of God's grace as it is poured out on their parents. The blessing is multiplied by each generation.
3. Obedience- If we want to claim for our children the blessings in God's Word, we must believe and be faithfully obedient to God's revelation. Without faith, we have no right to any blessings of promise. Without obedience, we cannot expect the favor of God nor the communication of grace on our children or on our efforts. Grace is communicated to each household when parents stay vertically aligned with the Lord. As we are blessed, so will our children be blessed. This is the power of sanctifying grace.
You cannot parent by your own strength and still achieve a godly outcome. Remember, let God through His grace do His work, while you through obedience do yours.
This week I introduced the behavioural tool of First Time Obedience.
You cannot parent by your own strength and still achieve a godly outcome. Remember, let God through His grace do His work, while you through obedience do yours.
This week I introduced the behavioural tool of First Time Obedience.
Efficacygreat
higher levels of peace in the house
increased obedience
increased connectedness
more opportunities for positive reinforcement
Observations in our home
when I was obedient to the process of first time obedience I found the kids were about 99% successful in obedience (wow) when I was half obedient to the process, successful obedience declined to about 50% and when I was disobedient to the obedience was about 5%(yikes)
I think the steps of first time obedience are a keeper for our family. I want to practice it with my children and share in the good fruit it creates.
3 comments:
Great stuff Donna. I'm thrilled that you have found such great sucess with the technique you speak of. Katie & I have already seen such great fruit in your children's lives and this will only propel you higher!
Gary
Thank you for your kind words Gary. Katie and you are very precious to Rick and I. We have found great inspiration and mentoring in seeing who you both really are and how you share yourselves with others. Thank you both. We look forward to sharing our journey of becoming more Christ like along side people like yourselves.
Awesome Donna!
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