Dearly Beloved Children Warning to Dad

Dearly Beloved Children

Warning to Dad

Have you ever seen this face on your child?

Maybe they are exasperated!

I think the NIV’s choice of words has a funny side to it.

“Fathers do not exasperate your children.”

Ephesians 4:6 NIV

The word exasperate means:

 to disturb the peace of mind of (someone)

especially by repeated disagreeable acts to make very angry.

This is what small children do to their parents

when they ask endless questions about

‘why is this’ or ‘what is that’.

I think all of us dads can get the picture.

Our children can also get exasperated

or be provoked to anger.

Yes, the father is to be the head of the family

but a position never made a person perfect.

In fact, a position many times reveals our weaknesses.

We, as dads, cannot let our responsibility

get under our skin in a way

that we get under our children’s skin.

We need to be careful we do not use our authority

to push our children over the edge of rebellion.

We, as dads, need to make sure

we follow through on what we say…

holding ourselves accountable.

Yes, we can intentionally or unintentionally

exasperate our children.

I have done it when they were very little

and now that they are adults.. 

there are times I see they are getting exasperated

and I can’t understand why.

So I have found I needed to let my children know

my position and authority is not something

I want to use against them, but for them.

This usually means greater communication

in an atmosphere of love.

But out of all these things I have mentioned

that provoke our children,

there is one I am most guilty of…

It is taking too long to make a decision!

Many times my children want things

faster than I can properly digest the issue.

So always working on the area of trust

helps my children be patience with me.   

Thanks Sarah, Julie and Marty for understanding

your dad is trying to live up to

this amazing position of being your dad.

Our position of fatherhood is not to get our children

to live life our way,

but to instruct them in God’s ways.

That will always bring about the best for them and us.

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 6:4 NIV

4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children;

instead, bring them up in the training

and instruction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:20-21 NIV

20 Children, obey your parents in everything,

for this pleases the Lord.

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children,

or they will become discouraged.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

4 Hear, O Israel:

The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 

5 Love the LORD your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your strength.

6 These commandments that I give you today

are to be upon your hearts.

7 Impress them on your children.

Talk about them when you sit at home

and when you walk along the road,

when you lie down

and when you get up.

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands

and bind them on your foreheads.

9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses

and on your gates.

Labor Day Prayer

Labor Day Prayer

                       Dear Lord,            

Look on America as we rest from our labors.

Look upon the laborers of this great land.

Remember those who help produce the products

and services that provide for a better life.

Remember those who work to provide

for their families and others.

Remember those who have labored

or who would like to work

but can not find a job.

Lord, remember both employee and employer.

Help us all to be fair and honest.

Help us to do our part so that no one is left

with more than their share.

Help us all to see our job is to work for the common good.

Lord, help us to learn how to work safer and smarter.

Lord, you are able to do immeasurably more

than we are able to ask or image.

You are able to empower us to increase the wealth

and the services of this nation.

So we pray you forgive us

and remove in us attitudes

that keep us from Your blessing.

We humbly recognize that it is You

that has given us the ability

to do great things

and make America great.

As we honor laborers throughout this nation,

we give you thanks and praise for giving us

the jobs and the ability to do them.

 

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Scripture Reading  

Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV

17 You may say to yourself,

"My power and the strength of my hands

have produced this wealth for me."

18 But remember the LORD your God,

for it is he who gives you

the ability to produce wealth,

and so confirms his covenant,

which he swore to your forefathers,

as it is today.

Dearly Beloved Children Slaves and Masters

Dearly Beloved Children

Slaves and Masters

How much has Ephesians 6:5-9

effected the American work force?

Think of how much more these verses

can do for the place you work.

The American Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865,

the Reconstruction era that followed completed the revolution,

smashing the 254 year old system of slavery in the American South.

I can hardly image being on one of the slave ships

and reading these words in Ephesians 6 verse 5:

“Slaves obey your masters”

The closest most of us can come

to understanding these verses

are thoughts of the work place.

In 1870, the “Nine-Hour Movement”,

labor disputes in Canada

resulted in a Trade Union Act,

which legalized and protected union activity in 1872.

The first parades lead to an annual celebration.

American labor leader Peter J. McGuire

witnessed one of these labor festivals in Toronto.

Inspired, he returned to New York

and organized the first American Labor Day,

on September 5, 1882.

Because slaves and masters, employees and bosses

have not treated each other with respect,

many people have suffered and died.

The working man’s holiday

has become the last holiday of the summer;

a time for the last get-a-way before school

or before the cold weather sets in.

Many of us, on the

first Monday in September,

never give a thought of the battles that took place

to make the work place a better place.

 Labor and management have not always

been in agreement.

I know what it is like to carry a picket sign;

and most of us remember, or have heard,

of violence on the picket lines.

Many would say

better wages and working conditions

were achieved by those battles.

But ask yourself the question…

“Where would we be today

if it wasn’t for the cool heads

that sat at the bargaining table?”

These are the people

you don’t always hear about.

As you and I enjoy this Labor Day,

think about those employees and bosses

who lived out Ephesians 6:5-9.

Think about where labor and management

would be without them.

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 6:5-9 NIV

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear,

and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you,

but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.

7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men,

8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone

for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.

9 And masters,

treat your slaves in the same way.

Do not threaten them,

since you know that he who is both

their Master and yours is in heaven,

and there is no favoritism with him.

Colossians 3:22-25 NIV

22 Slaves,

obey your earthly masters in everything;

and do it,

not only when their eye is on you

and to win their favor,

but with sincerity of heart

and reverence for the Lord.

23 Whatever you do,

work at it with all your heart,

as working for the Lord,

not for men,

24 since you know that you will

receive an inheritance

from the Lord as a reward.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

25 Anyone who does wrong

will be repaid for his wrong,

and there is no favoritism.

Colossians 4:1 NIV

4:1 Masters,

provide your slaves

with what is right and fair,

because you know that you

also have a Master in heaven.

Dearly Beloved Children The 5th Commandment

Dearly Beloved Children

The 5^th Commandment

One of the Ten Commandments

holds a secret to living a long life.

The Apostle Paul quotes Deuteronomy 5:16.

“Honor your Father and Mother”

- place value on them.

Of the Ten Commandments,

this Fifth one has a promise attached to it.

Many times we reward children for doing what is right

and this promise is no exception.

The conditional promise God gave the Children of Israel,

was they would live long in Canaan, the promise land.

Jesus in Matthew 15:5 quoted this Fifth Commandment,

 and said, if you dishonor your parents you should die.

Now Paul in Ephesians 6:1 uses the word “obey”

to describe the way children should honor their parents.

Paul also shows us how an Old Testament promise

still applies in the New Testament.

“That it may go well with you

and you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

It used to be that when mom or dad

said something once

they meant it;

and if they said it twice

look out it was important.

Here God is saying it three times!

So honoring our parents

must be very important to God.

Paul tells us to “obey our parents in the Lord.”

I think we can safely say not all parents teach what is right.

I do not believe this verse gives us a right

to be disrespectful to a parent

who does not acknowledge the Lord.

But those who work at teaching their children

the ways of the Lord

should receive respect and honor;

and we should obey their instruction.

It is the godly instruction that teaches us

how to live a life that will be blessed.

It is sad when we see a child

who will not listen to instruction.

But the world becomes a better place

where children learn right instruction and obey it.

I thank God for my mother and father

who gave me good instruction and

used the rod of correction when I disobeyed.

“God protects the ways of the faithful ones.”

Proverbs 2:8

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 6:1-3 NIV

6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord,

for this is right.

2 "Honor your father and mother"

-which is the first commandment with a promise—

3 "that it may go well with you

and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."  

Deuteronomy 5:16 NIV

16 "Honor your father and your mother,

as the LORD your God has commanded you,

so that you may live long

and that it may go well with you

in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Matthew 15:3-6 NLT

3 Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions,

violate the direct commandments of God? 

4 For instance, God says, 'Honor your father and mother,'

and 'Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.'  

5 But you say, 'You don't need to honor your parents by caring for their needs

if you give the money to God instead.'

Proverbs 2:1-8 NIV

My son, if you accept my words

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding,

3 and if you call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD

and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the LORD gives wisdom,

and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds victory in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones.