Raising Kids to Love Jesus

• Points of Interest from "Raising Kids to Love Jesus" 
  
  
  If we don’t understand our kids, if we haven’t invested quantity time observing them, studying them, listening to them and knowing them, we won’t understand them. If we don’t understand them, we will miss what God is doing in their lives, and be unable to join with God in that process. P 35 Oliver

• Larry Crabb “The deepest urge in every human heart is to be in relationship with someone who absolutely delights in us, someone with resources we lack who has no greater joy than giving to us, someone who respects us enough to require us to use everything receive for the good of others, and because he has given it to us, knows we have something to give.”

• John 10:3-5, 11-15,27 Any shepherd will tell you that sheep aren’t likely to follow a voice they don’t know. They won’t follow a stranger. Christ said His sheep hear His voice and they know His voice. Do your kids know your voice or have you become a stranger to them? Do they know that like the heavenly Father, you are a good shepherd who knows them, understands them and cares for them.

• Mind of a believer – single minded “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” 2 Cor 11:3

• T.W. Hunt “As the Father is to the Son, so Christ is to us. He imitated the Father; we imitate Christ. He saw the activity of the Father; we pay close attention to the known earthly activity of Jesus, and for that matter His present activity. He heard from the Father; we must hear from Him. The Father taught Him, He teaches us. He could do nothing independent of Him. He was very close to the Father; we must remain close to Him.

• The word “morph” comes from a Greek word in the New Testament. Morphoo means, “The inward and real formation of the essential nature of a person.” It’s a term used to describe the formation and growth of an embryo in a mother’s body. Paul used this word when he spoke with the Galations, “until Christ is formed in you.” (Gal. 4:9, NASB, italics added). We are in a process of spiritual gestation. Paul also told us to be “conformed to the image of His son” (Romans 8:39, NASB). The word used here means to have the same form as another. We are to be like Jesus as an image is to the original. The word “transformed” in Romans 12 comes from an English word “metamorphosis,” our change is to be noticeable.

• Purity Illustration: Don’t let your standards of purity vary. We are to be “pure purity” not somewhat.
  • Apple butter: If the mold count is 12 percent or more or if it averages five or more whole insects per 100 grams, the FDA will pull it from the shelves. Otherwise, you will end up using it on your toast or muffins.
  • Coffee beans: Coffee beans will get withdrawn from the market if an average of 10 percent or more are insect infested or if there is one live insect in each of two or more immediate containers. P 53

Is your child gentle? This is a quality most of us would like to have in our lives. The opposite is harsh or a “heavy hand.” A delicate tenderness is expressed in how we talk or the way we treat another. Have you ever run your hand lightly over the back of a puppy or kitten, just barely stroking it? That is a gentle touch. Harshness cuts, hurts, limits, is abrupt usually angry and insensitive. –54

Comparison to a plant – need to look at the instructions DIDN’T DO (didn’t match what he gave them to the needs they had. p 61

A person may not appreciate truth, but there is no other option in which to build trust. The way truth is expressed is important – Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Heat, that is, Christ. (Eph. 4:15)

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Eph. 4:25) Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices. (Col 3:9)

The message in Eph. 4:15 means that when the truth is spoken, our relationship is cemented together better than it was beforehand.

If you’d like to talk, I’d like to listen.

Henry Winston said, “The man who showed you the diamond first is my most knowledgeable salesperson. He understands the color, cut and clarity of diamonds. He knows more about diamonds that anyone in the store, myself included. But I would double his salary if I could give him something I possess. You see he knows diamonds, but I am in the business because I love diamonds.” P 173

Eph. 3:19 tells them they will come to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

John Piper “The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison, but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but our endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of His love, it is a piece of land, a yolk of oxen and a wife (Luke 14:18-20). The greatest adversary of love to God is not His enemies, but His gifts. The most deadly appetites are not for evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. When these replace an appetite for God Himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable and almost incurable.” -175

(child to understand a fast – no sugar ;)

If you want to leave a legacy, you must live a legacy. Gary J. Oliver P 188

Questions provide opportunities for answers Titus 2:11-14

Power “individual’s capacity to influence another person; or the ability to make our own thoughts and feelings the main force in making decisions.”

Power within a family can be sorted out in various ways. It could be equally shared by all members. On the other extreme, one particular person might totally dominate the rest. Within a dominated family, opportunities for developing close or intimate relationships are greatly diminished. A strongly dominant spouse or parent usually cannot handle intimacy. In a healthy family, power is shared by the spouses, while they gradually give their children more and more opportunities to learn how to use power in a more healthy way. P 217

The Hebrew word for naïve presents the idea of “openmindedness” or inexperience that leaves a person open to being conned, a person of undecided views and thus susceptible to either good or bad influences. The bible says they like the way they are. The bible asks, “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?” (1:22) “A prudent man sees the evil and hides himself, but the simple pass it on and are punished” Prov 22:3 p 244 “The naïve believes everything, but the prudent man considers his steps.” Prv. 14:15

When our anger is healthy, it’s usually of moderate intensity and doesn’t consume. We are not overwhelmed by it. It helps us attain our goals. Unhealthy anger, on the other hand, tends to control us. It distorts our perspective, robs us of energy, blurs our focus and creates more turmoil. P 283

Anger Assessment

0 – rarely

1 – occasionally (no more than once a month)

2 – often (once a week)

3 – frequently (daily, several times per week)

1. My child blames others for his/her troubles.
2. My child throws or breaks things whenever he or she feels frustrated or irritated.
3. Whenever my child gets angry, calming him/her down takes a lot of placating.
4. My child doesn’t like change of any sort and becomes angry when change is required.
5. My child changes the rules of the game when playing with other children.
6. My child says spiteful things when he/she is thwarted.
7. My child is negative, deliberately slow and resists what he/she is told to do until discipline becomes a standoff.
8. My child sees out arguments or reasons to be upset.
9. My child ostracizes, scorns and complains about others.
10. My child loses control when she or he gets angry and shows it with facial expressions or body language.
11. My child uses foul language.
12. When my child learns something new, he or she can become easily frustrated and wants to do something else.
13. My child is stubborn and refuses to do what he/she is told to do unless you use the right tone of voice or approach.
14. My child’s friends don’t like to play with him or her because he or she is a bad sport.
15. My child fights with other children and has difficulty controlling his/her temper when teased.