Monday, November 6, 2017

When You Rise Up - Chapter 6 - The Battle For Morality


The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park (July 2014)
1.  Share some ways in which parents can effectively offer protection for moral purity with children, especially in the early, formative years.

They can limit what the kids view on TV, in movies, magazines, etc.  They can also talk about what the Bible says about this stuff and how men and women are to dress.  They can know what their kids are doing on the internet, who their friends are, Find My iPhone, monitor their phones, emails, social media.  They can put blocks on things on the internet.  Also, they can do background checks on people their kids interact with (if adults), get to know the families of their kids' friends, etc.

2.  How are children (and adults) under attack in our culture today when it comes to our self image?  What can we do to protect our families from this attack?

Our society advocates saying and doing anything you want, as well as always being entitled.  All this goes against the Bible.  Society says if we have standards for morality, or behavior or ethics, that we are slammed and put down.  The media is really good at attacking wholesome values, but as well as brainwashing kids and people through advertisement and repeated propaganda on how to think.

We can talk to our kids about what the media and society does and why we believe what we believe and what it takes to stand for our beliefs.  We don't have to shove our beliefs down other people's throats, but we can still take a strong stance, love other people, accept them, show them kindness no matter what they believe.  But we do not have to agree with them.

We can also help fund organizations and people who do things to help protect our families and freedoms.  We can role model through our own behavior, our lives, that Christ is first and foremost, but that also means we are to love people, treat them with respect, treat them well.

3.  How do these verses encourage you to keep standing firm in teaching moral purity to your children?
  • Psalm 1:1-3 Great blessings belong to those who don’t listen to evil advice, who don’t live like sinners, and who don’t join those who make fun of God. Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings and think about them day and night.  So they grow strong, like a tree planted by a stream—a tree that produces fruit when it should and has leaves that never fall.  Everything they do is successful. (ERV)
    • These verses tells me that if I get my nourishment from the Lord, that I will produce good fruit, in my case, my children.  I don't join in what the world says I'm to do, but to obey and honor God in everything, obey His teachings and teach/role model them to my kids.
  • Psalm 138:7-8When I am surrounded by troubles, you keep me safe.  You oppose my angry enemies and save me by your power.  You will do everything you have promised; Lord, your love is eternal. Complete the work that you have begun. (GNT)
    • These verses tell me to keep making good decisions that bring honor to God.  God will protect me and save me.  However, that doesn't mean in this world that harm might not come to me still, but God's eternal spiritual protection is there.  I am His and the devil cannot claim me.  God will fulfill His destiny in me.
  • Romans 12:1-212 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (NLT)
    • Allow Jesus to mold me and transform me, by changing my attitude, my mind and then my actions will follow.  Daily I'm to continually lay everything down to Jesus and serve Him and that includes in my marriage & kids.
  • Colossians 3:1-4Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (AMP)
    • We're not to put so many value on things that have no eternal value.  Do things that matter and show that to our kids, too.
4.  We are all too programmed to try to do whatever we want when we want it.  Why wait?  Look up the following verses and discuss what they reveal about God's perspective on waiting.  Share your insights.
  • Psalm 25:3No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. (NIV)
    • Not being able to wait for things can have detrimental effects.  It can destroy families.  I can use my own inability to wait for certain things or that I did wait for awhile, but ultimately gave up waiting and the consequences weren't good.  Lots of brokenness.
  • Psalm 27:14Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. (NASB)
    • We're to trust God, that He has a better plan for things if we wait for God to fulfill whatever it is we are asking for.  It does take strength and courage to keep going when you don't see things happening in your favor as you trust God.
  • Psalm 37:7, 34Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans. (HCSB)
    • A challenge to wait patiently and be silent.  I'm not a very silent person.  We're  not to compare our lives, ourselves, our circumstances with anyone else.  We are all unique and our destinies are all unique.
  • Psalm 40:1-4I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of a horrible pit [of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, steadying my footsteps and establishing my path. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear [with great reverence] And will trust confidently in the Lord. Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not regard the proud nor those who lapse into lies. (AMP)
    • God says to wait expectantly for Him, and to be patient.  A part of waiting is the development of patience.  God hears us, but it doesn't necessarily mean He'll answer in our timing or in the way we want.  He has His ways.  His ways are stable; they are sure.  These verses say that the man who trusts in God (and that means this isn't just in an attitude, but with action, too) will be blessed.
5.  What are some practical ways that you can help your children to anchor their self-esteem in Christ and not the culture?  Seek out an older godly mom and ask how she did this with her children.

I can continually encourage them, support them, correct & discipline when needed.  We can talk about God's Word, read & study it together.  We can talk through and work through situations where they need help together, be parents who really watch, observe, listen, and continually pray for them, as we role model to them godly people.

6.  From this chapter, share what verse or though was most helpful or encouraging to you in regard to the battle for moral purity with your children.  How will you apply this to your life this week?

I loved Psalm 27:14.  It takes a lot of strength, relying in God's strength to wait.  The world will tell us we can have it now, take all you want, but God says wait.  I have something much better for you, better than you can imagine.  It takes courage to do the right thing.  The world is so good at being a coward that if we are to stand up for what's right, wait, that also takes courage.

I will continue to role model for my kids about having good health, hoping & praying for it as well as daily taking lots of actions to have this, and that God would heal me.  I'm going to be writing Scripture, doing EFT, doing my walks, not stressing, leaving things in God's hands.
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