Cold and Flu

Grace

The Grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 1 Corinthians 16:23

From Moments with You, by Dennis & Barbara Rainey

Far too frequently, we hear about the indiscretion of a public figure or religious leader being exposed in some kind of tabloid-style news. For a few days, the person’s name and all the titillating details are near the top of every news broadcast.

How should Christian parents handle these kinds of reports? Ask these questions because, the way we discuss things around the dinner table can have longer-lasting implications for our kids than we realize. When we rant about what these individuals have done, judging them with little grace or calling them names and considering them despicable, what does that say to our teenagers about what they can expect if they ever need to come to us and confess some secret sin?

Whether we like to think it or not, our children all struggle with sinful desires. They are growing up in a world riddled with promiscuity, drugs, alcohol, pornography, gluttony, and dozens of other addictions and seductions. Even if they never act on all these temptations, their human desires cause them the same difficulties from day to day as ours do.

But if they know that your response to human guilt is abrupt and merciless, what will they likely say to themselves if they mess up badly in the future? Your children should know that if they ever fail morally, you will not intervene to spare them from the consequences.  But they should also know that no matter how they fall, there is always grace in your household. They are always safe in your embrace, they can never slip so far away that your love won’t still be there to reach out to them and welcome them home.

Pray-that you and your family will be a safe harbor of forgiveness, grace, and hope for those who fail.

1 Timothy 3:5

For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

For you shall eat [the fruit] of the labor of your hands; happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) shall you be, and it shall be well with you.  PSALM 128:2

excerpt from Joyce Meyer

Is it obvious that we are to work more than we rest? Some people wonder why their lives are such a wreck, once rested we are supposed to get up and work.

You can not take authority over your life if you don’t have authority over a sink full of dirty dishes or a messy garage. If you want to grow, the Word says you must get your own house in order first. Win the battle of getting your life in order before tackling the whole world.

And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands - yes, the work of our hands, confirm and establish it.  PSALM 90:17

Sometimes we may just need to clear away clutter so you can clearly see what is worthwhile. Don’t keep more than you can take care of. If you have so much stuff in your home that it takes you hours to dust it, get rid of something.

Find a big box and make it a “Blessing Box”, start putting things into it until cleaning is more manageable. Then find someone who does not have much and bless them.