WFF-15

020512AM

May I remind you of just a few of the markers I saw along those thousands of miles I drove? Here are some of the more interesting and most frequent of all:

  • There are painted white stripes between highway lanes that average 12 feet long with an unpainted space of about 20 feet between each one.
  • There are reflectors attached down into the pavement between the white stripes every 100 feet that shine when your headlights hit them.
  • There is an unbroken white line on the right of each road, and an unbroken yellow line on the left showing the outside boundaries of each side of the highway. Two feet beyond both of those lines are the continuous rumble strips cut into the edges to alert you (or often in my case – Bonnie, that I was writing notes and steering with my knees) that you have drifted off the road.
  • Beyond that there are reflector stakes on the side of the road about every 200 feet that also are lighted by headlights.
  • Then come those mile markers (the vertical green rectangles) that come at each mile. Many states have added 1/10th of a mile markers that say mile number and add a point one, point two and so on.
  • Then come all the SIGNS. Have you ever really thought about how many there are? There are exit signs, mileage to next city signs, state borders, county borders, city borders, toll road signs, bridge identification signs, road names on bridges signs, lane change signs, conditions of fog and ice warning signs, speed limit signs, caution of lane and speed change signs, animal crossing signs, exit signs describing attractions, food, gas, and lodgings as well as several other signs I missed.
  • In all we calculated we saw almost a half a million white lane stripes, 250,000 mid lane reflector bumps, 130,000 staked reflectors, plus we passed about 30,000 other signs when you add up the nearly 6 different signs mandated by the Interstate system per mile!

Now with all that in mind, if it takes that much reminding to keep us merely on a physical road to not stray off the path, don’t you think the God of the Universe would similarly mark the pathway we need to stay on for raising our children?

Well the good news is that He has. And in the map book called God’s Word is a clearly marked trail for Parenting and Grand parenting our Families in Godliness. May I just trace that map through the Bible with you today? You may want to mark some of these verses, or note them on paper so you can use them to see where you are or should be on the Road to Godly Parenting your Families and Homes!

MILE MARKERS ON THE ROAD OF GODLINESS IN PARENTING

I have made the words “GODLINESS IN PARENTING” an acronym to help you remember these points. Each of the 18 letters that make up those two words Godliness and Parenting stand for one Biblical Mile Marker along this road we should be following. If you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters – or ever plan to, this road map and each of these mile markers are for you!

First let me just list them. Here are the measurable and intentional areas of the personal spiritual life of our families we should be heading for:

G A GODLY LIFE IN P A PATIENT LIFE
O AN OUTREACHING LIFE   A AN AFFECTIONATE LIFE
D A DISCIPLINED LIFE   R A RESPECTFUL LIFE
L A LOVING LIFE   E AN EASILY-ENTREATED LIFE
I AN INTEGRITY LIFE   N A NURTURING LIFE
N A NOBLE LIFE   T A THANKFUL LIFE
E AN EXEMPLARY LIFE   I AN INIQUITY-HATING LIFE
S A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE   N A NOT BEHAVING RUDELY LIFE
S A SACRIFICIAL LIFE   G A GENTLENESS LIFE

 

G GODLY LIVING Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

NKJV  (I WILL LEARN TO LIVE FOR GOD EACH DAY)

  • I WILL NOT CHOOSE TO LOOK AT WHAT GOD CALLS EVIL. Psalm 101:3-4 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. (I will search God’s Word to learn what He hates, and what He loves, and imitate those areas!)
  • I WILL NOT USE MY MOUTH TO SAY WHAT GOD CALLS CORRUPT. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
  • I WILL SEEK TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL I DO. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • I WILL NOT CLING TO MY OLD HABITS, I WILL LOOK UP NOT DOWN. Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

We are like sheep, that’s what God’s Word says. And sheep[1] will blindly, habitually follow one another along the same little trails until they become ruts that erode into gigantic gullies, so we humans cling to the same habits that we have seen ruin other lives..

  • The world we live in is full of such folk. Broken homes, broken hearts, derelict lives and twisted personalities remind us everywhere of men and women who have gone their own way. We have a sick society struggling to survive on beleaguered land. The greed and selfishness of mankind leaves behind a legacy of ruin and remorse.
O OUTREACHING Matthew 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (When you have an outreach directed life you get the authority of God, and the personal presence of Jesus in an especially promised way. Remember the context of these verses is outreach!)

  • I WILL SAY TO THE LORD ALL THROUGH MY LIFE – HERE AM I LORD SEND ME.  Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
  • I WILL STAY ON GOD’S WAY SO HE CAN LEAD ME. Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
D DISCIPLINED: 1 Timothy 4:7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; NASB  (I WILL LEARN TO BE DISCIPLINED IN MY EVERY DAY LIVING)

  • I WILL BE ORDERLY:  1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
  • I WILL BE LOVELY: Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
  • I WILL BE HARD WORKING: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
  • I WILL BE DEPENDABLE: Psalm 15:4b …He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
L LOVING: Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

1.        LOVE is the absence of selfishness. I want to be less selfish and self-seeking than I was last month.

2.        JOY is the spiritual quality that releases us from circumstances. I want to be a joyful person.

3.        PEACE is the internal serenity that only God can give. I want peace to become more and more a way of life for me.

4.        PATIENCE is the absence of personal irritation at the actions of others. I want to be more patient than I was three months ago. If we are not increasing in patience it is only that we are not yielding and submitting to the Holy Spirit.

5.        KINDNESS is a beautiful reflection of God in our lives by the absence of an abrasive manner in my dealings with people. I want an increasing tendency toward personal kindness in my way with others.

6.        GOODNESS is being Godlike! It is the opposite of fallen humanity. I want to be doing good to all those around me.

7.        FAITHFULNESS is a trustworthy and dependable life. The kind of person that keeps their own life in order so that you can count on them. I want to make and keep my word and be making strides in reliability and dependability.

8.        MEEKNESS is the opposite of asserting yourself.  I want my personal agenda and my rights to be in hopeless shape, crucified with Christ and fading.

9.        DISCIPLINE is defined by the Greek Dictionary as “a virtue, which consists in mastery of the appetites and passions, especially the sensual ones.” The only force that can control our flesh is the Holy Spirit. When yielded to Him we become vessels that are worshipful sacrifices to Him no longer to self. Self cannot control self. Flesh is not able to harness flesh. Only the Spirit can discipline us. I want to be graciously under the control of God’s Spirit of Discipline. I want to be beating under and giving knockout blows to your flesh as Paul was in I Cor 9:27.

 

TAGS: 020512AM

I once traveled on a 4,639-mile journey through 16 states in 16 days traveling from Tulsa to the East and back. As I sat for about 92 hours over these past few days behind the steering wheel, often moving at 102 feet per second, I started noticing how many details the Interstate Highway System has incorporated to keep the millions of us drivers on the right road.

May I remind you of just a few of the markers I saw along those thousands of miles I drove? Here are some of the more interesting and most frequent of all:

  • There are painted white stripes between highway lanes that average 12 feet long with an unpainted space of about 20 feet between each one.
  • There are reflectors attached down into the pavement between the white stripes every 100 feet that shine when your headlights hit them.
  • There is an unbroken white line on the right of each road, and an unbroken yellow line on the left showing the outside boundaries of each side of the highway. Two feet beyond both of those lines are the continuous rumble strips cut into the edges to alert you (or often in my case – Bonnie, that I was writing notes and steering with my knees) that you have drifted off the road.
  • Beyond that there are reflector stakes on the side of the road about every 200 feet that also are lighted by headlights.
  • Then come those mile markers (the vertical green rectangles) that come at each mile. Many states have added 1/10th of a mile markers that say mile number and add a point one, point two and so on.
  • Then come all the SIGNS. Have you ever really thought about how many there are? There are exit signs, mileage to next city signs, state borders, county borders, city borders, toll road signs, bridge identification signs, road names on bridges signs, lane change signs, conditions of fog and ice warning signs, speed limit signs, caution of lane and speed change signs, animal crossing signs, exit signs describing attractions, food, gas, and lodgings as well as several other signs I missed.
  • In all we calculated we saw almost a half a million white lane stripes, 250,000 mid lane reflector bumps, 130,000 staked reflectors, plus we passed about 30,000 other signs when you add up the nearly 6 different signs mandated by the Interstate system per mile!

Now with all that in mind, if it takes that much reminding to keep us merely on a physical road to not stray off the path, don’t you think the God of the Universe would similarly mark the pathway we need to stay on for raising our children?

Well the good news is that He has. And in the map book called God’s Word is a clearly marked trail for Parenting and Grand parenting our Families in Godliness. May I just trace that map through the Bible with you today? You may want to mark some of these verses, or note them on paper so you can use them to see where you are or should be on the Road to Godly Parenting your Families and Homes!

MILE MARKERS ON THE ROAD OF GODLINESS IN PARENTING

I have made the words “GODLINESS IN PARENTING” an acronym to help you remember these points. Each of the 18 letters that make up those two words Godliness and Parenting stand for one Biblical Mile Marker along this road we should be following. If you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, brothers, and sisters – or ever plan to, this road map and each of these mile markers are for you!

First let me just list them. Here are the measurable and intentional areas of the personal spiritual life of our families we should be heading for:

G A GODLY LIFE IN P A PATIENT LIFE
O AN OUTREACHING LIFE   A AN AFFECTIONATE LIFE
D A DISCIPLINED LIFE   R A RESPECTFUL LIFE
L A LOVING LIFE   E AN EASILY-ENTREATED LIFE
I AN INTEGRITY LIFE   N A NURTURING LIFE
N A NOBLE LIFE   T A THANKFUL LIFE
E AN EXEMPLARY LIFE   I AN INIQUITY-HATING LIFE
S A SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE   N A NOT BEHAVING RUDELY LIFE
S A SACRIFICIAL LIFE   G A GENTLENESS LIFE

 

G GODLY LIVING Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

NKJV  (I WILL LEARN TO LIVE FOR GOD EACH DAY)

  • I WILL NOT CHOOSE TO LOOK AT WHAT GOD CALLS EVIL. Psalm 101:3-4 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. (I will search God’s Word to learn what He hates, and what He loves, and imitate those areas!)
  • I WILL NOT USE MY MOUTH TO SAY WHAT GOD CALLS CORRUPT. Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
  • I WILL SEEK TO PLEASE GOD IN ALL I DO. 1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
  • I WILL NOT CLING TO MY OLD HABITS, I WILL LOOK UP NOT DOWN. Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

We are like sheep, that’s what God’s Word says. And sheep[1] will blindly, habitually follow one another along the same little trails until they become ruts that erode into gigantic gullies, so we humans cling to the same habits that we have seen ruin other lives..

  • The world we live in is full of such folk. Broken homes, broken hearts, derelict lives and twisted personalities remind us everywhere of men and women who have gone their own way. We have a sick society struggling to survive on beleaguered land. The greed and selfishness of mankind leaves behind a legacy of ruin and remorse.
O OUTREACHING Matthew 28:18-20  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (When you have an outreach directed life you get the authority of God, and the personal presence of Jesus in an especially promised way. Remember the context of these verses is outreach!)

  • I WILL SAY TO THE LORD ALL THROUGH MY LIFE – HERE AM I LORD SEND ME.  Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
  • I WILL STAY ON GOD’S WAY SO HE CAN LEAD ME. Genesis 24:27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren.”
D DISCIPLINED: 1 Timothy 4:7 But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; NASB  (I WILL LEARN TO BE DISCIPLINED IN MY EVERY DAY LIVING)

  • I WILL BE ORDERLY:  1 Corinthians 14:40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
  • I WILL BE LOVELY: Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.
  • I WILL BE HARD WORKING: 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
  • I WILL BE DEPENDABLE: Psalm 15:4b …He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
L LOVING: Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

  •   LOVE is the absence of selfishness. I want to be less selfish and self-seeking than I was last month.
  •     JOY is the spiritual quality that releases us from circumstances. I want to be a joyful person.
  •     PEACE is the internal serenity that only God can give. I want peace to become more and more a way of life for me.
  •   PATIENCE is the absence of personal irritation at the actions of others. I want to be more patient than I was three months ago. If we are not increasing in patience it is only that we are not yielding and submitting to the Holy Spirit.
  •      KINDNESS is a beautiful reflection of God in our lives by the absence of an abrasive manner in my dealings with people. I want an increasing tendency toward personal kindness in my way with others.
  •    GOODNESS is being Godlike! It is the opposite of fallen humanity. I want to be doing good to all those around me.

7.        FAITHFULNESS is a trustworthy and dependable life. The kind of person that keeps their own life in order so that you can count on them. I want to make and keep my word and be making strides in reliability and dependability.

  • I want my personal agenda and my rights to be in hopeless shape, crucified with Christ and fading.

9.        DISCIPLINE is defined by the Greek Dictionary as “a virtue, which consists in mastery of the appetites and passions, especially the sensual ones.” The only force that can control our flesh is the Holy Spirit. When yielded to Him we become vessels that are worshipful sacrifices to Him no longer to self. Self cannot control self. Flesh is not able to harness flesh. Only the Spirit can discipline us. I want to be graciously under the control of God’s Spirit of Discipline. I want to be beating under and giving knockout blows to your flesh as Paul was in I Cor 9:27.