Things Take a Tragic Turn on Sesame Street

Parenting Particulars

This remains challenging, convicting, and comforting, from RUTH"S blog

10 Things To Remember When Your Child Is Disobedient

Here are 10 Things I had to remind myself today when the job of correcting my children felt especially difficult…

1. You disobey the Lord…and He is the perfect Father.

2. His kindness leads us to repentance.

3. God disciplines those He loves.

4. Your child’s disobedience does not measure your value any more than his obedience showcases your achievement.

5. Your child’s disobedience teaches you dependence on God.

6. And sometimes it’s more than dependence He’s after, it’s complete desperation for Him.

7. Your child is clearly a sinner, and needs to hear the truth of the Gospel, and see it lived out through you.

8. Times of correction serve to remind, or establish within your child, his own sense of need for a Savior.

9. It’s not good behavior you really desire…you want his heart.

10. Your child is a person, not a project.

Handling Criticism

Carl Trueman’s thoughts on how Christian’s should respond if they are criticized or defamed (specifically on the web):

The answer is simple: for myself, I do not believe that it is appropriate that I spend my time defending my name. My name is nothing—who really cares about it? And I am not called to waste precious hours and energy in fighting off every person with a laptop who wants to have a pop at me. As a Christian, I am not meant to engage in self-justification any more than self-promotion; I am called rather to defend the name of Christ; and, to be honest, I have yet to see a criticism of me, true or untrue, to which I could justifiably respond on the grounds that it was Christ’s honour, and not simply my ego, which was being damaged. I am called to spend my time in being a husband, a father, a minister in my denomination, a member of my church, a good friend to those around me, and a conscientious employee. These things, these people, these locations and contexts, are to shape my priorities and my allocation of time. Hitting back in anger at those who, justly or unjustly, do not like me and for some reason think the world needs to know what they think of me is no part of my God-given vocation. God will look after my reputation if needs be; He has given me other work to do.

Was Our Lord Just Having Fun?

Colossians1.16 declares, "For by Him (Jesus) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him."

Pictured is a transparent sea cucumber captured 1.7 miles beneath the Gulf of Mexico. Yikes?

Jesus created this? Yup. Why? Beats me. But I wonder if He had a grin as He molded this together....

Just Do What Feels Right - Gap 2009 Holiday Commercial

Is there a real need for youth ministry? Duh. Not picking on the stores represented, but the verbal message of this combines the worst of "political correctness" with the encouragement to "do whatever feels good". Gaggeth a self-respecting maggot.

The Gospel in Three Words

“Were I asked to focus the New Testament message in three words, my proposal would be adoption through propitiation, and I do not expect ever to meet a richer or more pregnant summary of the gospel than that.”
—J.I. Packer, Knowing God

Answering the "Hypocrite" Excuse

The often-raised "excuse" for not going to church is "There are too many hypocrites there."

A classic, though not kind answer, "That's okay, there is plenty of room for another one."

But a while ago someone played that excuse on me, and I responded, "Don't you like the NFL?"

"Well, yeah."

"Of course you know there are a lot of scum bags in the National Football League?"

"Well, yeah."

"But you still like the NFL, right?"

Not sure if I made my point, but it works for me!