Today I'm gonna talk about the elephant in the room. Porn. Pornography use in professing Christians has reached an alarming level. Its normalization and general acceptance in the world today; and the lack of education and admonishment by the church has led to the use of pornography being a commonplace practice. It is a sad state of affairs and until we start the conversation, there is no way that we can deal with this issue that is affecting the church and the world.

Find out more at https://the-sure-footed-podcast.pinecast.co

This week I am looking at Acts chapter 6 and 7. It is a ton of great information. There has been a slight issue with the audio this week, so please disregard the poor quality audio. I wasn't able to fix the audio in post production, but I still really wanted to get the episode up and running. Thanks! Enjoy!

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.

Join me for a review of the book Counterfeit Gospels: Rediscovering the good news in a world of false hope, by Trevin Wax. I give my honest, unbiased opinion and a brief overview of the book itself.

You can find the book HERE!

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.

I start out with some terrible news, but I feel that it is news everyone needs to hear. It isn't easy telling everyone about it and I'm sure it isn't easy hearing about it, but it has to be done. Following the bad news is some really exciting good news. Literally the best news you could ever hope to hear. I'll update the show notes with scripture references when I am able too, my actual show notes (paper copy) got lost and I have to retype them all. I hope you enjoy, be sure to rate and subscribe!!

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.

This week we look at raising children from a biblical stand point. The Bible lays out a solid framework and gives incredible insight into how God wants us to raise our children.

References

Children are a gift from God. Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

God cares about how our children are raised. Psalm 34:11 Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 23:13-14 Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. (Sheol in the Hebrew tradition is a place of darkness where the dead go. Predominantly referenced in the Old Testament.)

These ideas go all the way back to the Old Testament and are consistent throughout scripture.

When God led the Israelites out of bondage he commanded them to teach their children all he had done for them. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Scripture gives us as parents specific instructions on how we should raise our children.

A great example of that is Ephesians 6:4

Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. There are a lot of ways that a parent could possibly provoke their children to anger. Setting impossible standards.

Ridicule or humiliation as a form of punishment.

Inconsistency in parenting techniques and tactics.

Hypocrisy - requiring behavior from our children that we don’t require from ourselves.

We should use the example God sets with his nature as a ruler for how we raise our children.

As a father God is…

Slow to anger. Numbers 14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

Patient. Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Forgiving. Daniel 9:9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him.

God has all of these wonderful caring attributes, but sometimes discipline has to come into play. God disciplines us and expects us to do the same for our children.

God's discipline is designed to bring us to repentance. That should be the goal when we discipline our children. Discipline for the sake of discipline will never make a difference. Hebrews 12:6-11 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,and chastises every son whom he receives.”It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Gods discipline is designed to conform us to the image of Christ. Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

God gives us a clear instruction manual on raising kids. It doesn’t specifically cover every little situation that we may encounter, but it gives us a framework to operate in that covers everything.

The end result is children that we can be proud of; children that will love God and make a difference in his kingdom. Proverbs 23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.

Scripture Reference

Luke 15:11-32 Luke 15:7

The Sure Footed Podcast

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.

The Scripture from todays podcast:

Matthew 16:24-26 2 Timothy 1:6-7 Proverbs 3:5-6 Ephesians 2:8-10

Find out more on the The Sure Footed Podcast website.