Godliness in parenting...

Parenting is by far the hardest, most demanding responsibility I have but at the same time it is the most rewarding. I believe God uses my responsibility as a parent to teach me many things about myself, His character and my relationship with Him, or better said, the relationship He desires to have with me. I am working through the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp and am discovering many things about myself, mind you the majority of which is not very attractive. I am also learning more of what my responsibility is as a parent, primarily to Shepherd my children's heart toward a right relationship with God.

On this journey to aspiring godliness, in parenting, I am sure this has never happened to you. I am getting ready for work. Breakfast is fixed and served for my oldest child with instructions to sit properly and focus on eating, a feat most often difficult for this child. Needless to say, the cup of milk spilled on the table soiling the many papers sitting nearby.

What would be your inclination? Is your inclination to get angry, scream, throw something or worse yet, physically punish your child (which according to Tedd Tripp is child abuse (SIN) because you are acting out of anger). After all, the papers on the table are now stained with milk, which after a day or two will start smelling sour.

After the mess was cleaned up and an opportunity was taken to share God's word with my child I had some thoughts. In the grand scheme of things what is more important, the papers sitting on the table which will likely disappear one way or another in a matter of weeks as their immediate importance fades with time or the lasting character of my child.

In the matter of obedience, the child's obedience to the parent and the parent's obedience to a Holy God, who has the greatest responsibility? I concluded the parent, who has experienced the transforming power of the Holy Spirit and has had a heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh, has the greatest responsibility to obedience. I am not excusing a child's responsibility to obedience, after all, Ephesians 6:1 commands children to obey their parents because they belong to God and this is a good thing, being the first commandment with a promise, that it will go well for the child and the child will have long life. But let's face it, doing this without the unction of the Holy Spirit is most difficult if not at times impossible. Although I must continue to teach my children the ways of the Lord, it's not to instruct them to do it within their own power but to lead them to the cross of Jesus Christ so that they can come to receive faith unto belief, by God's grace and will.

I have the greatest responsibility to obedience. I am required to be a faithful steward over what belongs to God. As a faithful steward I am not to create stumbling blocks for my children that may cause them to sin greater. As a faithful steward I am to treat my children with the same grace and kindness God has shown me; God had his son die for my sins even while I was shaking my fist in defiance toward Him and He is faithful and just to forgive me of my disobedience (SIN) when I confess to Him. As a faithful steward I am to have self control and not become angry and worse sin in my anger.

My child's character is of greatest importance but not just his character but the condition of his soul. Parallel in my journey in aspiring godliness I am also laboring to share that journey with my children. My primary responsibility as a parent is to evangelize my kids; to proclaim the gospel day and night, upon waking and going to sleep, on the road and at the dinner table. My heart's cry to God is that He will call them by name and draw them to Himself; that they will be sheep that hear the Shepherd's voice and follow Him. With spilt milk, or whatever incident may occur to give me these opportunities, may I continue to obey God's commands and trust His promises in my journey to aspiring godliness in parenting.

"Holy, holy, holy..."

There is so much time and so little to do.... wait, scratch that, back up and reverse....you know what I mean....This endeavor to chronicle my journey in godliness has been more difficult than I imagained. Not only is the fact I have very little free time to compose posts, the very act of thinking and processing what to compose has been the most challenging. God is doing so many things in my life, in my growth, in nourishing my soul, in convicting my flesh, renewing my mind and in changing me to be even a fraction closer to what He wants me to be; I often times don't know where to begin.

First, I have been challenging myself to read the Bible in 90 days (more or less). Haven of Rest Ministries (http://www.haventoday.org/) has a reading plan my husband and I are working through together. This has been so wonderful and refreshing to read through the Bible from beginning to end to absorb the big picture of God's redemptive work through His Holy Scriptures. I have to confess, I have never read through the Bible, completely, from cover to cover. One might ask, "why?" as my boss did when I told him. Not only for the self challenge (which I enjoy) but because I beleive I have missed the big picture by reading only snippets from the Word, a story hear, a parable there, an epipstle here...you know what I mean. Just in the last couple of weeks, as I am now in Joshua, I have a deeper sense of God's holiness that I have never had before. After reading Leviticus 10, coupled with reading Gospel Worship which Jeremiah Burrows uses Leviticus 10:3 as the starting point for mulitple sermons, then moving on to Leveticus 11 where God makes it very clear to Moses, the Isrealites and US "I am the LORD your God, Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy...For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." It doesn't get much simpler or more complicated than that! Why am I to consecrate myself? Because God is the LORD! Why am I to be holy? Because God is the LORD and He is holy! He has brought be, better yet, BOUGHT me with the blood and body of His own Son so that He will be my God! My only response should be and may it always be, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a woman of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" May I join with the angles in heaven and cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!"

I honestly believe I will not be the woman of God, set apart to be different, denying myself for the sake of the Gospel if I don't completely understand to my fullest ability and responsibilty the holiness of God. How can I truly be repentant of my sin without the fullest understanding of a holy God who is unable to even glance or be in the presence of sin? How can I truly be appreciative of the sacrifice of Jesus and the call he has on my life without truly grasping the severity of the separation of God's holiness from sin? How can I truly embrace the responsibiliy God has communicated in His Word without completely realizing my sin will always distract me from what is right and only His righteousness and holiness, through the circumcision of my heart, will I ever be able to act and live a godly life? The answer, at least to me is obvious, I can't. Jeremiah Burrows says in Gospel Worship, "I beseech you, brethern, to consider this. God stands upon nothing more than to appear to all the world to be a holy God. There's the glory of God's name in an eminent way. God does not so much stand upon this, to appear to be a strong God, to appear to ba a powerful God, to be a God of patience, long suffering (or a loving God I might add). God does not so much stand to be an omniscient God, though these atributes are dear to God, but that He may appear to be a holy God, that He stands upon." There is no other attribute the angles cry out but, "Holy, holy, holy."

This is serious business! May God have mercy on us, because that will be the only attribute of God that will save us, if and when we treat his Holiness flipantly!