Jesus redefines what true siblinghood means. First, he calls HIMSELF our brother (Mark 3:31-35), then he builds a church filled with strangers who are made family in him. People who are only children are given brothers and sisters through the church, and biological siblings are enabled to love each other beyond their familial ties. There's no savior like Jesus!
FamilyLife is offering you a FREE DEVOTIONAL video series based on my 5-week interview with them. It’s called Unseen.
Life can feel lonely and overwhelming. Still, your life is both seen and cherished. God is working fiercely behind the scenes of your life. He worked to bring astonishing triumphs to the lives of four historical characters who faced devastating, alienating, and even life-threatening situations. Friend, God is working!
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My 8-year-old daughter has the job of reading prayer requests during family worship. The requests come from a monthly calendar sent by International Christian Response, a group that offers spiritual and material assistance to the persecuted church. Every evening, her small voice announces the trials and victories of God’s people around the world. Continue at Christianity Today.
I’ve heard it said that in our culture today, it’s not a matter of if your child will encounter pornography, but a matter of when. In other words, the pervasiveness of these toxic images have made porn an almost omnipresent tempter that seeks the attention of everyone, even very small children. In a post-Genesis 3 world where sin is always crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7), God’s grace to my children can include my own prudent and diligent work in guarding and preparing them for the possibility of these “bad pictures.”
Before I went into seminary, I worked as a regular volunteer in children’s ministry. My church at the time was small, so I taught Sunday school lessons to a “one-room schoolhouse” of tiny primaries and spunky middle-schoolers. However, after completing my program in theological studies, I avoided kids and preferred to teach adults. I wanted to give my time and service to those who could “best” understand the Scriptures, and children’s ministry didn’t seem like the place.
The cross of Jesus stands unmoved today and will not be shaken on January 20th. That cross is my confidence. Whatever a Trump presidency might bring, God still works all things according to the council of His own will (Ephesians 1:11). And if God ordered the affairs of cunning leaders in the first century for the sake of our salvation than He is able to order the events of any government to fulfill His good and ultimate purposes.
