Children

What’s In a Name? Part 1

Names have been in existence ever since God created humans. God gave Adam the first name, meaning “formed of the earth”. Names are an integral part of who we are. Although we are all unique anyway, names give us a tangible way to distinguish one another.

Not only are the names that we have now meaningful, but we are told in Revelation 2:17 that every believer is going to receive a new name that will be written in a white stone that no one will know except the one who receives it. This promise shows us just how loved and special we are to the God who created us.

Both religion and culture have influenced the meaning of names. In ancient times, people were generally given just one name, and it was often related to a circumstance surrounding the child’s birth (“Moses” means “drawn from the water”), or connected with a promise (“Isaac” means “laughter”, because Abraham and Sarah found joy and laughter when they had a son in their old age). Later in history, second names were given to demonstrate a person’s identification with a particular family or clan (Gaius Julius Caesar), or even with a father (“Simon bar-Jonah” means “the son of Jonah”).

Around 1100 AD, additional names became more common in Western Civilization. These surnames were originally for the noble class (thus, “sir” names), but in 1465 King Edward V of England required that surnames be adopted by everybody for identification purposes. These were to reflect a person’s identity in some way. They often represented their work (Miller, Baker). Other names were even formed by adding “son” to the father’s name (Johnson, Anderson).

Middle names were not used until the 18th century, and these were added to further distinguish a person or as a way of honoring deceased persons. These have become more important as the population has continued to grow.

In modern days, the names of children are often selected on the basis of familiarity and popularity. However, some parents still name their children after some specific characteristic or place, or to commemorate someone or something.

Generally, names are still chosen on the merits of their positive implications with the expectation and hope that the child will exhibit that quality (Cady means “pure”). Christian parents often look in the Bible for names that will seemingly fit the goals that they have for the child or for the circumstances related to the child (Matthew means “a gift from God”, Samuel means “God has heard”, and Joshua means “God is my Salvation”).

Names are wonderful gifts! They are “a celebration not only of our humanity, but also a reminder of our individuality- that we are uniquely made in the image of God” (The Name Book by Dorothy Astonia, page 9).

If Your Eye Causes You to Sin, Pluck it Out

Matthew 18:8-10 give us some somewhat shocking advice on what to do when we are sinning or tempted to sin. It says, “Wherefore if your hand or your foot offends you, cut them off, and cast them from you: it is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if your eye offends you, pluck it out, and cast it from you; it is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.” (See also Mark 9:43-47 and Matthew 5:29-30).

Even though I am not entirely sure of the meaning of this passage, I don’t believe that God wants us to literally do those things; however, obviously those verses were written to express the seriousness of sin. I am going to focus on what seems to be a major problem in today’s world. With access to all kinds of things on the internet, pornography has become a major stronghold in the lives of many people. The seeing of sexual acts causes some people to act out (or want to act out) what they see, and many have ruined their own lives and the lives of others by not “plucking out their eyes” when they recognize that they have a problem with sin in this area.

Nowadays, pornography is more than just seeing naked men or women, which is still not pleasing to God (see Genesis 3:10,11, and 21). I have read about and heard testimonies of people who have destroyed their marriage and hurt others, saying that this sin reaches into the pit of hell and covers every kind of perversion imaginable. God makes it clear that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and Christ tells us that we are to put to death all sins that reside in our bodily members since we are dead to sin and alive in Christ (Romans 6:2-4). Colossians 3:5 and 8 tell us to “mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleaness, inordinate affection, evil desires…for which sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.” We are not to continue in sin; it must be repented of (1 John 1:9)

A lot of children have been harmed by either looking at pornography themselves, or by being sexually abused in some way by others. Jesus is very protective of little children (Mark 9:36, 37, and 42, 10:13-16). Luke 17:2 says “It would be better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he be cast into the sea than that he should offend one of these little ones”, and Matthew 18:10 says, “Take heed that you harm not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

If you are addicted to pornography, first, pray that God would break the bondage of it in your life, and get help immediately from a Christian counselor, a church pastor, or someone who can keep you accountable. Also, throw away, and stay away from any sources that are causing you to stumble, even if you have to get rid of your computer or television. Those suggestions seem minor in comparison to plucking out your eyes, wouldn’t you agree?

A Tribute to Families

The words “family” and “families” are mentioned 300 times in just the Old Testament, and the words “husband,” “wife,” “mother,” “father,” “son,” “daughter,” “sister,” “brother,” “child,” and “children” are mentioned hundreds of times in the Old and New Testament. The entire Bible actually revolves around the Father/Son relationship of God and Jesus.

Family is the oldest institution known to man, and the most fundamental of all institutions. It is also the backbone of a nation, since God uses the family to transmit His knowledge from one generation to the next. This is a strategic and eternally vital task to ensure that the light of God’s truth is passed on and not lost from the succeeding generations. Statistics in this area aren’t so great right now. Perhaps, you could be the first in your family to begin a godly lineage and family tree.

The Bible covers every aspect and facet of family relationships. Although individuals have all sorts of ideas and opinions about what a family is, or is supposed to be, and they have their own ideas on how to train children, it’s not our opinions that really matter. It is what God says in His Word, and instructs us to do, that matters.

Genesis 2:23 and 24 begin the husband and wife relationship of marriage, and in Genesis 1: 28, God blesses them and tells them to be fruitful and multiply, showing us that procreation was to be a big part of marriage. However, this was for the purpose of raising up godly children. It’s obvious that most couples can bring a child into the world, but just producing offspring doesn’t really make a “mom” or a “dad”. Psalm 127:1 says that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain that build it. As you continue reading that chapter, you will find more information about the family. It says that children are a heritage of the Lord, and that “as arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are his children…, and happy is the man that has his quiver full….” That sure is a lot different than couples having none or only one or two children.

Mark 10:6-9 says, “From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh: so they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” God’s ideal plan for marriage is one man for one woman for life.This plan works when a man loves and leads his family, when the wife respects and supports her husband, and when, with proper training, their children obey and reverence their parents and God. This marriage relationship was actually patterned to illustrate Christ’s love for the body of Christ (the church).

The responsibility of teaching one’s children is multigenerational. Deuteronomy 4:9 tells us to teach God’s ways to not only our sons, but to our son’s sons, and Psalm 78:5-6 says we should make these things known to our children, “that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children.”

We can find Scripture to help us know the specific roles for each family member. For husbands and fathers, read Ephesians 6:4, Genesis 18:19, and Isaiah 38:19; for wives and mothers, read 1 Peter 3:1-6, Ephesians 5:22-24, and Proverbs 31:10-31; for children, Ephesians 6:1-3; for parents, Proverbs 22:6; and there are many more examples.

Suppose that you were not raised in a Christian home, and your family is so unlike the examples that we see in the above verses. Well, as a child of God, you need not be discouraged. When we come to Christ, we are adopted into the family of God, and we have many brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, at one point during Christ’s ministry on earth (Mark 3:33-35), some people in the crowd told Him that His mother and brothers were looking for Him, and He replied with, “Whoever does the will of my Father, the same is my brother, my sister, and my mother”, again, stressing the family relationships we have when we are children of God. (And yes, it is so wonderful when a person is both blood related and spiritually related in the Lord.)

One of my favorite examples of God’s love for family is in John 19:26 and 27 where Jesus looks down from the cross and sees His mother. He says to her, “Woman, behold your son!” and to His disciple, John, He says, “Behold your mother!” Even while He was suffering and ready to die, He thought of His earthly mother and wanted her to be taken care of.

I want to leave you with one very important thought. There is only one possible thing that you could take to heaven with you from this earth, and that is your child (or children). That is because, as a parent, you can have the most influence over your children.

Parenting God’s Way

Parents aren’t perfect, and in many situations they aren’t even loving or nurturing. Neither my husband nor I had particularly nurturing mothers, and neither of us had any relationship with our fathers. And nowadays, there are so many dysfunctional families that many children are raising themselves, or in foster homes being raised by people other than their parents. They may not have much of a relationship with their own parents, or even with any parental figure that they can really trust.

However, if you are a parent or a substitute parent, you should be praying diligently for wisdom and guidance from God in order to do a good job of raising your child (or children) for the Lord. There are some specific guidelines in God’s Word that will help. Deuteronomy 6:6 and 7 are two of my favorite verses: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” It seems to me that these verses are telling us that we should be living in a way that is pleasing to the Lord and teaching our children to do the same, both with words and actions.

Somehow, families have strayed so far from this teaching. I know many parents who quote Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Without being diligent to follow the above teaching, they expect their children to eventually follow the Lord, or they question why that didn’t happen to their children when they thought that they had “trained up their child in the way he should go.” However, Satan has deceived many parents by making them think they are actually training their children in the way they should go just by taking them to Sunday School and church, praying with them at mealtime and/or bedtime, and perhaps even having a short family devotional time.

Although doing those things are fine, just think about all the time that children spend away from their parents, either in a public (or even in a private school), and possibly taking music lessons, playing sports, maybe playing video games, watching television, or even just hanging out with others. I honestly believe that we need to start thinking differently about this, rather than going by what we have experienced ourselves, or see around us. If God wants parents “to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” from the time they rise up until the time they lie down, then there has to be some lifestyle changes within families. There really are resources out there that can be a help to parents who realize they need to make some changes. Contact me if you need some encouragement or ideas.

If you would like to read more on a similar topic, here is a link to another blog post: “God’s Formula for Raising Children in 2020” from Road Less Traveled Tours.

Reflecting, Remembering, and Helpful Hints for Aging Well

 

The dictionary definition of “reflect” is “to recollect or realize after thought, to think seriously; contemplate upon”; and the definition of “remember” is to “recollect , recall, or to bring back to mind again.”  Although, they are not synonyms, there is a similarity between the two words.

Thirteen years ago, my children bought me a unique journal called  “Reflections from a Mother’s Heart, Your Life Story in Your Own Words.” This type of book becomes a family legacy for your children. It also helps you remember important and interesting experiences from your past. Families used to have more time- and take more time- to talk to each other, to tell stories from the past, to look at their photos and photo albums, and even to read together.

However, in recent years, it seems like most families are living “life in the fast lane”. Everyone is too busy doing their own thing. Some families never even have a sit-down meal together anymore. I am really not surprised that there are so many elderly people with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease these days. Many seniors are left alone, not seeing their children or grandchildren very often. They often just watch television or look at Facebook to pass their time. I just read an article about how grandparents stay younger and healthier if they help care for their grandchildren. Learning a language or studying things that challenge the brain (like Algebra) can also help keep their brain healthier. Fasting, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet, cutting back on foods with lots of sugar or caffeine, and  exercising more can also help keep the mind sharp.

Organizing and decluttering your life can help, since most people in our culture own too much “stuff”. Try having a “technology fast” regularly, and read more instead, especially biographies of men and women of faith; but most importantly, invite Christ’s control over every area of your life and learn to “abide in Him” (Read John 15 and 1 John 2:28) As you reflect, especially on God, and enjoy the beauty of his creation, you may actually experience peace and quietness in your own private world.

Encouragement While You Wait

What comes to your mind when I mention waiting? For me, I think of the many times in my life when I had no choice but to wait. For example, as a child I would get so excited waiting for a holiday (like Christmas morning, thinking that it would never come), or waiting for a special event coming up (like our Thanksgiving family reunion). I would keep checking the calendar, or when I was very young, I would keep asking my mother how many more days I would have to wait.

Of course, there are so many things that we must wait for in life. We must wait to get over an illness, for the healing of a broken bone, for the healing of a relationship, for a wayward child to come home, and for the birth of a baby.

School children often wait for summer vacation, but then, others can’t wait for the new school year to begin. Some people have a hard time waiting for their high school or college graduation, so they can get a job or get married.

There are many, many times that we must wait whether we like it or not: while standing in line to pay for something, while on hold on the phone, while in a traffic jam, while at the doctor’s or dentist’s office, and while at the airport. We also wait for winter to end, for a pay check,  for something we ordered to arrive in the mail, for the release of a new book or movie, and many young people eagerly await the day when they can get their license to drive.

It’s also worth mentioning all the times we should have waited, but didn’t, and some of the difficult situations and consequences that result from not waiting. Perhaps you ended up in an abusive marriage or an ugly divorce, because you were in too big of a hurry to get married. Or, because you didn’t keep yourself pure before marriage, you ended up alone and pregnant, and had to quit school and go to work to support a child. We can see there are many reasons that we must or should wait patiently in life.

The following are some Scriptures to encourage you while you wait:

  • Psalm 40:1-I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
  • Psalm 27:14- Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
  • Psalm 37:7-Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him
  • Isaiah 40:31-But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
  • Isaiah 49:23-thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
  • Proverbs 20:22-Do not say, “I will [a]recompense evil”;
    Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
  • Romans 8:19, 23- For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
  • Hebrews 9:28-To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

My favorite word in the Spanish language is “esperanza”. This word has two different meanings. One is “hope” and the other one is “to wait for”. It was so interesting to me when I learned the meaning of this word, because it reminds me of the hope that we have in Christ Jesus. Because of this hope, we are not only waiting for His return, but we can also wait on Him to answer our prayers as we pour out our hearts to Him.

Gallery

Give Me Your Eyes

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Matthew 5:1 begins with the words “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain…”
When Jesus saw the multitudes, what did He see that we so often miss when we look at the people around us? I believe He saw their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. I want to be more observant, too, of the needs of the people with whom I come in contact. Brandon Heath has a beautiful song about this that has become a prayer for me. I hope that as you read the following words to the chorus of that song that you would also pray these words:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see,
Everything that I keep missing,
Give your love for humanity.
Give me your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten.
Give me Your eyes so I can see.

A story He is writing…

“The shape of true love isn’t a diamond. It’s a cross.” Alicia Bruxvoort

Something that I wish I had learned when I was young, is that life really is “His Story”. Right from the beginning of Genesis (1:1, and 2:1), in the first chapter of the book of John (1:1-3), in Psalm 90:2 (“from everlasting to everlasting, you are God”), and in 1 John 1:1, we can see that God was here “in the beginning”, and each person’s own story is really just a part of His story. Now it is difficult for our finite minds to comprehend an infinite mind. Children seem to accept this fact more easily than adults. Perhaps that is why Ecclesiastes 12:1 tells us to “remember now your Creator in the days of your youth.”

The most awesome part of this story is told in Romans 5:8 (“God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”) Knowing that mankind has sinned in every conceivable way, why would Christ then choose to die for us? It is because of His agape (unconditional, Godly) love for us. Again, the answer is simple, but difficult for some us to understand, especially, if we have not had loving, nurturing, sacrificial relationships with a father and mother.

However, we cannot truly understand this story He is writing until we actually become one of His children. We do this by acknowledging our sinful condition before God, and turning away from it (repenting), while believing the Gospel (Mark 1:15).  The gospel in a nutshell is that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and He was buried, and He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures”. So then, we are putting our trust in Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

As His child, you will begin to understand the wonderful love relationship that He has for each one of His children. His story is everything that is written in the Word of God, and it also includes everything that is past, present, and future. That means it includes everything about every person who has ever lived, and is especially personal for those who are His children. He has a wonderful plan for each of us, and as we grow in the Lord, we will want to make choices that are pleasing to Him. However, we must get to know His Word in order to obey it. There will be certain “disciplines” involved in our walk with Him (reading and studying the Bible, praying, sometimes fasting, meditating on His Word, worshiping with our praises and thanksgiving, etc.), but be careful not to fall into the trap of legalism. “Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says that God will change us, because He loves us” (Tullian Tchividjian). Someone once said, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.” Get a sweet taste of His unfathomable love, and experience the abundant life, which will include mountaintop experiences and valleys; but know that “He is for us and not against us” (Romans 8:31) in this story He is still writing.