Biblical Family Ministries

 As we continue to discuss spiritual conflict, we come to the greatest weapon at our disposal. It is the blessed Word of God. It is described in Ephesians 6:17, as the sword of the Spirit. It is foundational to everything else we have seen.  We talked about truth, but ultimate truth can only be found in Scripture. We saw the importance of righteousness, but knowing what is right can only be found in the directives and principles found in the Bible. The Gospel of peace in the message of the Bible and the faith to shield us is our belief and trust in what the Bible says. The helmet of salvation refers to the salvation taught in Scripture, which is given as a gift to those who believe the biblical message of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the Word of God. The Greek term for word in Ephesians 6:17 is rhema. It means, that which is uttered or written. It is the communication of the message. The wonderful encouragement here, is that the power of the Scriptures is in the hand of the Holy Spirit and not dependent on our ability to make the argument. Without a doubt, you and I should study the Bible and be proficient in using it. Whether someone gets saved or is convinced to change their views however, is not dependent on us. We need to know the Word well enough to find texts that convey God’s truth on an issue and hopefully be able to convey the message to others, or even claim it for ourselves. Is it not wonderful though to realize, the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart? Hebrews 4:12. The Word (logos) is infused with life by the Holy Spirit. Our feeble efforts to claim it or proclaim it, are taken by the Holy Spirit and used to pierce hearts; convicting, challenging and convincing. The Spirit of God works through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit gave revelation to men. Then, He secured the transference of that revelation to the written page and used men to do it. That is the work of inspiration. When the Word of God is read, taught or preached, it is that same Holy Spirit who opens the mind and hearts of men to receive it. That is the work of illumination.\

New Book

“God Is Looking for Men,

Is He Looking for You?”

Available on BFM website

Prescription

For The Family

We have been discussing parental authority and parental influence on children. In this article we will focus on parental authority. God gave us 5 children. I love and am grateful for each one of them. I acknowledge again, God gave them to me and my wife. However, he did not give them to us, so we could rear them our way. He gave them to us to rear and train – His way. Thankfully, in the Bible, He gave us instructions on how to train Children with a view toward them serving and loving Him for a lifetime. As I often say in conferences; it is important to realize He gave us only one book, sufficient for all children. Of course every child is unique, but the goals and principles related to training children are the same for all. Some children will be tougher to train than others. Some will be strong willed, stubborn and defiant. Others seem to be born liars, sneaky and deceptive. Others are compliant and tender. Some are quick and witty. Others are slower and gullible. On it goes and NO TWO ARE THE SAME. Great hope is found in Proverbs 22:26. It says, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. I love this text. As we said, it gives great hope. It is possible that our children will grow up to live a lifetime devoted to the Lord. What more could we want? The verse also establishes great responsibility. The child must be trained. The hope for the child is related to the training he/she receives. Responsibility for training is assigned to parents. It is no wonder our society is collapsing. Multitudes of children are growing up in home settings where training is nil. Broken marriages, children born out of wedlock, mothers working, children in continual day care programs and many other biblically abnormal situations undermine the opportunity for children to be trained effectively by parents – even very caring parents. The promise and hope of our verse is dependent on success in the training experience. Training requires control of the child’s behavior, to which we alluded at the close of our last article in this column. We will take up the detail of control and other aspects of training next time. Training our children biblically is how we carry out our God given authority over them.

God is looking for men…

Is He looking for you?

In I Kings 2:1-2 we read, Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man. I was intrigued and challenged by what David said. Show thyself a man. What did that mean to Solomon? He was going to become the King of Israel. You and I don’t have that to worry about, but that was only part of the matter. To be a man, can mean many things to many people. In verse 3 David gave some explanation of what he meant for Solomon. David said, Keep the charge of the LORD thy God to walk in His ways…that thou mayest proper in all that thou doest and whithersoever thou turnest thyself. The term prosper is not of itself related to wealth. It means to have prudence, skill and wisdom. To show himself a man, or dare I say, to be a real man, is related to one’s walk with God. Too many think being a real man is reflected in coarse language, physical strength, physical appearance, financial success and a host of other things. David told Solomon that to show himself a man, he needed to walk in the ways of God. ARE YOU WILLING TO BE THAT MAN?

From Under the Umbrella

By Patricia E. Griffith

Jeremiah 33:3. Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. I am so thankful for my salvation and for the privilege of walking beside my husband, serving a Risen Savior for all these 54 years. I can’t thank the Lord enough for His wonderful leading and blessings all these 73 years of my life. And, I can hardly believe all that He has done.

I am so excited to see what this new year holds for us! I’m so thankful for our good physical and mental health, and the future before us to serve Him. I love a new year; a new beginning! I hope you have a great plan for serving our Savior in 2020. I believe we need to be busier than ever, winning the lost to Him! The signs of the times certainly would dictate the soon return of our Savior to take us to Heaven in the air!

God created days and years,

God allows both joy and tears,

God removes the greatest fears,

Of all who trust in Him.

Christians serve Him day by day,

Walking in the narrow way,

Grateful for the times to pray,

Because they trust in Him.

Now we wait to see Christ’s face,

As He prepares for us a place, Fulfillment of salvation’s grace,

For all who trust in Him.

Even, so come, Lord Jesus!