Linked Together: For Parents

Discipline by the Book
Andy Naselli examines what scripture teaches about parental discipline (pdf) in an article in The Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministries. This piece is especially useful because it interacts with the (supposedly) biblical arguments used by Christians who are against physical discipline.

Making Things Difficult
Kevin DeYoung: “Parenting has become more complicated than it needs to be. It used to be, as far as I can tell, that Christian parents basically tried to feed their kids, clothe them, teach them about Jesus, and keep them away from explosives.” (Read more.)

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I’m thankful 

• for today spent with one of my litttle granddaughters, and  the promise of tomorrow spent with another. I’m thankful that God grows babies into toddlers, guiding their development so they learn to run and jump and talk.
  
  
• for my daughter and daughter-in-law, who are wonderful mothers to my grandchildren.
  
  
• for lingering fall weather, and fall’s harvest from the garden, especially the kale, cabbage and brussel sprouts.
  
  
• that in every moment of time, God is unfolding his purpose in his creation. 
  
  
• that God not only began his work of salvation in me, but that he will also certainly complete it.

Theological Term of the Week

mortification (of sin)
A way of life in which a Christian takes an active role in “crushing sin from their lives … rooting it out, and depriving it of its influence”;1 a Christian’s active role in battling sinful habits in the power of the Spirit.

• From scripture:

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away:anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledgeafter the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ isall, and in all. (Colossians 3:5-11 ESV)

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