Scripture In This Episode:

Revelations 22:18-21 – ^“For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

John 17:14-19 – “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.”

2 Timothy 3:10 –  ^“But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”

Hebrews 10:24 – “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,”

James 3:1 – “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

Galatians 6:9 – “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

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Full Transcript:

Welcome to Courageous Parenting podcast, a weekly show to equip parents with biblical truth on raising confident Christian kids in an uncertain world. Hi, I’m Angie from Courageous Mom, and I’m Isaac from Resolute Man. We’ve been married 20 years and have seen the fruit in raising our eight kids biblically.

Based on the raw truth found in the Bible, we can no longer let the culture win the hearts of children. Too many children from Christian families are walking away from the faith by age 18. And it doesn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way. Join us as we start an important conversation about effective parenting in a fallen world.

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the podcast and part two of how to stay motivated parenting in an uncertain world. And I just want to say that all of these episodes stand alone, even if they’re part of a series. So you can easily listen to this one and then go back to listen to the first couple of keys. Yeah, or either way, yeah.

So you guys, we’re talking about a really relevant topic today. A lot of parents are potentially becoming overwhelmed or they’re discouraged or they just simply don’t know what is the best decision to make. And in many different things. Right. Like should my kids do sports or not? Should they go to school or not? Should they do other activities or not? I mean, the stuff with there’s just so many uncertain things going on. And then, of course, you’ve got the government potentially impressing upon people extra rules and regulations and all those things. And so parenting is challenging right now.

It is. We just had friends, just made me think of this that just told us they were in a park with extended family and there was police officers that asked them to put masks on and was handing them out and threatened them with a fine. If they didn’t, they’re going to sleep this completely outdoors, lots of open space. So anyways, there is depending where you live, there’s some imposition happening there.

Just a little setback. It was a little surprised because they were more in nature than than you had just another example of, you know you know, we’re in uncertain times.

There’s strange things happening. And sometimes that can be discouraging as your parenting, right?

Yep, exactly. So imagine being with your kids and then you’re approached by a police officer. So I think that, you know, as parents, there’s a need for encouragement and that’s what we want to dive into today. So in the first podcast, we talked about the first two out of five things that can be an encouragement for staying motivated in your parenting. I’m going to say end times. Yeah, I mean, it is an uncertain world, but we’ve been an end times since Jesus left. And the first one was to stop seeking approval from other people and to just find your approval and your worth in the Lord and the Lord seeking his wisdom and his will not seeking or allowing other people’s opinions to sway you from what you know, God wants you, the marriage alignment and so forth.

And the second one was it’s important to have a long term vision. Otherwise you make inferior choices today that land you somewhere you don’t want to be in the future because it takes harder decisions. Usually it’s the hardest choice. That is your better decision in most cases.

That’s right. So before we dive into the third point, I’m going to open it up by reading Hebrews ten twenty four. Wonderful. So if you flip with me to Hebrews ten twenty four, if you have your Bible, if you’re not driving of course actually must start in verse twenty three because I just really, you know, if it were up to me I’d read the whole chapter.

You guys know me but we are going to start at verse twenty three, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering. Amen. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. Do not waver for he Jesus who promised is faithful. We can’t forget that you guys in the midst of all these crazy things happening, God is faithful always. He is unchanging.

I can just imagine a parent listening. But Angie, how do I not waver? All these things are going on. I know this is so hard. You have to think about more things. I’m doing. More things is more pressure on me than ever. I know. So how do you not waver?

Well, here’s the answer and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching.

Ok, so how do you do that when churches are only streaming in some places? You can’t actually go to church. This is a really big issue you guys. So your marriage is more important than ever. First of all, we talked about that in the last episode so you can go back and listen.

But so are biblical friendships and wise counsel. You actually have to get together. You have to step out of your comfort zone.

And I would say even even in small groups, get together in person and encourage one another in the Lord.

You’re going to need you guys. We all need it at times. And the reality is this is obeying scripture, OK?

This is Hebrews 10, 23 or 24. This is how we hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering because God is faithful. But we also stir one another up to love and good works. All of that while we’re meeting together.

It’s like a pot, you know, with all the ingredients, they’re separated. And if you don’t stir it, it just doesn’t taste good at all. No, it’s not good.

Like you have beef in one corner, and the onions in the other.

Cause you can teach the kids with the scripture, by the way, and then you have the kid stir it and the wonderful aroma comes out. Yeah. And it tastes so good because it’s mixed together.

Right. That’s such a good analogy, Isaac.

Well I’m just reading scripture. I’m just listening. Stirring up. Right.

Stirring up. No, I love that. Makes it so together we’re better.

Oh, I just love this like stone soup know. But I love that. I think about the like when I make chillier I make soup. Right. I’m putting in I’ll throw in a teaspoon or tablespoon of cumin depending on the size of the pot and make. Yeah. Imagine if you didn’t stir that and it just sat there or like time and you it’s like a spoon it and you get this big chunk of spice and you’re like, it’s like we’re each an ingredient or two.

But when you put it together it’s way better. It’s like each of the each of us has spiritual gifts, but without other people’s spiritual gifts pressing upon us.

And in joining with us in our Decision-Making, we’re just going to be inferior in what we’re doing well and will waver, which is what this says.

It says, Hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering. What’s one of the what would be an example of this for parents? That would be parents. OK, the confession of their hope in in regards to parenting would be knowing what God’s word says about biblical parenting, what their jurisdiction is, and staying firm in the truth of knowing that God chose them to be the parents and that they are the ones that are going to be held accountable by God for teaching them and raising them up in the admonition of the Lord. We know this to be true because that’s what scripture tells us. Right? So if someone is going to hold fast to the confession of their hope. In parenting or hope in salvation or hope in anything, right, that and it all comes back to the word of God, right, because God gives us inspiration in all those areas of our life.

But if we do it without wavering, how do we like you? We have to keep encouraging one another. You guys, this is part of the reason why we’re still doing this podcast.

I don’t think you can not waiver without the Holy Spirit, especially today.

Yeah.

And this Holy Spirit people to exhort you is required and hold you accountable.

Yeah. And we all have been given the Holy Spirit this wonderful gift and when we become believers. But it doesn’t mean we’re relying on the Holy Spirit, doesn’t mean we’re listening to the Holy Spirit and doesn’t mean it’s stirred up in us.

Actually, we actually have to choose to walk in it if we live by it, right. Yeah. And it’s and there’s going to be fruit. We have to judge the fruit and other people.

We don’t want to go get unwise counsel. Right. We want to be wise. We want to get wise counsel.

I just love this passage of scripture, you guys. So going into the third point. Yes. OK, so we covered we recovered the first two very briefly that I love.

I love all that we have written up here is Grow.

That’s the only word. So grow.

No, just kidding. You need too grow to stay motivated.

What is growing mean. It means something is changing. And so we have to embrace change with proactively create change. We have to. And if we’re ones that like just the status quo, we have to change that belief because the status quo isn’t going to help you thrive in the way things are going. Now, there is a status quo of biblical truth that is cool. God is unchanging, sovereign God and controlled everything. His word is unchanging. But how we apply that decisions we make using it, so forth, there’s going to be some adjustments sometimes. And so one of those things, if we are not growing, then we can’t serve our families in the same way as adequately so, so important that we’re always growing. I mean, you felt that. Think of a time where you were really growing. What I mean is you’re learning things about God in the Bible. Maybe you’re reading another book over here and you’re learning things or you’re even learning a skill like how to cook Thai food or something like that, or, you know, how to, you know, tear apart an engine or whatever it is you’re growing. And then you feel more alive, you feel more useful, you feel more confident, and you want to put that knowledge to use. And I think that’s so important because I read a book once where our brains have neurological connections and they’re either connecting in and spreading in our brain and we’re firing more connections or they’re actually disconnecting. So if we’re not growing, what happens is we don’t just let our minds don’t stay in the same fresh, vibrant way of all these neurological connections. They actually start receding. So they’re either receding or you’re making more and new connections in your brain. And the way to do that is to be stimulating your brain and growing. And you’re such a more effective leader and more confident when you’re growing.

That’s how to stay motivated as a parent.

I would say to that when it comes to growing, there’s never been a better time to be in the word of God. That is what you should be growing in, because you’re going to need it to give you guidance and making the hard decisions that you may have to make in the next few years. Yeah. And for you to be able to make them confidently without having wavering, because let’s just be honest. Like our kids need to feel that they are safe. They need to to trust that we’re making secure decisions that are the best decisions possibly for them. Right. And if we are struggling with confidence and if we’re wavering back and forth, think of how much anxiety that could potentially be stirring up in our children. That’s not OK. I as parents, we have to make confident decisions at times that we have to adult. Yeah, right. And so and I know that this might be hard, especially if there’s some younger parents that are listening because you might be going, but I don’t know what to adults with or I don’t know what I should do.

And, you know, I just have to say, sister, brother, we have totally been there. We are still in that same thing.

But this is where you get the confidence, the word of God, not from yourself, not from your opinions, not from your experiences, from the truth, which is unchanging. Yeah. And I just want to encourage you in this, that one of the things when we’re reading Hebrews ten twenty fourth that dawned on me is that parents can become easily distracted or discouraged from parenting. And just that the challenges that there are simply because churches are not necessarily meeting in the same way they used to write, like youth groups are not meeting in the same way that they used to. There’s just different things in different places, different across the board, everywhere in the US right now and in different countries it’s different. And so the truth is. Is that if you’re not going to church regularly and you’re not raising your kids, going to church regularly, that is going to have an impact on their faith.

And so, so important that we realize that this isn’t changing anytime soon. Covid doesn’t appear to be going away. I mean, when the winter hits and the fall hits, where flu season comes out, covid likely will grow also. And there’s two things going on. And so I would just not. Are we hopeful? Yeah, I hope this thing just goes away and things go back to normal. But you know what? We can’t make decisions based on those kinds of hopes when evidence shows something else. OK, and so what’s really important is that we adjust to thrive in the new normal.

We have to learn to live again, and we have to teach our kids how to live again. Yeah, and not only that, but you guys, this is part of what scripture teaches regarding and times. There will be pestilence. There are going to be more naturally. And so do we act in fear? No. Do we parent fear? No. Do we make wise decisions? Decisions? Yes. Do we obey God’s word? Yes. Do we seek approval of others? No. Do we fear men?

No.

There are there are all these things that we know are truths, but plain those out on a day to day basis, issue to issue can be really confusing and overwhelming to people.

And so you have to be grounded in what you know is true in the word. Otherwise you are going to be tossed like the waves of the sea. Oh, yeah. And it’s going to be confusing for your kids. Oh yeah. And I also have to say there’s no better time to be more in the word of God now than ever because your kids need that from you, especially if they can’t go to church. You have to pastor your children. You are always called to do that. But now that there is not even someone to lean on, you need to do it more.

Right. And you might feel that. You feel that pressure.

You might be I realize you might be going, well, how do I adapt? How do I change? What do I need to change? Well well, we we grow. And this episode is preparing you for another episode we have coming up, which is how to proactively make changes as the world is changing. So that’s an episode coming. So I think I’ll be super, super helpful to people.

So let’s, you know, let’s move on to number four. Yeah, OK. Number four is respecting the challenge. I’m going to describe that I Isaac.

So a lot of times we don’t respect the challenges at hand, so we don’t proactively rise up ahead of time to handle what’s happening.

And so we’re always a little bit behind and we always feel like we’re being pulled around by circumstances in our life, which instead, if we ahead of time, respect the challenges at hand of equipping confident Christian kids to launch into the future uncertain world, not today, while we’re in and times and so forth, then we don’t make the right decisions today. When you respect the challenge today, you make better decisions today. So I just think that, you know, it’s what I said before, too, is like, you know, what was normal a year ago may never be normal again. And so as soon as we understand that that might be true, then we just embrace the new normal and we can navigate effectively because we’re respecting the challenges of the new normal as a reality versus a temporary thing. Now, could some of these things be temporary? Sure. But what if they’re not and you’re not responding effectively because you’re not training your kids for the new normal?

I mean, this is a really deep conversation because the reality is, is we know what scripture says, that this whole life is temporary. We are not made for this world. Praise God that we have an eternal home that we will be going to one day. And that is something that we need. That’s, you know, Jesus is who we place our hope in, not in how things are happening today.

I think that that this whole situation with everything, with the riots, with this, a lot of people feel unsafe in the places that they live.

They’re considering moving to different places for various reasons, all kinds of political reasons. Right.

And the reality is we cannot run from in times, actually, no. And it’s got to get worse before Jesus comes back, because that’s what’s predicted in scripture.

If we truly believe the word of God is the word of God and his word will become, I want to take a moment and give you something for free if you haven’t got it already is the date night one. It is a beautiful document you can download that Will have some key questions on it for your date night. Just get in alignment about what’s most important for your family. No matter what time of year, it’s always important to recalibrate. You can get that by going to CourageousParenting.com And subscribing to our mailing list. Also, you can get all of our show notes and. Everything, a CourageousParenting.com, and I also just want to share real quick about the parenting mentor program. So many families are being transformed by going through this. It’s the six week self-paced program with live engagement from us and even direct interaction. So if you want to join us, here’s a little bit more about it and you can find out more at CourageousParenting.com.

Steve and I realized that we were getting too comfortable with the world’s vision of how to raise our children. What Angie and Isaac have done and creating this is literally phenomenal.

This program provided awesome scripture based teachings and just some really great practical applications.

This class has just really rocked my world.

It is giving me a vision for not just the different things that we might focus on as parents who are trying to raise our kids biblically, like how our kids are behaving or what we’re doing with discipline, but also the things of heart.

We now have a game plan to how we want to raise our children. We have so many answers to the questions that have been in our mind.

It’s not just these hypothetical situations or it’s not just this. Here’s what I think you should do. It’s let me show you where in scripture this is.

Do your legacy a favor and yourself a favor and just do it.

One of the best things that we’ve done this year, one of the best investments we’ve made this year, and I could not recommend it more.

We’re no longer fearing dark days ahead, but we’re so excited to raise the lights to be leaders for the next generation.

So here’s a perspective shift real quick. OK, so then if things are going to get worse, then I should embrace the challenges and equip my kids to be able to handle them. Don’t hide them from my kids and equip them.

And that’s exactly why we created the Courageous Parenting Mentor program.

It is the program to equip confident Christian kids for an uncertain world, for end times, for the times we are in! We started this a year ago, God prepped us a year in advance to make this for now.

It is. It is, people are telling us is exactly what they needed to be able, diligent parent today.

Yeah. So, you know, I would also encourage you guys that we have to remember we need to remind our kids in respecting the challenge of respecting the challenge that you’re walking through is remembering your purpose in life, right? Yeah, because if you respect the challenge, that’s because you understand that your purpose in life is to know God and to make him known to glorify him. It’s the great commission you are partnering. You get to partner with God in the great commission, in leading other people to Christ before Jesus comes back again so that they can have eternal life with him potentially. Right.

Like, yeah. When you realize that that is part of your purpose and I can literally say that with confidence that that is everyone’s purpose. Right. So we all have these like micro mini purposes, but we all have a collective group commission purpose. That’s something God’s called us all to.

And when we believe that we start equipping our kids to be able to do that, regardless of if they’re wearing a mask or not, regardless of if sports are canceled or not, regardless of if they can go to youth group or not like and and if they are if they are forced to have to be six feet apart. How did they evangelize. Yeah. How do they disciple. How do you know what I mean. Like are you going to be practicing hospitality or are you going to disobey scripture and not practice hospitality because of what’s going on today.

So there’s, there comes a time where you go, OK, is the governing law. I’m supposed to obey authority, but is the governing law trying to get me to disobey what God’s word says first? And you have to reconcile that in your mind. That’s something that you have to literally study Scripture, A ton. And but I just want to encourage something with you guys. For you guys. Isaac and I were talking about this like respecting the challenge. And one of the first verses that came to my mind was in James three one, which says, My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. This has been a scripture that I’ve had on the forefront of my mind since I started writing back in 2008 because I was scared to do it. Isaac kept going, do it, do it, do it. And I was like, I don’t want to do it. I don’t want to do it.

This is one of the reasons is Angie and I believe this too.

But Angie really believes I don’t want to teach anything that I haven’t already lived out.

It’s like, yeah, now that’s different with homeschooling, though, but that’s like in the ministry side of things, your book and things like that. But in homeschooling, you actually are teaching things you haven’t lived.

Well, I’m well, I’m I’m teaching my kids things that I didn’t know before. Yeah. A matter of having lived them out. It’s a matter of like if I don’t know how to do a certain thing in chemistry, I learn it and then I teach it. Do you know what I mean. Or like that she learns it with them at the same time, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so that but that’s different than like what we’re teaching with the parenting program. We never teach. I just I’ve always had just a very I love that fiction that I cannot speak on or teach on things that I’m personally struggling with unless it’s from a point of I’m struggling with this.

Hello people. This. What we should be doing, let’s stir one another up, which I’ve done before, so we only teach what we have experienced. That’s right. But when it comes to James three one, I know that this is speaking to teachers of the faith specifically. But as a woman, that’s not necessarily I I’m not running a big church. I’m not preaching, but I still have the gift of teaching. That’s something that God has given me, something that, by the way, I never wanted.

You’re an amazing teacher. Thanks, babe. Yeah, but that was something that I never wanted. Yeah. And so in my weakness and in the thing I didn’t want, God came out in me, OK? And here I am educating 8 children.

I’m a teacher and that’s my first jurisdiction. I’m teaching many. I’m teaching many. But just we’re talking about parenting in this in this podcast. So that’s what I just like to brag about. You’re so funny.

But James, three one, I think applies to all parents. That’s where I’m going with this. Yeah. James three one applies to all parents because all parents are called to teach their kids about the scriptures, all parents. It says that in Deuteronomy, in Exodus, teach these to your children and to your children’s children and to their children in Deuteronomy six. Go read it.

Ok, you guys, we are teachers. And it says in James three one that we will receive a stricter judgment for what we teach. In addition, I flip over to Matthew 18 six that says, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin. So if you’re teaching something that is not scriptural and it leads your child to sin. Right. OK, so if you it says but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in medicine, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. So I’m talking, Matthew, 18 six.

We’re talking about Bessin respecting the challenge of parenting. God has called us to recognize our influence.

Yes, respecting the challenge is recognizing the influence that God has given to you when he chose you to be a parent, understanding what all the scriptures say in conjunction together, which you can’t know unless you read it, read it, read it.

I think a mistake that happens is people take too much possession over their kids and and so and not enough responsibility over their duty.

Right. And so or, you know, where where do kids get hurt? Sometimes out there when parents take too much possession, they’re not in the spirit. And they forget that these are actually God’s kids. That’s what God’s control. And they overly control the overly overly protect.

Yeah, overprotecting. I would say that like not letting them live, not letting them be a part of the great commission.

Yeah. Yeah. And while they’re in our home, they’re supposed to learn how to be in the world, but not of the world.

We don’t just throw them in to.

That’s not you have to listen to past podcast. But I think this is just a good reminder for parents like.

Whose kids are these again? Yes. God, you know, gave you those, blessed you with your kids. But ultimately, they’re God’s children. They are God’s children. We are to steward them well and to obey God in how we treat and how we equip and bring up his children.

So I do think that, you know, what you said was steward them. Well, I think that there’s a need for clarification or encouragement further in discussing that, because we as parents, obviously, our children are not possessions, which is what you’re saying. Right. And so a thing is something that you would steward. Right. You would take you take care of it. But I do know that what you mean by that, you get to them and to take care of them. But I do think that there is a lack of parents recognizing their jurisdiction and responsibility and the duty that God has impressed upon them and given them when he blesses them with the child.

And we can’t shy away from that. Amen. And we can’t delegate that to other people and we can’t let other governing authorities take that away from us. So there’s ditches on both sides. There is a balance like you guys. We are called to live in harmony and balance of that right where we are teaching our kids to respect authority. But at the same time, we’re also teaching them to obey God first. Yeah, right. And so and part of obeying him. What is God’s commandment? Love the Lord, your God with your whole heart. Mind the one strength and love your neighbor as yourself. That is what we need to be focusing on with our kids.

And that changes everything they do moving forward, regardless of how society is, I think, a practical thing of not respecting the challenges when your kids are disobedient, for example, and you kind of let it slide because you’re tired, you don’t talk to him, you don’t get, you know, eye to eye with them and talk to them about him, explaining to them that it’s sin and what sin does and one, the consequences and the God and, you know, to talk through it with them. I think it’s so important because sometimes we we let up in the end, if you let up some people, probably just it’s not that they purpose.

Some people probably are just tired. And so they let. And I have seen we’ve been in that position where we’ve been tied and we’re like, oh, I can’t deal with the tantrum right now. I mean, how many of you felt that way at a time? Come on, let’s be honest. Yeah, right. But then there’s also the times where parents are potentially going. I don’t know how to have those conversations. I don’t know how to teach my kids about it. And how do you have that conversation with the two year old, a five year old, a six year old? And I would say the easy answer is Romanes road. And you can just Google that. What? The Romans, right. That’s good. I’ll take you Romans to Romans. Six twenty three. Three twenty three. I’ll take you all over Romans to lead them to Christ.

And if you want the deeper version, the parenting mentor program. Yes. Deep into that.

Right. Yeah.

So I also just thought that it would be an encouragement to you guys as we’re talking about the importance of respecting the challenge that we have as parents in today’s society, recognizing that there is a force, an enemy that is against us because we want to live biblically. So you have a red target on your back. If you’re a believer, your kids have a big red target on their back, too. If you’re raising them to know and love Jesus because he we have an enemy. And one of those things that we need to be aware of is the false teachings. We talked about this in one of the previous podcasts. And one of the things that just came to my mind is actually in the last last four verses of the Bible revelation. Mm hmm.

And so I just want to share something with you. It’s Revelation 22. So the very last chapter in the Bible, verse 18. It says “for I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.” OK, so we’re talking about the Bible here “if anyone adds to these things. God will add to them the plagues that are written in this book.” Mm hmm. Verse 19 says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of this book, of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city and from the things which are written in this book.” And then he has a last two verses, and that’s the end of the Bible and it says, “I’m coming quickly. He who testifies to these things say says, surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be with you all. Amen.”

You know what’s cool about Revelation, too, is that there’s all kinds of things written in the Old Testament that were quoting in revelations before the apostle John on Patmos Island was given the revelation to write revelations.

So it’s really interesting. And you can go back and forth all throughout the Bible as revelations.

It doesn’t quote the past, the past is quoting, for the future for the future is written. I love that. That’s that’s a really great way to explain it. Yeah.

I just want to encourage you guys that we have to respect this word as we’re respecting the challenge of parenting in this day and age and raising our kids biblically. We have to respect the word. That’s what God’s calling us to do in the heart of the Bible is saying don’t take anything out of it and don’t add anything to it. You guys just live by the word. And so respecting the challenge means knowing it. You have to grow. You have to know this so that you can get wisdom from God.

And that goes into our last point, which is we must persevere. There’s going to be so many times in the moment where we feel like letting up or we feel like making an easier decision or things like that. And then we have to we have good decision making skills. Our kids are going to have to have incredibly good decision making skills to navigate the world they’re launching into.

And so if it’s not based on the Bible, if it’s not based on having some counsel around them, if it’s not based on viewing marriage in a complementary and Tarion way where each spouse has gifts and we need to rely on each other if we’re together and work together as a team, if it’s not based on being part of a church where you can trust people and iron sharpens iron with people, then it’s going to be hard for them to persevere.

Maybe that’s why it’s hard for you to persevere. And if you’re wondering, well, how do we do this with covid were part of a big church and we’re streaming the sermons and we’re not meeting with people. And I would just say you have more influence over your situation than you may realize, but it’s going to take you breaking out of your comfort zones to take you asking God for wisdom and to intervene. And you may need to start something. You may need to have a Bible study with people from your church that you actually do meet in person and you just do it. And maybe you need to do a campfire outside to and stay six feet apart. However, you’re supposed to do it, do it, make it happen.

And that’s super important. And in Galatians six, six nine, it says, and let us not grow weary while doing good for in due season, we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

So super important not to lose heart, and we should never lose heart because we have the word of God to encourage us.

Yeah, I also want to just share verse seven, which is a few verses before it says do not be deceived. And we have to be we have to persevere in this. We’re talking about persevering as parents and staying motivated in our parenting in this uncertain world where we can get so distracted because there’s so many big things pulling our attention away, forcing us to have to do research and to make the decisions in the first place, but says do not be deceived.

Yeah, because it also says God is not mocked him and he will not be mocked for whatever a man sows. He will also reap. So what you do in your parenting, what you don’t do in your parenting, you will reap. And not only is that a message for you guys, it’s a message for us. And it’s a message that we have to teach our kids the spiritual law of sowing and reaping, for he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows of the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life. And then it says, and let us not grow weary for doing good.

And if you’re around your kids more than usual and you’re getting frustrated, it’s challenging. You have less alone time. Whatever the thing is, you have to go. Wait a minute. What is what is the challenge here? The challenge maybe is your own selfishness. Maybe you need to have a perspective shift and go, I have more time with my kids. How can I make this really effective relationship building productive kingdom minded parenting to equip them for the world that I’m increasingly seeing they’re going to launch into? Yeah, sometimes we just need a perspective shift and it changes everything and it enables us to persevere in doing good for the world.

And guys, you know what? Doing good can be a lot of things. Yeah, it can be a lot of things that can be loving your neighbor. Yeah. Can be taking groceries to a mom that just had a baby. It can be standing up for truth, it can be rebuking someone, it can be holding somebody accountable to the sin that they’ve committed. No, it can be many different things.

Doing good is doing what God calls us to in the word out of love for one another, because we don’t want people to be walking in bondage and we don’t want people to be to not know the gospel and experience the freedom that comes in Christ when we actually are willing to lay down our cross and take up his.

Yeah. And so I just want to encourage you guys. I know this is a hard season. I know that there are people out there that are mad for Christ, mad at Christians for meeting. Right Isaac.

You’ve been predicting this for a long time, that there, you know, there are christians will be called hypocrites by non Christians because they’re meeting together and so forth. Yeah. And sometimes we need to meet still, but we need to be responsible.

We need to be respectful and we need to recognize that, that we are going to have a light and we’re going to be we are still representing Christ. Yeah. And we need to teach our kids that, too.

Absolutely. It’s a fine balance. And we’re all navigating these times together. We don’t know all the answers to everything, but come on here weekly to share scripture, scripture, share experiences and give you as much practical as those who can. So bless you guys.

So you guys take care and we’ll see you next time.

Hey, thanks for listening to this episode. We wanted to quickly tell you about our six week online parenting program.

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