Genesis 37-39

So many thoughts today! First, parenting, come on Jacob/Israel, what were you thinking! This idea of reciprocity and providence both moving forward concurrently is so striking in the Jacob narrative. God will not be denied in advancing history for the birth of the Savior, but He does not exempt the chosen instruments of His divine will from reciprocity. Jacob's deep sorrow he suffered in believing his son was dead was reeping the sorrow he had sewn into the lives of his family by having an openly favorite child and filling the balance of his children with years of sorrow growing up in a family where they were emotionally, and possibly financially, neglected.

As parents, we must NEVER create a dynamic where one child feels they have the favor of their parents above their siblings. We must create an environment where we understand the giftings, talents, promising aspects of each and every child and celebrate it! Too, we must create a culture where each child is expected to celebrate the unique giftings of their siblings! Each child should be just as much of an advocate of the success and triumphs of their siblings as they are for themselves. In addition, we know there is the possibility where one child, even younger children's giftings will lend themselves to leading their older siblings. Think about student government or sports captains where siblings play together and younger ones surpass older ones. We must teach our gifted younger ones, and older ones, humility. We must also work to make sure those who gifted to empower the leadership of others are celebrated and affirmed so that they see all callings and giftings are precious in God's economy (1 Corinthians 12)!

Men, we are so very vulnerable to the value system of our secular culture! What are we doing to protect ourselves? Lot's story of what his daughters did and here we have the story of Jacob's sons and their promiscuousness. Men, if we are not aggressively pursuing a Biblical stamp on our sexuality, both our daughters and sons are at risk! Talk to your children about their sexuality. If you are not sure how, there are so many great resources available. We just purchased some books at LifeWay that are written based on age and are planning to talk with each of our children to begin that dialogue. If you don't the world will begin shaping their sexuality and our society will continue to suffer because the Christians are just as vulnerable! This enrages me! Listen to my podcast (www.thecitylifechurch.com) entitled Sophronismos 1 & 2. We aren't expected to be completely perfect as Christians but let's not use that a license to struggle with commission sins that have no place in the life of the devoted follower of Christ! If we do not shape our children's sexuality, we curse them to curiosity. If we don't give them the answers they are desperate to hear from us, they are cursed to follow their curiosity. You show me a man or a women who struggles with sexual issues and I'll show you a child whose parents failed to shape their children's sexuality appropriately and curse their children to being shaped by curiosity and experimentation. Now, as adults, even in the midst of a loving, affectionate, Godly marriage, they struggle because of the foothold curiosity and experimentation gained in them early in life. Pornography, fantasy, even prostitution plays into their appetite for curiosity and experimentation. When will we learn!

It's going to be a great year!!

Pastor Fred