have you received your gift yet?

Dear Parents,

I don’t want to waste your time, so I’ll get right to the point.  If you don’t want sibling abuse creeping into your home, you need the gift of His Righteousness. 

His gift is counter-intuitive to everything we’ve been taught by the world.  It may sound simplistic (or seem impossible)… but it works. If you’re going to succeed as a parent for your child, take the leap. 

How do you start?

First you have to believe God loves you. And then you have to receive His love. 

You can believe God doesn't make junk; and you can intellectually know all the “church language”...  But have you received God’s love?  I’m going ask you again: Have you ever sat on the edge of your bed… and just said, “Thank you Father that you love me.  You love me, you love me, you love me.  You really love me”…?  Have you affirmed this Truth in your heart?

Maybe a better question is:  Do you know for sure that God is a good Father?  He’s not just a random “God” (or maybe a woman, or maybe an “it”) “far up in the sky looking down”. 

God is not “far up in the sky looking down”, and He isn’t merely “pleased with you.”  He’s not a “please pass the salt” or “please pass the pepper” kind of God.  He’s a good Father and he’s beyond pleased.  He loves you so much He sent His one and only Son so that you could have life.  Life.  And life more abundantly.  So YOU can live in freedom.

So, Jesus said, “Let me tell you about my Father.  I’m going to tell you His name.  His name is Daddy.  His name is Abba.  Abba-Papa-Daddy-God.  This good, good Father.”

So you have a Daddy in Heaven, and a Holy Spirit who comes to live inside of you.  “He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.”  And now where does He live?  Inside you. 

St. Paul wants you convinced that you are filled with all the fullness of God. 

When you believe it, you’ll begin to experience it. With all the fullness of God in you, where is there room for any darkness or gross-ness left over in you?  He takes it away.   He came to take all the sin in you away.

I’m going to make a bold, controversial claim:  you can’t make your kids “good” without His Righteousness.  And you can’t truly prevent sibling abuse in your family if you don’t understand His Righteousness. 

You can raise kids up according to the world, and the world can tell them they are “good kids” and “good people.”  The world will gladly praise them for earthly achievements and awards.  Heck, those earthly achievements and awards might even make you look good.  You get a “Parent of the Year” aware from the earth, and God says, “That is all filthy rags to me.”  Whoa.  This thing just got real.

Parents, I’m not being hard on you.  I’m drilling it in because you can’t do without it.  If you are hanging your hat on your own effort, your own accomplishments, your own success (from the world), your kids are going to model that… and they will be lost.