Legacy To The Next Generation: Correction

“Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don’t, you are helping them destroy themselves” (Proverbs 19:18 TEV). 

The gift of your correction: A fourth factor in leaving a great legacy includes offering correction when your children make mistakes. This responsibility of parenting often causes major disagreements in marriage, because no two people see everything alike. In any moment, one spouse will likely be a tougher disciplinarian than the other. 

Sometimes it depends on the circumstances, sometimes it depends on which child it is, sometimes it depends which spouse has been offended most. But you must not allow your disagreement to become ambivalence or your children will rule the roost, and that makes them feel insecure.

Kay and I have often disagreed about this. When we do, we’ve learned to step aside privately, work out our disagreement, and decide which one of us is best prepared emotionally to handle the situation. Then we present a united front to the kids.

Whenever we’ve failed to follow this simple rule, it has hurt everyone. 

The two most important corrective words you must teach your children early in life are “come” and “no.” Kids who never learn to respect and respond to authority will struggle their entire lives. Nobody gets their way all the time. If you don’t set clear limits for your children now, they’ll never understand the concept later in life, and they will have great difficulty in relationships—in their own families, with co-workers, and even with God.

Solomon wrote, “Discipline your children while they are young enough to learn. If you don’t, you are helping them destroy themselves” (Proverbs 19:18 TEV). Nothing destroys a legacy like a lack of discipline. 

Will you have any influence on the next generation? When you die, your legacy should be far more than just what you did on Earth. Your legacy should include what others do after you’re gone.

http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/full-post/legacy-to-the-next-generation-correction

Prayer: God Guides You To Be More Like Christ

“The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”(James 3:17 NIV)

If you want to recognize God’s voice and figure out whether you have an impression from him or not, first you need to ask if the idea agrees with the Bible.

Then, you need to ask, “If I follow through on this impression, will it make me more like Christ?”

Philippians 2:5 says, “In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus” (NCV). God’s goal is to make us more like Christ, so he would not give us an impression that would lead us in a direction opposite that goal.

James 3:17 is a great checklist for helping you to see if something is an impression from God when it comes to the character qualities of Jesus Christ: “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (NIV).

If your idea or impression is impure, then it’s obviously not from God. This may sound pretty simple, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I meet who are trying to convince themselves that an impure impression is somehow from God.

Is the impression peace loving? God’s going to give impressions that promote harmony and not conflict.

Is it considerate? When God gives you an impression, he is concerned about the impact that impression is going to have on somebody else. He’s not going to give you impressions that mess up other people’s lives.

Is this impression submissive? That’s not a word that we use very much, but it simply means humble, teachable, and not arrogant. If you’ve really heard from God, then you’re not going to be afraid to test that idea by sharing it with others and getting their input.

Is it full of mercy? I’ve met a lot of people who think they have heard from God and yet they’re the most judgmental, condemning, and negative people. Those people haven’t heard from God. They’ve heard from their own prejudices and anger. If you really hear from God, it makes you full of mercy.

Is it impartial and sincere? An idea from God won’t make you manipulate and control others.

Checking an impression against these seven character qualities of Jesus Christ will help you know if your idea is from God and if it will make you more like Jesus.

Source: http://rickwarren.org/devotional/english/full-post/prayer-god-guides-you-to-be-more-like-christ