Ministry

The Heart of a Child: Know God’s Comfort
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The Heart of a Child: Know God’s Comfort

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day seventeen of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day seventeen with an important reminder to turn to God for His comfort so that you can be a comfort to others.

Know God’s Comfort

“For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.  As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.’“
Isaiah 66:12-13 (NIV)

Are there times when you have been comforted?  When?  What worked?  Have you ever not been comforted by the efforts of someone who was trying to comfort you?  Why?  What things make a person’s efforts to comfort you seem real?  Why?  Is compassion related to comfort?  How?  Does a person’s experience in situations similar to yours help you to accept the comfort they offer?  Why?  How does the comfort offered by a person differ from the comfort that God can give?  In what ways are they the same?  How does the experience of God’s comfort give you hope as you pray for a child of any age to be comforted?

We live in a world filled with loss of many kinds.  It is in the midst of loss, even perceived loss, that we find the need to be comforted.  An uncomforted child of any age can quickly become an angry, confused, and/or hurt person that acts out in ways that are often inappropriate.  When we experience sadness, God desires that we come to Him for comfort so that we would be able to comfort others with the same comfort that we have received from Him.

As you pray for a child of any age, pray that they would be open to receiving the comfort God desires for them.  Pray that God would use you as an instrument of His comfort in the lives of others.  Pray for the courage to look to God for comfort that exceeds the comfort the world can offer.  Pray that the comfort you receive from God through His Spirit and/or through people He sends your way, would equip you to share comfort with others.

In prayer,

Tom  

The Heart of a Child: Knowing Peace
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The Heart of a Child: Knowing Peace

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day sixteen of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day sixteen with an important reminder to know the peace that God promises which surpasses all understanding.

Knowing Peace

“All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.“
Isaiah 54:13 (NIV)

What is peace?  How much of it do you have?  Why?  What is the source of your peace?  Explain.  When is it most difficult for you to feel at peace?  When do you most need to know peace?  Are those two times related?  How?  Does peace mean that all conflict has been removed from your life?  Explain.  What role does the teaching from God’s Word have in helping you experience peace in the midst of conflict?  Does your usual demeanor help others experience peace?  Why?  How does the peaceful demeanor of others help you to know peace in difficult circumstances?

Since Jesus said we would have trouble in this world, I have to believe the peace He promises is something different than simply a lack of conflict.  In fact, He tends to shine most brightly in our life when we learn to live with His peace in the midst of the difficulties we find ourselves in.  If we want to help others know real peace, we must begin with accurate teaching from God’s Word.  But it is not enough to simply teach it, we must live it in such a way that the children around us would know what true peace is because they can see it in us as we live for Christ.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to help them know the peace that can only come from Him.  Pray that they would see that peace lived out in your life as you trust God in the midst of conflict.  Pray that your accuracy in sharing the truth of God’s Word would lead to a greater peace in your life and in the lives of those around you.  Pray that you would seek to end and resolve all conflict even as you live with peace in the midst of it.

In prayer,

Tom  

The Heart of a Child: Draw Near to God
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The Heart of a Child: Draw Near to God

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day fifteen of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day fifteen with an important reminder to know and experience God’s desire for you to draw near to Him as He draws you to Himself.

Draw Near to God

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west.  I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth — everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
Isaiah 43:5-7 (NIV)

Who in your life do you feel closest to?  Why?  What factors brought the two of you to that point of nearness in your relationship?  Were there other people who helped?  How?  When you think of your relationship with God, how close would you say you are with Him?  Why?  What has brought you to that point?  Have people helped you to draw near to God or have they made you feel more distant from Him?  How?  Knowing that God longs to draw His children near to Himself, how does your life express that longing of God to the children around you?

While physical proximity can help, feeling near to someone usually has more to do with a connection of the heart than a joining of hands.  God says that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.  As we share the love of God with a child of any age, we tell of His desire to draw them near.  Being wanted goes a long ways toward building the bonds of closeness and no one is wanted more fully than we are wanted by God.  His desire for the children around us, and for the child within us, is that each of us would be brought near to Him and find a closeness like no other.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to help them know His love for them.  Pray that each child would be brought nearer to God as they see the example of your closeness with Him.  Pray that your desire would always be for a closeness with God that no one could separate you from.  Pray that each child would know they are wanted by God even if they feel unwanted by everyone else.  Pray for the courage to live in such a way that no child would ever believe they are unwanted.

In prayer,

Tom  

The Heart of a Child: Tell of God’s Faithfulness
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The Heart of a Child: Tell of God’s Faithfulness

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day fourteen of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day fourteen with an important reminder to know, and tell of, God’s faithfulness.

Know Godly Discipline

“The living, the living–they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.“
Isaiah 38:19 (NIV)

Who is the most faithful person you know?  What makes them that way?  Have you ever changed your opinion of how faithful someone was?  Why?  Do you believe in God’s faithfulness?  What specific things have influenced your level of belief?  Are there things that you do that would help or hinder the view others have of the faithfulness of God?  What?  Who did you learn about faithfulness from?  Who is learning about faithfulness from you?  What are they learning?

In a world where promises are often broken without thought, it can be difficult for a child of any age to grasp the absolute faithfulness of God.  Experience with people has taught us to be skeptical and just because someone kept their word once, it doesn’t mean they will keep it again.  That is why the telling of our stories of God’s faithfulness in our life is so critical.  We need reminded, and the children around us need reminded, that God has been faithful in our past and His nature, along with our experience, will teach us about His continued faithfulness.  Your story of God’s faithfulness needs to be shared and heard.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God that they would always know of His faithfulness.  Pray that you would find ways to share the lessons you have learned of God’s faithfulness.  Pray that God would help you to be a more faithful person so that the children around you would have a visible example of what faithfulness looks like.  Pray for the courage to tell your stories of God’s faithfulness.  Pray that God would help you to learn from the testimonies of others.

In prayer,

Tom  

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The Heart of a Child: Know Godly Discipline

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day thirteen of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day thirteen with an important reminder to submit to godly discipline.

Know Godly Discipline

“The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.“
Proverbs 29:15 (NIV)

What are your thoughts on discipline?  Why?  Do you think more often of punishment or correction when you hear the word discipline?  Why?  Is there a way that all three of those practices work together?  How?  How does godly discipline relate to spiritual training?  Is there a difference in how you view discipline based on if you are giving or receiving it?  Should there be?  Why?  Are there areas of your life where a lack of discipline has made you less effective than you could be?  What are you doing about it?

Discipline is a practice we rarely like when it is applied to us, yet we can be quick to see how others would benefit from it.  It is our own acceptance of discipline that does the most to help others learn the value of it in their life.  While we like to separate out the pieces to avoid what we find to be unpleasant, godly discipline involves both punishment and correction.  When done well, punishment makes us aware of the consequences of our actions, correction teaches us the new course of action we should take, and discipline carries us through the process of putting those new actions into practice.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to help them know and accept the correction of godly discipline.  Pray for a heart that is willing to learn the fruits of discipline.  Pray that your involvement in disciplining others would be done in humility and love.  Pray that you would know, and help others to know, the truth of God disciplining those He loves.  Pray for an understanding of proper punishment and correction so that godly discipline can happen.

In prayer,

Tom  

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The Heart of a Child: Follow Proper Training

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day twelve of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day twelve with an important reminder to give and follow proper training.

Follow Proper Training

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.“
Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

What are you good at?  How did you get that way?  How do you feel about training?  Why?  Have you ever thought you were good at something and then discovered there was a better way of doing it than what you had been taught?  How did you feel?  Have you ever had to learn something you thought you would never use but later found it to be a very useful lesson?  How did your attitude about the earlier training change?  How involved are you in training others for the future.

At the heart of any training is a process that rarely produces immediate results.  We train in order to become better at a particular skill set and we train others so that they would know how to do, or be, something that they currently are not.  But it is not just important that we train or provide training.  No, it is critical that the training we seek and pray about is proper in the eyes of God.  Practicing a skill incorrectly will not help us improve; it only serves to solidify a less effective means.  When we train a child of any age in the way they should go, we must be certain the instruction and training are based on the Word of God.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to help them follow proper training.  Pray that they would learn to appreciate the instruction that comes from God’s Word.  Pray that you would be equipped to provide proper training because of the training you yourself follow.  Pray that you would not lose heart when those around you do not appear to be responding to the training they receive — at least not in the time frame you think is appropriate.

In prayer,

Tom  

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The Heart of a Child: Live With Right and Pure Conduct

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day eleven of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day eleven with an important reminder that our actions reflect what, and who, is at the center of our life.

Live With Right and Pure Conduct

“Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.“
Proverbs 20:11 (NIV)

How do you decide what is pure and right?  Why?  Would your typical actions make others believe you are one who seeks to do what is pure and right?  Why?  How difficult is it to choose pure and right conduct all the time?  Does a person’s reputation require perfection in all of their actions?  Why?  Do your expectations of others exceed that of your own conduct?  Why?  When you think about a child of any age, how much help do they need to maintain appropriate conduct?  Who do they need that help from?  Who do you need help from in order to live pure and right?

It seems that every generation gets tagged with a label based on the perceived conduct of those who garner the most attention.  Few of us like labels that are inaccurate — especially if the inaccuracies paint us in a negative way.  On the other hand, none of us are perfect, so how we are viewed will always be based on what is most visible in our life.  Our influence in the lives of others will generally lead them further into, or further away from, pure and right conduct.  Looking for the good in others will not only make it more visible to us, it will make it more desirable to them.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to fill them with a desire to do what is right and pure in His eyes.  Pray that you would live as an example to those around you.  Pray that you would not expect perfection but would look for the pure and right conduct in others in order to nurture it.  Pray that the view of pure and right that you seek and share would always be based on what God says.  Pray that the children around you, and the child within you, would always be known for pure and right conduct.

In prayer,

Tom  

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The Heart of a Child: Know a Compassionate Father

Praying for children has been heavy on my heart during this current season of school and church buildings being closed with the need for social distancing, self isolation, and stay at home orders.  I pray often that families will be able to shield children to some extent from the negative emotions that cling to this COVID-19 pandemic.  This is day ten of the devotions from my “The Heart of a Child” book to help each of us pray for a child of any age, including our age.  Through time in prayer, this devotional journal was written to help you understand, and live, some important traits of living and praying with the heart of a child.

Here is day ten with an important reminder that regardless of our examples on earth, our Father in heaven is a compassionate father.

Know a Compassionate Father

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.“
Psalm 103:13-14 (NIV)

In your mind, how well do the words father and compassion go together?  Why?  Have you experienced compassion from an earthly father?  How does that influence your view of compassion from God?  Why do you need compassion?  Why do you need to show compassion?  When you are suffering for any reason, how comforting is it to have someone who understands the pain you feel?  How does the compassion you show others help them to believe more fully in a Father who longs to be compassionate toward them?  How does God’s compassion temper His judgment? 

Compassion is one of the qualities that flow from the Father to those who fear Him.  It is His understanding of our suffering, and His suffering with us, that keeps the fear we ought to have from becoming a terrifying thing.  When a child of any age suffers, it is a comforting thing for them to know the compassion of a loving Father.  As those who represent the nature of God to others, we have the privilege of not only receiving that compassion, but also of sharing it with so many others who suffer in this life.

As you pray for a child of any age, ask God to make His compassion obvious to them.  Pray that they would know that they do not suffer alone.  Pray for wisdom in how God would have you share in their suffering.  Pray for those whose fathers on earth have not been the examples of compassion that they should have been.  Pray that the compassion received from a heavenly Father would lead to our having compassion for one another.

In prayer,

Tom