I am in the process of reading a book called "Pleasing People" by Lou Priolo (www.prpbooks.com). As a parent or youth worker, this would be a valuable read if you struggle in the area of seeking approval from people. The book presents an excellent Scriptural basis for understanding how pride affects our self-perception and how it causes us to seek out the approval of people. It also separates people pleasing into two categories--seeking the approval of men and fearing the rejection of men. This is so important as we interact with high school students. We set up our family systems to hinge on our approval and disapproval of our kids activities. I have already seen evidence of this in my own family and my oldest is only 4. In some ways we train our kids to seek out the approval of men rather than to be content in the approval of God.
Part of the problem might be that we ourselves seek the approval of men rather than the approval of God. If this is something you think you might be struggling with, this would be a great book to pick up. It's not perfect, but it does have some great insight into the issue.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Will of God
Tonight at youth group we are going to be searching out the question: "Why does God harden people's hearts". I have found this to be an interesting topic with some powerful application.
The ultimate point of the night after looking at Pharaoh, the King of Hesbon and the Israelites in Romans 9 and 11 is to see that any time that God hardens a heart it serves a specific purpose for his Kingdom. Whether we know or see that purpose at any given moment is besides the point. The application for the night is to see that God wants us to focus on doing our part. We are incapable of saving anyone. Our role is to be witnesses, to be ambassadors and to speak the truth in love. We can plant, we can water, but ultimately God will cause that seed to grow.
This is actually encouraging. It takes the pressure off of results. We can trust that if we are faithful to do our part, God will do his part according to his perfect will. Does this mean that everyone we evangelize to will be saved... unfortunately, no. But as a faithful disciple I have to focus my attention on what God has asked me to focus my attention on. I can't focus on the things that are out of my control.
Where to go with this:
1. As a family, what are you doing to fulfill your part? Are there family members (immediate or extended) that you have been praying for and being a witness to? Can you identify what seeds have been planted or what watering has been done? If not, what are some seeds that you could plant? What is some watering that you could do? This would be a great dinner table discussion.
2. As a family, what are some things that you do to display trust in God? Is your giving a family affair? Do your kids know how much you give? Do they know the sacrifice that you make to support the work of the Kingdom financially? This would be a great discussion to have, not to brag, but to teach them the importance of trusting God's provision and his hand in the life of your family.
The ultimate point of the night after looking at Pharaoh, the King of Hesbon and the Israelites in Romans 9 and 11 is to see that any time that God hardens a heart it serves a specific purpose for his Kingdom. Whether we know or see that purpose at any given moment is besides the point. The application for the night is to see that God wants us to focus on doing our part. We are incapable of saving anyone. Our role is to be witnesses, to be ambassadors and to speak the truth in love. We can plant, we can water, but ultimately God will cause that seed to grow.
This is actually encouraging. It takes the pressure off of results. We can trust that if we are faithful to do our part, God will do his part according to his perfect will. Does this mean that everyone we evangelize to will be saved... unfortunately, no. But as a faithful disciple I have to focus my attention on what God has asked me to focus my attention on. I can't focus on the things that are out of my control.
Where to go with this:
1. As a family, what are you doing to fulfill your part? Are there family members (immediate or extended) that you have been praying for and being a witness to? Can you identify what seeds have been planted or what watering has been done? If not, what are some seeds that you could plant? What is some watering that you could do? This would be a great dinner table discussion.
2. As a family, what are some things that you do to display trust in God? Is your giving a family affair? Do your kids know how much you give? Do they know the sacrifice that you make to support the work of the Kingdom financially? This would be a great discussion to have, not to brag, but to teach them the importance of trusting God's provision and his hand in the life of your family.
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