Child-centred Parenting

I learnt a beautiful lesson on parenting from Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo today.

The Ezzos described of many parents focusing their attention extensively on their children, so much so that they have forsaken their first love of each other (Gary and Anne Ezzo, 2007, "Growing Kids God's Way: Reaching the Heart of Your Child With a God-centered Purpose", pp. 35-38). This not only lead to the break-up of family relationships (especially between the parents), it gives rise to children who will develop self-centredness because of a false sense of self-reliance.

I reflected on this and on hindsight, I may have placed my children's interests above my spouse's. Child-centred parenting means not spending quality time with my wife in the name of good parenting. God has meant for the husband-wife relationship to be a priority in the family. Children are God's gifts and are meant to integrate into the family structure with the installation of parental authority.

I pray that as the head of the household, I will seek to provide a balanced timetable for spending time with my spouse and children. By giving space for just my wife and I alone, I am respecting God's desire for the "one-flesh union". Thank you Lord, for such an insight and Your gentle reminder for me.

Psalm 40

As I read this psalm, I was filled with mixed feelings --- in remembrance of God's blessings in my life and family, and in anticipation of Christ's return. Psalm 40 not only depicts King David's trust in the Lord's deliverance when he was undergoing tough situations, it also shows the promise of God's salvation plan for those who believe and trust in Him.

God does not desire our offering and sacrifice but our hearts to be close to His. In fact, God sacrificed His Son Jesus Christ to die on the Cross so that we could be redeemed from the curse of death and eternal separation from God.

"... You are my help and my deliverer;

O my God, do not delay." -- Psalm 40:17

I pondered upon the above last verse for while a quite. If David were to prophetically mean of the Messiah's second return, I am not sure if I am ready for that. Not because I do not desire for Christ's glorious return, but if my prayer for my parents and friends to receive Christ as their personal saviour can be fulfilled before that.

Psalm 39

This psalm depicts David pleading for God's mercy for his brief life on earth.

He mentioned of watching his ways and keeping his tongue from sin at the beginning of the psalm, underscoring the power of a wilful and idle tongue, and his understanding of the power of spoken words. I like Charles Capps' interpretation of the latter: "Words are containers. They carry faith or fear, and they produce after their kind" (Charles Capps, 2004, "God's Creative Power", Harrison House Publishers). By confessing his sins to God, David was able to solicit God's forgiveness and His deliverance.

Psalm 39 is also a stark reminder to us that life is short. To God's perspective, our lives on earth is but a speck of existence compared to eternity in heaven. We need to treasure our time with our loved ones and bear witness of Christ's love to others! For what is the meaning of amassing wealth on earth without hope for eternality and richness in heaven? Count on King David to know that!

Psalm 38

It was perhaps 5 years ago when I attended my first "Encounter Weekend" training under Pastor Joe Kum's network at a hotel in Johor Bahru, Pastor Joe illustrated how sins brought about consequences in our lives and our next generations. When we sin against God, Satan places a curse on us and if we do not confess it before God and seek His forgiveness and protection, the sin will eventually "catch up" with us and we will have to deal with the consequences of it. The consequence may appear in many forms, and one of them is sickness.

In Psalm 38, King David suffered tremendous setback in his physical health and psychological well-being, possibly from the consequence of committing adultery with Bathsheba and committing murder to Uriah, Bathsheba's husband. Perhaps David was straying too far away from the Lord or perhaps he had lost the fear of the Lord, that prevented him from seeking God's forgiveness before he was rebuked by prophet Nathan to repent of his sins.

Let us wait upon our Saviour and ask Him to break any curses spoken upon us and our loved ones in the mighty name of Jesus.

Psalm 37

Psalm 36 and 37 share many commonalities. Evil will not overcome good. The Word of God says that we should wait upon the Lord and commit our ways to Him, and that we should not envy others who do wrong. How then can we stand firm and not be influenced?

The answer is to "delight yourself in the Lord" (Psalm 37:4), which requires us to commit our lives totally to God so that we can truly enjoy a God-centred lifestyle. In delighting the Lord, God promises us that He will uphold us when we stumble in our ways. Now this is a risk-free lifetime investment which we know will yield much fruit in time to come.

Psalm 36

The righteous will always triumph over evil! This is the gist of Psalm 36 and is God's unfailing truth for all of us.

When one is devoid of the fear of the Lord, he will naturally be deceitful and manipulative towards his fellow men. That's where the fear of the Lord is important in guarding our hearts, which leads us to see others in the eyes and perspective of God. I remember my cell leader (Patrick Gallo) telling me that we should treat others with respect and kindness because all men are creations of God. That really blew my mind. Many times when I was faced with a situation where I leaped to my own conclusion of some one else's fault and misgivings, I have sinned against God because I was not treating that person with respect and understanding. And that is an act of not respecting God's wonderful creations!

Dear Lord, with You is the fountain of life and only in Your light can we see light. So Lord, bless me with humility when I am emotionally charged in situations which I could potentially mistreat others due to self-righteousness. The fear of the God be with me, always. Thank you Jesus, for blessing me and my family with Your unfailing love. Amen.

Psalm 35

This psalm seems to be to be one imprecatory prayer of David, asking the Lord to avenge the injustice and sufferings he had borne. It seems to me that it's so unlike David, who had a close intimacy with God, to seek God's approval to punish those who return evil for good.

Consider the moments of desperation when David was at his wits' end, when even his prayers to God seemed to be unanswered. Do we blame David for doing it? Alas, we can be guilty as such.

I pray that I will not be subject to what David had to go through, for it is my desire to bless and not curse, even at those who wronged me. May the Holy Spirit guard my heart so that I will not sin with negative thoughts and words. God is good all the time! Amen!

Psalm 34

At this morning's church service, Pastor Eugene Seow highlighted the characteristics of a man whose heart is after God's heart, with reference to Psalm 34. King David was such a man who we could emulate in our quest to have intimacy with God.

He talked about the following 4 characteristics of the ability to:-

1. --> Reflect the presence of God;
2. --> Experience the provision and protection of God;
3. --> Advance the purposes of God; and
4. --> Live out God's promises

God wants to bless His people. However, we need to take the first step to fulfill His purposes in our lives, in order for us to claim such blessings. The foundational truth is based on our fear of the Lord. When we exalt Him and obey His laws, blessings will flow into our lives and we will lack nothing (Psalm 34:9).

How wonderful it is to claim God's evergreen promise of protection and deliverance when all we need to do is to simply love and revere Him.