About the Children

Illustration courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS on Freedigitalphotos.net

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

So much is said and done for the children, whether it is truly for the sake of the children or not. What did Jesus have to say about children? He had a lot to say about them in Matthew 18:1-10. The first thing He said was that we all need to be humble like children when we are converted to faith in God, and those who have the humility of children are considered greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (verses 2-4)

Jesus then went on to warn adults against misleading or offending children in verses 5-6:

“Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives me. But whoever causes one these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (NKJV)

Looking at the first verse, it is clear that Jesus wants us to be involved in the lives of children as much as our involvement in His kingdom. Children are the future of the church and the world. If we refuse to take an active role in the lives of children and teach them how important they are to Jesus, somebody else with less honorable intentions will cause them to stumble.

Not only are we to be as unassuming as children and value children as Jesus did, we are instructed in verse 10 “do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

The very lives of children of all ages (the Greek word for “little one” is fetus) are sacred to God. This means that we need to speak up for the right to life for children; we need to protect the sanctity of the lives of all children. We need to come along side the injured women who have had abortions and show them the love and forgiveness that surrendering to Jesus brings while encouraging them to speak out about their experiences.

Children are extremely important to Jesus and His kingdom; we who are serious about serving God. We need to do everything within our power to help children and their families from the womb until adulthood.

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to three boys, a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside. Lisa is a member of the Central Oregon Writers Guild.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, studied Christian Apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon. 

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The Descent of Kings

The Anointing of King Saul from christimages.org.

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

I have often told my teenage children that one bad decision could change the course of their lives forever. It is hard for grownups; much less children to conceptualize this idea since we make hundreds of mundane decisions every day that seem to have little effect farther than that of the moment. The fact is that our lives are shaped little by little each day as a result of the small choices we make as well as the big decisions.

The choice to obey God is always a good decision and to do otherwise will have negative consequences. We can learn patience and obedience from the example set long ago by King Saul, who chose to disobey God during the second year of his reign in Israel. Because of his disobedience, the royal succession in his family was terminated. God selected King David to rule instead of Saul’s family. (I Samuel 13:8-14)

We can learn faithfulness from King David by the way he served God wholeheartedly throughout his lifetime. David’s unfaithfulness to his own family caused his home life to spiral out of control, culminating with the attempted coups by David’s son, Absalom. David may have been a strong national leader, but it is apparent that he neglected his family in the process. (2 Samuel 11-14)

As children often repeat their parents’ sins in ways that are bigger and worse, Solomon took hundreds of wives and failed to remain faithful to God. The consequences of these choices were that his son Rehoboam would lose control over most of Israel, maintaining rule in Judah only.

When Rehoboam was crowned king of Israel, one of Solomon’s enemies who had been exiled to Egypt, Jeroboam returned to Israel and asked Rehoboam to lighten up on Him and the servant class of Israel. Rehoboam first sought the advice of the elders who had been his father Solomon’s advisors. They told him to be kind to them and they would be loyal servants forever. Rehoboam then asked his contemporaries for their advice and they told him to make life even more difficult for Jeroboam and Israel. Rehoboam went with the latter advice and the result was a divided Israel for the next thousand years. (2 Chronicles 10)

In just four generations, we can see the decline of a great nation as a direct result of  poor decision making by its leaders. As we go through our days, we need to be extra mindful that our children are watching everything we say and do, especially the less-than-positive things. Will one misstep destroy our kids’ lives? Probably not, but over time, a pattern of unwise decision making on the part of parents can lead their children to believe that those poor decisions were quite all right, thus paving the way for the next generation of even worse choices.

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to two boys with a third on the way (!), a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, studied Christian Apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.

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The User Manual for Parenting

Photo by lu_lu on Flickr.

By Lisa Nordell-Detres

Have you ever read a user manual for any of your electronic gadgets? If I had a dollar for every time I have heard the parents of a troubled teen moan that their little bundle of joy did not come with an instruction manual, I would be retired and living in Hawaii. The fact of the matter is, there IS a user manual for parenting, marriage, life skills, and living a godly life, but so few people actually read this Book. OK, it is actually a collection of books, but in the Bible, there is a wealth of instructions, examples, warnings and commandments for everyone in every generation.

Parents especially need all the help they can get. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells parents how often to teach their children right from wrong:

”These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (NIV)

The book of Proverbs gives great instructions for correcting children as well as the rewards of raising Godly children and the heartache of ignoring the Manual. One of the most famous verses in Proverbs 22:6 instructs parents to “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” (NKJV)

What do you think your chances are of passing a class in school if you never read the textbook?  Life is no different. If you want to raise upstanding children, have a peaceful marriage, live a great life, you need to read the instruction manual, God’s Word, the Bible every day and then add what you learn to your lifestyle. Start with reading one chapter of Proverbs each day for the next 31 days. Learn wisdom from Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, (next to Jesus). Your life may never be the same!

Lisa Nordell-Detres is a mother of four, grandma to two boys with a third on the way, a pastor’s wife and has worked in the garment and customer service industries in southern California. Besides writing, Lisa enjoys cooking, sewing, organic gardening, hiking, skiing and doing most anything outside.

Lisa was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Fashion Design from Woodbury University and an MBA from California State University at Northridge. Lisa, her husband and their youngest child now live in central Oregon.

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