© 1997 Sid Galloway Updated Dec 2001
Humble Hypotasso Faith - God's Way Home - The Way of His Son
©
1997 Sid Galloway Updated Dec 2001
We fumble & stumble along, but the LORD never fails!
So don't give up, folks. (1 Peter 5:5-9)
Just keep on walking in joyful submission under God's holy hand.
When it gets rough, remember that circumstances are
God's providential pressures, (Romans 8:28-30)
your cross conforming your character into Christ's. (James 1:2-8)
Love
Letters for Heads of Household
Movie Reviews
- Detailed information
(sex, violence, language).
.
Family
Worship - If you want some help getting started or
to strengthen your family devotional time I recommend two little
booklets:
Rediscovering the Lost Treasure of
Family Worship, by Jerry Marcellino.
[Call Audubon Press, 800-405-3788]
Advice to the Young & Moral Catechism,
by Noah Webster
(Author of the first comprehensive American Dictionary)
(Available from WallBuilder, Box 397, Aledo,
TX 76008, 817-441-6044.)
And men, beware of the * The Myth of Mutual Submission . This excellent article by Wayne Grudem of the (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood)
is a much needed message.
. * Discipleship Dates with Dad - Men, have
you won the hearts of those in your family? Do they really
know and trust you intimately, because you know and nurture
them regularly and personally? It doesn't happen by chance,
guys. You have to work at it, one on one. And there's
no better way than scheduling regular, personal time with each
one. Yes, you do have time. I've got six kids and
the Lord always makes a way for each one.
No, it doesn't have to be some complicated,
formal program. Make it fun, adapted to that child's age
and interests. And of course keep it focused on God the
Father. Just love 'em and use the teachable moments the
Lord will provide. We always try and include a time for
prayer, singing praises, and Bible reading. And we work
on Scripture memory, meditation, and application of principles.
Just work it in as you drive to get a donut (fruit is healthier),
or walk through a park.
Be sure to give your wife top priority
on your disciple date schedule!
And that doesn't mean just sitting
in a restaurant eating or watching a rare movie.
Open Scripture, and "wash her
with the water of the Word", according to her needs!
Dad's, Click here for your Ph.D.
(Doctor of Phatherhood)
Be sure to apply Classic Counsel from
great servants in the past!
Be sure to check
out the ARTICLES section
Always sacrifice your own "desires" when needed
to meet your child's "needs".
Never sacrifice your child to fulfill your own "desires"
. . . no matter how you slice it
folks, that's called abortion.
Never do for your children, what they can and should
do for themselves or for each other!
Never tolerate disrespect or rebellion (not in tone, word,
countenance, slow response, etc.).
. . . . teach them early to choose
soul-control (quiet, still, attentive) when you speak:
**
it could save their life in an emergency !!
. . . . teach them to respond with
"Yes, sir, I'd be glad to".
. . . . then to appeal to you or any other
authority if needed.
. . . . and to appeal above that
authority to higher authorities if necessary.
Coming soon:
* How you and your spouse can blend your differences
& work as a team.
* How to balance encouragement, with correction.
* Me?
Obey Sid? For many years,
I believed in and thought I understood submission. But my
definition of submission was a heart attitude of battling for
my own way, and then allowing my husband to make the final decision
- resigning to his will. In reading the book, ME,
OBEY HIM? (revised edition) by Elizabeth Rice Hanford (a comprehensive
study of the biblical passages dealing with submission), I was
brought to tears for my own marriage and those of so many
Christian women today. For the first time, I saw that my
heart was in rebellion. Now submission is a joy because
I trust God to speak to me and guide our family through my husband
(1 Cor 11; Eph 5). And because there is no longer a battle
of the wills, he seeks my input as I trust God with a "gentle
and quiet spirit" (1 Pet 3), which comes from a peaceful
faith in a sovereign God.
A CAUTION from Sid:
(See - "Appeal
vs. Rebuke: Responding to Sinful Authorities")
Each we've read on marriage is fallible
and contains imperfect interpretations and applications, especially
when it comes to the issue of authority
and submission. We all must avoid
unbiblical extremes. Please remember that no author is totally
unbiased. Each tends to see Scripture and life from their own
"natural" perceptual filter. For example, a woman author who is passive, non-verbal, and
a "follower" in her natural flesh,
will be tempted to portray the role of a wife as weak rather than
meek, failing to acknowledge the Biblical process for respectfully
sharing her heart with her husband, appealing to him as her authority,
and if necessary, appealing to the authorities above him in both
the church and the government.
In contrast,
a woman author who is naturally aggressive,
verbal, and "take charge" in
her flesh, will be tempted to paint a picture of the wife's role
that falls short of the hard sayings commanded in Scripture. She
might fail to emphasize the often repeated, central Biblical characteristic
for a godly wife of a genuinely "gentle and quiet spirit",
that does not judge her husband's heart motives or try to replace
the Holy Spirit and the church elders as his source of accountability.
Similarly, she might tend to view Bible passages, that actually
refer to confrontation between believers of equal rank, as applicable
to conflict between believers of unequal
rank without qualification. This
fails to take into account the numerous passages that clearly
modify when, if, and how a person under authority may "confront" the person over her or him.
[Be a Berean, Acts 17:11, and check everything with prayerful
exegesis and systematic theology]
A Challenge To Women: (by
Pastor John Piper, author of Desiring God)
Blessing Our
Husbands, by
Rachel Weaver
Children: A Blessing Not A
Burden?
Steven's
Thoughts on the 9/11 Anniversary:
One year after
Please know that I have many sincere Muslim friends who do NOT believe it is right to abuse, oppress, or kill innocent women, children, or men. While we do not agree on theology, we do agree about our responsiblity to Almighty God to protect the innocent from predatory people, including phony religious and political leaders.
The grief I felt was for those who died and for those who lost someone. I
also felt grief for those radical extremists who died for their religion, and will not be allowed into Amightly God's kingdom of love. I have a God-given command to reject revenge –
“vengeance is Mine, says the Lord”.
The Bible says to love your enemies. It says that when your enemy is
thirsty, give him something to drink, and when he is hungry, give him something
to eat - for then you will heap burning coals on his head. So, I think it
is a God-given command that we are to follow. If we Americans stood up and
said that we still love the terrorists, it is the only way to win them over to
be our friend, instead of our enemies. For some radicals, it is a religion of love only
for others of the same religion, but hate to those in other religions. Christians need to show the
world that we are different from bitter extremists, that we love even those who are
enemies. Otherwise, we are being just as wrong in our attitudes of hate.
Although most people would deny it, many "Christians" are starting to hate those who
aren’t Christians.
The falling of the twin towers brought a new sense of patriotism to the American people. I saw Americans flags everywhere, people sending money to the 911 victims, and it led to the war on terrorism. Through the time that has passed, have we learned anything from September 11th? I know I have. I have learned that we should be aware that man is evil and that only Almighty God is good.
.
This was Steven's sermonette to me one day when he was
6. I was in the flesh that day, grumbling about a bunch
of things, as Dad's shouldn't do. I
had the whining attitude that things were "not fair
and I deserved better". Out of the mouths of babes!
(Romans 8:28-29) "Remember
Dad, you deserve hell, but you're going to heaven thanks to Jesus".
While
riding bikes one day when he was about 10, Steven turned and said, "Dad, I'm not afraid to die anymore, since
I know I'm going to heaven. But you know, Dad, I am afraid of
how I might die."
I told Steven that I too hoped
my death did not involve much suffering. Then he said, "The more I think about it Dad, it will
be OK if the Lord chooses for me to die a long and painful death,
because then I'll have more time to tell people about Jesus."
May our Father give us all the
grace to bear our sufferings for His glory and the blessing of
others (1 Cor 10:13; James 1:2-8).
When
Kathleen was only three (going on 30), and returning from the
dentist, her mother told her she could grow up to be a dentist
one day. Kathleen said, "Yes,
Mom, but I don't think my children would like that very much".
For
a long time Amy struggled with feeling alone if she woke up in
the middle of the night. Even though her two sisters were in the
room with her, they were asleep. Finally she had learned how to
be at peace and she told us: "Dad,
when I wake up late at night I know that God is awake and He's
with me, so I just talk to Him and then go back to sleep".
Michael's decision of faith:
One night after Mike's fifth heart surgery, when he was five, he called me in to
talk.
He knew that the surgery didn't go well, and that he would be
having more difficulty.
So he'd been struggling with bitterness and depression ever since.
When I came in, he said: "Dad, I
need to do something I've never done before."
I asked what it was, and he said, "It
starts with an 'S', Dad, but I can't remember what it is".
He thought real hard and then he remembered,
"Oh yeah, it's surrender. I've never
let Jesus be my boss, Dad.
I've always been my own boss. Will you show me how to surrender
to Him, Dad?"
The Lord in His sovereign plan has used Michael's weak physical
heart, to bring about the healing of his spiritual heart! God
is so good!! (Rom 8:28-29; James 1:2-8)
On
another occasion, at about six years old, Michael called me in to his room before he feel
asleep and asked, "Dad, why
did God choose me, to have all these heart surgeries?"
Foolishly,
I almost gave him a long dissertation of an answer. But I knew
we'd been studying the Bible with me on our Dad Dates, so I asked
Michael what he thought was God's reason. Michael's answer
was profoundly simple. "Well
Dad, He probably wants me learn how much I need Him, and He wants
us to tell people in the hospitals about Jesus".
When Michael was seven and on his way to his
sixth heart surgery, he began to really understand what
life's all about. As we drove along the highway, all of a sudden
he said:
"Dad, I think I've learned what's most important in life.
It's not toys, things, and being busy with fun activities.
It's relationships with the people you love - especially God."
** See the article, "The
Painful Pursuit of Pleasure, That Never Satisfies".
Now, if only Linda and I can take Michael's
counsel to heart (2 Cor 1:3-7).
Thanks to Michael, our Southern Medical Association presentation
was well received.
When
Lisa was four, she was watching Linda paint in amazement. Linda
asked her if she was going to paint her house when she grew up.
Lisa's response was: "If
my husband wants me to I will, but if he doesn't then I won't".
This picture is by David at 5
years old, after he submitted to Jesus as his "Boss" and savior.
That's David rejoicing at the bottom.
"I know Dad,
I know the answer. Jesus died on the cross for our sins." (This is Dave's standard answer to any
and every question during family devotions. With a beaming
smile, he knows this answer is never wrong.)
"Hey Dad, you
know why Adam obeyed his wife and ate the fruit? Cause he didn't
want her to be mad at him!" (Think
about it men. Sad but oh so true.)