Making it all happen. (Back to top.)

 

1. Parenting by default is what Barna termed "the path of least resistance." In this approach, parents do whatever comes naturally to the parent, as influenced by cultural norms and traditions.
2. Trial-and-error parenting is a common alternative. This approach is based on the notion that every parent is an amateur at raising children, there are no absolute guidelines to follow, and that the best that parents can do is to experiment, observe outcomes, and improve based upon their successes and failures in child rearing.
   
   
    "Parenting by default and trial-and-error parenting
    are both approaches that enable parents to
   raise their children without the effort
   of defining their life." 
    
3. Revolutionary parenting, which is based on one's faith in God, makes parenting a life priority. Those who engage in revolutionary parenting define success as intentionally facilitating faith-based transformation in the lives of their children, rather than simply accepting the aging and survival of the child as a satisfactory result.

• Most people probably think about having the family all sit down together and the father dutifully reading the Bible and instructing the family. While this may be good, it is certainly not the only way. This method is based on a Greek system that viewed teaching as dispensing knowledge. There is another way which should also be incorporated. In the Hebrew culture in which Jesus lived, to teach meant building a relationship, spending time with a person in order to learn from observing him and interacting with him.
  
• When do I have time to instruct my family? It is possible that you are missing multiple opportunities because you fail to see every day life as an opportunity. Get to know your children. Set out to study them by observing and talking with them and spending as much time with them as you can. You can't lead when you are absent.

• Be careful here: There is so much out there for families to use and much of it is twaddle. I hate to say it but it's true. It's not so easy to find quality tools that will assist you.* But here is the good news: you don't need much.
  
• The impact you have will be with:

1. your discussions [back and fourth questions and not just lecture];
2. your day to day personal walk...how you live out your own faith in front of your children, how you apply God's Word to your own decisions;
3. the way you continue to talk about your family devotional time throughout the day. For example: if you're using the Bible Bookmark on "A New Creation" you may have opportunities during the day to point out areas of "the Old self" and the "New self." How they differ and remind family members that when we belong to Christ, we live for Him, we live a new kind of life following the way of God.
   

• We need to be families that do more than simply add a new item to the to-do list! We need to be families that create a new reality in our homes. A reality that is focused on passing on our faith in all we do, punctuated by moments of Bible reading, prayer, worship and instruction/discussion. 
  
• Write out your plan (if you're new, keep it simple). Share your plan with your family, extended family, friends, pastor, and anyone else who can hold you accountable. Plan some assessment days. Write on the calendar an appointment in the future where you and your family or spouse take time to assess how things are going and make needed changes. You will not be the greatest family devotional leader right from the start, so set a date in the future to asses and change things around. 

• Prayer
• Family Scripture Memory 

Day by day(Back to top.)

Jesus' baptism by John: In Jesus' day baptism, called Mikvah, was very common. There were a number of reasons for going through Mikvah.

 

The most common was in order to offer a sacrifice at the Temple or to enter the Temple for the daily prayers. Archaeologist have found many Mikvot near the Temple entrance and some wealthy Jews had them in their homes.

 

Baptism was an outward witness to an inner reality. There was a "status change." If a person went from unclean (not able to approach God at the Temple) to clean (able to approach God at the Temple) he would go through the Mikvah to indicate that he was clean. Similarly, if a Jew was living apart from God's Law but has now returned (repented) to living according to the Way of God, he would go through the Mikvah, or in John's case, into the Jordan. This baptism of repentance indicated that a status change had occurred. This is why John can say, "bear fruit in keeping with repentance."  "Fruit" were any genuine acts of obedience to the Law of God. John prepared the people to receive the Messiah by turning their hearts back to God.

 

When Jesus comes to begin his ministry he is not repenting from sins, but being immersed into the start of his ministry and purpose on earth. John, who prepared the way, stands as witness as does the Holy Spirit and the voice of God Himself. Jesus was to be the suffering servant and ultimate High Priest for the Heavenly Tabernacle.

 

At this point, commentators and teachers begin to differ: 
One commentator says it like this, "The 'righteousness' which He and John fulfill in the Baptism was in the sense of type and anti-type in the foreshadowing of the Aaronic priesthood, pointing to the ultimate High Priest, the Messianic Servant of God. (Ex 29:4-9, Num 18:23, Is. 53:6,11).

Jesus calls disciples: It was common for a Rabbi like Jesus to have disciples. They would normally be in their teen years when they began to follow a Rabbi. The Rabbis would not pick disciples like Jesus, however. A Jewish boy would approach a Rabbi and ask to be a disciple. The Rabbi would only take the best of the best. Similar to the top level schools; most did not make it. They would instead go to their father's home and learn a trade.

 

Jesus does something different. He calls and chooses his disciples. These young men would have been those who did not make it. They were in their father's trade.

Why did these disciples drop everything to follow him? It seems odd to our 21st century western ears. But Jesus was a known teacher by this time. These were Jewish God fearing young men. Since most of them were at a trade when Jesus called them, they had been those who did not make it with other Rabbi's. Imagine if following a Rabbi was the greatest gift a young man could desire. Now imagine if a Rabbi who already performed miracles and was known by many, enough to draw crowds, chose you to be his disciple. I can picture them running home and excitedly telling their parents. The joy and excitement in that family must have been great. "Who could have imagined he'd pick me?" Wow.

 

That's a big difference from movies I've seen where middle aged men dropped nets and with glossed over eyes followed Jesus.

Jesus is in the middle of teaching his disciples on the mountain. This teaching was probably given several times at several locations. (Luke has it on a plain). The reason a teacher would repeat things was for the purpose of memorization. They did not have access to effective inexpensive writing in those days. To teach meant to repeat important lessons and information over and over.

 

We can learn from this with our children. Training doesn't happen on a schedule always. Some times we may find ourselves on a hill, or on a plain and we can teach our children all over again. Repetition is important.

Has our relationship with God become a burden? Have we made lists of expectations for our walk with God that God never put on us?

 

Jesus does not say here, "do nothing." He actually does have a yoke. But his yoke is easy and light. It's not like the yoke of those teachers that load up additional commands, rules, and expectations.  

 

"For this commandment that I command you today

is not to hard for you, neither is it far off...

but it is very near you. It is in your mouth and

in your heart, so that you can do it.

See, I have set before you today life and good,

death and evil." Deut. 30:11 & 15

 

 "You shall not add to the word that I command you,

 nor take from it, that you may keep the

commandments of the LORD your God..."
Deut 4:2

 

 Note: We often want to make sure we do not remove a command of God, but what about adding? That is were the people is Jesus' day were stumbling most. To add a command is to break a command.

Jesus leaves His disciples who are soon to be baptised in the Holy Spirit and fully ready to carry on their mission.

 

We began this week with Jesus calling his disciples and we end with him leaving them. This is another thing that was not common. Disciples normally stayed with their Rabbis until they were about 30 years old. That's about 15 years of learning and following before they could be granted the authority of their Rabbi to teach in their Rabbi's name.

 

Jesus spent about 3 1/2 years with his disciples. But he was not leaving them as orphans. Quite the contrary, he was sending the Holy Spirit to immerse them, not with water from this world, but with the Holy Spirit who is from Heaven.

 

Since that day, the day the Holy Spirit came as tongues of fire onto the 120 disciples at the Temple during the feast of Pentecost, the entire world has been impacted in miraculous ways. You are a member of the household of God because of the work done through the Holy Spirit which began in earnest on that day. And it continues with you as you train your own children first.

Day by day again...(Back to top.)

Here Jesus is speaking of two kingdoms and two ways of life. Jesus is the Light of the world and he is present. These people have a huge opportunity to learn and walk in that Light.

"Under the fig tree" was an idiom that referred to the study of the Scriptures. In Jesus day, the Scripture readings were divided up into sections and every Israelite and synagogue read the same sections each week. It's likely that Nathanial was studying that week's section which probably contained Gen. 28 where Jacob sees a ladder with Angels ascending and descending. Jesus knew Nathaniel's heart and this was evident to Nathaniel. He knows the heart of our children as well.

This was the last day of the festival of Tabernacles (Sukkot) and water was a central picture. It is said that the rejoicing after the water drawing was so great that, "he that never saw the rejoicing of the place of drawing of water, never saw any rejoicing in his life.''  Furthermore, the water on this day was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, "Says R. Joshua ben Levi, why is its name called the place of drawing water? Because, from there 'they draw the Holy Spirit', as it is said, 'and you shall draw water with joy out of the wells of salvation'" Isa 12:3.'  [Remember earlier Jesus name (Yeshua) means "salvation".] Isaiah says, "Out of Yeshua you shall draw water with joy." Here the people are drawing water with Joy and the Sages taught that this was a symbol of the Holy Spirit being drawn from the wells of Yeshua (salvation). Jesus was making himself the well out of which the Holy Spirit would flow. He declared himself Messiah in a loud voice that everyone there would have understood, particularly the teachers and Priests. 

 

Digging deeper: this is the last day of the last festival of the year. The festivals are a yearly reminder of God's plan. Currently in the scope of history we are between Pentecost (Shavuot) and Trumpets (Yom Teruah). The last day of the last festival will be rejoicing for all people and all nations that God has called and redeemed at the end of the age. There are 70 sacrifices before that last day of the week of Tabernacles which the Sages said were for the 70 nations (Gen. 10-11). The final day was regarded as the sacrifice for Israel. As rejoicing was so great on this day, greater than any a person could see in this world, so will the rejoicing be at Christ's return when all things are made new.

 

He who has the son, has life. Not, "will have life." Not, '"may have life." 

"These are written that you might believe,
and by believing you might have eternal life."

"Believe" in our day and language is a tricky word. Example: I can say; "I believe it will be a nice day today." or "I believe it was Bob who just called." Both statements are really comments about uncertainty. I "believe" this to be true, but I am not sure.

 

When John speaks of "belief" he is not speaking of a cognitive intellectual ascent to factual truths. "Even the demons believe and shutter." James 2:19 John's intention is to convey a complete trust and life lived based on that belief and trust. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." John 14:15 Obey out of love because we trust in His ability to keep us in his hand. "I give eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28