Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Numbering Our Days In Psalm 90, we learn that time is so precious and that our days ought to be numbered (v. 12). Our life is but a vapor (James 4:14), and we must be careful to plan our days with useful and helpful endeavors. If care is not taken, we will find ourselves squandering our time and failing in the education and nurturing of our children. We must walk circumspectly (i.e. carefully, like an acrobat), buying up the time because the days are evil (Eph. 5:15-16). Buying up the time and numbering our days implies that families ought to have a course of action for the edification, education, and spiritual exercise of their children. All secular educational institutions see the necessity of proper planning for a maximum educational experience. But what about the family? Is God's educational institution for children any less important? Should not families have at least a sketchy outline and set objectives for each family member? Indeed, we should be planning for our children's spiritual progress and rearing. Parenting involves planning and not passivity. Consider the following questions in view of the principle of planning: From year to year, month to month, or even week to week, do you have in mind what you want your children to learn? Why not establish a curriculum for the home where specific books of the Bible are taught or emphasized throughout a quarter, etc. Some families create a chart of objectives to be mastered which involves memorizing pertinent facts, scriptures, listings, names, etc., and when that objective is completed, it is duly noted on the chart so that both children and parents can monitor the progress. Do you make arrangements and plan for your child's participation in Bible camps, "Bible Bowls," youth devotionals, lectureships, etc.? Do you plan meaningful activities that will reinforce spiritual values, such as taking your children to visit the sick or the elderly? Do you involve them in home projects designed to encourage others, such as baking food for the needy, writing letters to Bible class teachers, elders, or newcomers? OR, do you allow them to watch hour upon hour of television or play video games unceasingly? Do you plan work details for helping the family, such as gardening, yard work, painting, cleaning, fence-building, etc. These things build character, impart wisdom, and prevent laziness. Consider these passages: Proverbs 6:6-11; I Kings 1-5; Ecclesiastes 9:10; Proverbs 24:3-4, 33-34; 26:13-16. Do you set aside time for Bible class homework assigned by the teacher in the local congregation? If this is not planned, it can so easily be forgotten until the mad rush to the building just before Bible class, when it is impossible to thoroughly concentrate and study. Do you plan to be at every assembly of the church (Heb.10:24-25)? Do you plan your schedule around the activities of the local church, or do other activities come first? Do you plan to schedule time for family devotionals? Do you plan outings for family enjoyment? I have found that fishing trips, hikes, and rides in the country are excellent ways to foster communication and provide teaching opportunities. Observing the design of God's creation can reinforce the truths our children learn in the classroom. These outings also provide lasting memories, as funny, humorous, and serious events often occur. Again, these things will only occur when we plan for them. It is imperative that families secure the future by making plans today. If we fail to plan, we will one day experience regret and dismay over what could have been. With children, we only receive one opportunity. They grow and mature so rapidly; so let us make the most of these tender years by effectively planning our days and weeks. John W. Moore

“They pass so quickly, the days of youth, and the children change so fast; and soon they harden in the mold, and the plastic years are past. Then shape their lives while they are young, this be our prayer, our aim: that every child we meet shall bear the imprint of HIS name.” Author Unknown

"Mom, Would You Spank Me if..." by Tim Nichols Imagine a ten year old boy standing on the back porch of his home with his shoes covered with wet, sticky mud and saying to his mother (who had just mopped and waxed the kitchen floor), “Mom, would you spank me if I would walk across the floor with these muddy shoes?” Try to imagine the mother answering something like this: “I would be very displeased and inconvenienced to have to clean it up so I really would like for you to take off your shoes before walking through here. But, to answer your question, no I will not spank you if you walk across the floor in your muddy shoes.” Now, if your patience will allow you, imagine the boy tracking mud across his mother’s clean floor and saying Thanks for clarifying that!” I suspect that you are able to see that something is wrong with the boy’s attitude. Maybe you have a sense that the mother ought to reverse her decision and spank him anyway after such a deliberate act of defiance. A whole lot of people treat God like the boy in our story treated his mother. How many times have you heard someone say, when discussing some question (instrumental music in worship, church attendance on Sunday evening or on Wednesday…) “Well, I just don’t think that’s a heaven or hell issue! I just can’t imagine that God is going to bar from heaven those who do that! He is not going to send someone to hell for that (using instrumental music in worship, failing to assemble with the saints…”) They then proceed to DO the thing that they have just declared to be a matter that will not send them to hell while ignoring the scriptural evidence that what they are doing (or not doing) is displeasing to God. No doubt we will sometimes become a bit bewildered when asked whether or not some acts or non-acts will result in one’s being lost for eternity, but we cannot help but sense that there is something really wrong with the attitude of the one who wants to know just how far he can go in doing what is (or even might be) displeasing to God before it will result in his eternal damnation. We can be sure that God will judge the hearts and actions of all with perfect fairness. He will not arbitrarily flip a coin to determine the eternal destiny of anyone. He knows exactly where the boundaries are and He knows when the line has been crossed. He has revealed all that you need to know to get from where you are now to heaven when your earthly life is ended. He has never inspired men to write an abridged version of the New Testament called “The Bare Minimum for Modern Man” or “The Least That You Can Do.” Instead, He gave us the Living Word and the written word and our Lord said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6; NKJV) “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15) “He who has MY commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me” (John 14:21-24, NKJV) “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (John 15:10, NKJV) If you really love God you will not be looking for the minimum daily requirement. You will do all that you can that is right, refrain from all that you can that is wrong, and ask God to forgive you for any shortcomings as you aim to do better. Fear of eternal punishment may very well play a role, but also let the sense of God’s goodness help you to decide what you will do with your life.