Learning The Child's Language

Greek and Hebrew are not the only languages I struggle with. Lately I have been challenged with “toddler talk.” Our son Jared is learning how to speak, and it is fun trying to interpret his words. Dad is Daaee, Mom is Maee, and A.J. is Zae. One of his most used words though is “snack,” or as he says it, “sna.” A.J. can’t talk yet other than saying “mumma” or “daad.”
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It is interesting how closely their language is tied to food. Not only am I learning baby talk, but I am learning what it takes to feed a couple of growing boys. Jared has gotten big enough that he can explore on his own, and often his exploits involve a hunt for a “sna.” We do not want him just rummaging through the cupboards unsupervised, so we have instructed him to ask for a snack instead of just taking it. Now he goes around pointing and saying, “wat sem” (want some).
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He still cannot say apple, but knows the word ball, so if he wants an apple he will point at the fruit basket and ask for a “bau.” He has also learned that if he scoots his stool up by the counter, he can reach the apples himself but has been told not to take them without asking. He gets scolded if he grabs one without permission. Today I caught him doing something new. Instead of actually touching the apple in the basket with his hand, he was leaning over the basket attempting to eat the apple without holding on to it.
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I must admit that it was quite clever for a two year old, but he got in trouble anyway. As I reflect on this little incident, I realize how much adults are just like two year olds. How often don’t we try to get around the clear commands of God. It was also a reminder of how important it is to work hard at training our boys to in obedience. The first word we trained them to understand was “NO”. We did this by touching their hands firmly when they reached for something off limits and repeating the word, “no”.
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Child training is hard work. We only have two, but I am already finding how different each one is. What worked for the one may not work for the other. We can read child training books or talk to others and find out what worked perfectly for them, but it may not work for our child.
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Regardless, I know that I cannot give in to their every whim. If I do, they will learn to blackmail us simply by throwing a tantrum. I have heard of parents giving into their children simply to avoid a conflict. That is a mistake. If you do not stop doing that when they are still infants, do not be surprised if you find them laying on the floor at Wal-Mart kicking and screaming until they get the toy they want.
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Scripture is very clear about this. “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.” (Proverbs 19:18). “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.” (Proverbs 29:17)
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It is sad when children become so unruly that they are no longer a delight to their parents. Often parents neglect to say “no” when the children are still babies, and then end up yelling and screaming at them when they are older. By this time the child has already learned to manipulate and often just tunes the parent out.
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There are times we need to yell. For example if the child is ready to touch a hot stove. But yelling usually just trains children that losing their temper is okay. Instead, we must calmly take the time to train and develop godly behavior in the child, both by leading and example. Spanking must also be an option. “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” (Proverbs 13:24) The problem with spanking is that many do not understand the difference between a physical reprimand meant to train and an actual beating. A Biblical spanking is done in love in order to train. It must be done calmly and not in anger, and generally once the child is trained spankings are rare. A parent who beats their child because they are embarrassed or inconvenienced needs to repent of their abusive sin.
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Child training is hard work, but it yields lasting rewards. “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

The Iowa Marriage Debate

There has been a lot of discussion about marriage in Iowa over the last year, and I would expect even more in the days and years ahead. A few years back, the Legislature of the state of Iowa passed a law stating that marriage was between one man and one woman. In April of 2009, the Supreme Court of Iowa issued an opinion against that law. Today there is a debate on whether or not a sitting Governor would have the authority to put a stay on that decision. At the same time, many Iowans are calling for a vote to just let the citizens of the state settle this issue.
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Essentially, Iowans find themselves in a position of debating who has the right to be the final decider of this issue. In the midst of all the emotion, we run a grave danger of forgetting that this issue has already been decided. It was not decided by a legislature, or a court, or a group of citizens, or even by a church. It was actually decided by our Creator when He made them male and female and put them together in order to procreate.
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This principle of man and woman coming together predates even the Scriptures which were given to us by God. In other words, God had established the natural order of things long before He even had Moses write the Pentateuch. Even today as we go into the hardware store and ask for plumbing and electrical connections we use the terms male and female because of the nature of how God made us. This was not something established by man, but rather by God.
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If the courts were suddenly to declare that gravity does not exist, would it change the fact? Of course not. Some would then argue that if it doesn’t change anything why worry about it. I worry about it because lies are deadly. Of course I can understand that gravity does exist, but I remember when my little brother broke his arm trying to fly like Super Man.
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What it comes down to is that we as the citizens of Iowa must oppose any decision of the court that so blatantly goes against reality. We all know that marriage is between a husband and a wife. To declare differently is to distort the truth and to even change the very definition of a word that was founded upon the principles of nature. To argue otherwise is not only to argue with God, but to argue with the reality of the creation that He made.

Will We Ever Get Global Warming?

Well, the groundhog saw his shadow. So what does it mean? Besides the fact that there was enough sun for him to see a shadow, it means absolutely nothing. “But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness.” (1 Timothy 4:7) In spite of the truth, this little varmint has become famous for predicting how long the winter will be. According to this years prediction we can expect 6 more weeks of what we have already been putting up with (well, a few less than that by now). Yes, this is turning into a memorable winter.
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I must admit that I kind of enjoy pushing all the snow though. I doubt I would enjoy it so much if didn’t have a skid steer to use. It sure is fun to ram into a snow bank and just see how far I can push it before I have to back up and hit it again. It is also fun to spin that thing around on a dime. If I did the same thing with the van, I’d risk rolling it or getting a ticket. This year, however, I have begun to wonder if I will run out of places to push all the snow.
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As much fun as I have playing on the skid steer, I look forward to all this snow melting. In fact, I have joked for years that I am in favor of global warming because I like the summer temperatures much better than the cold winters.
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In all honesty, I must disclose that I have long been a global warming skeptic. I believe God is in control of the weather, not man. It has been interesting to listen to all the debate and even the recent scandals surrounding this subject, but does the Scripture have anything to say about weather patterns?
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Psalm 148:8 tells us how meteorological activity is actually directed by the word of God. “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word:” This tells us that all God has to do is speak and the weather obeys Him. Not only can Christ calm the storm, but God sends the storms or holds them back at His will. “And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.” (Amos 4:7)
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I love to watch and listen to thunderstorms. I recently had the chance to preach on Psalm 29. This Psalm uses the language of thunderstorms, and it describes the different features of what was likely a powerful supercell. Over and over again through the chapter we read that the voice of God was upon these different parts of the storm. Now that is not hard to imagine when we think of thunder, but as we reflect on Ps 148:8 as well, let us not forget that the voice/word of God directs all the aspects of the weather.
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I can’t tell you how much longer our winter will be or how much more snow we will have, but God knows. I don’t even know if the earth will warm up or cool down in the next few years, but God knows. I do however know that one day, global warming will occur and it will be far worse than anything Al Gore is suggesting. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (II Peter 3:10)
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Nothing we can do will be able to prevent this warming. The only way to make sure we are not burned up is to trust Christ as our Savior. Consider the verse right after II Peter 3:10. “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness”. This whole earth will be burnt up and dissolved before a new heaven and earth are made. Because the earth belongs to God- not us, we should take care of it, but we must also keep it in perspective. The earth will be gone, but God will remain. Who should we put or greater focus on? I will focus on God.