Dad: have you received your gift yet?

We don’t want to waste your time, so we’ll get right to the point.  If you don’t want sibling abuse creeping into your home, you need the gift of His Righteousness. 

His gift is counter-intuitive to everything you’ve been taught by the world.  It may sound simplistic (or seem impossible)… but it works. If you’re going to succeed as a parent for your child, take the leap. 

How do you start?

First you have to believe God loves you. And then you have to receive His love. 

You can believe God doesn't make junk; and you can intellectually know all the church language.  But have you received God’s love? 

Have you ever sat on the edge of your bed and just said,

“Thank you Father that you love me.  You love me, you love me, you love me.  You really love me…”?

Have you affirmed this Truth in your heart?

Maybe a better question is:  Do you know for sure that God is a good Father?  He’s not just a random “God” (or maybe a woman, or maybe an “it”) “far up in the sky looking down”. 

God is not “far up in the sky looking down”. He isn’t merely “pleased with you.”  He’s not a “please pass the salt” kind of God.  He’s a good Father and he’s beyond pleased.  He loves you so much He sent His one and only Son so that you could have life.  Life.  And life more abundantly so you can live in holy freedom.

Jesus introduces us all to Our Father. He tells us God’s name is “Abba”… Abba-Papa-Daddy-God.  A good, good Father.

So you have a Daddy in Heaven, and a Holy Spirit who comes to live inside of you.  “He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” 

There’s now a light in you that gives you the promise of NO MORE DARKNESS in you at all.

How? Remember where He lives…  inside you. 

St. Paul wants you convinced that you are filled with all the fullness of God. 

When you believe this, confessing all you sins, repenting from the old sinner nature and identity, you’ll begin to experience it.

With all the fullness of God in you, where is there room for any darkness or dirty-ness left over in you?  He takes it away.   He came to take all the sin in you away by “cleansing you of all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

No more to be a sinner driven by fallen flesh temptations.

“The Son of God appeared for this reason: to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God sins, because God’s seed abides in him.” (1 John 3:8-10)

We’re making a bold, controversial truth claim:  you can’t make your kids “good” without His Righteousness.  And you can’t truly prevent sibling abuse in your family if you don’t understand His Righteousness. 

You can raise kids up according to the world, and the world can tell them they are “good kids” and “good people.”  The world will gladly praise them for earthly achievements and awards.  Heck, those earthly achievements and awards might even make you look good.  You get a “Parent of the Year” award from the earth, and God says, “That is all filthy rags to me.”  Whoa.  This thing just got real.

Dad, we’re not being hard on you.  We’re drilling it in because you can’t make it without God’s gift of righteousness.  If you are hanging your hat on your own effort, your own accomplishments, your own success (YOUR SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS), your kids are going to model that… and they risk being lost.