March's Virtue: Uniqueness

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DEFINTION: looking for the gifts in others shows us more about ourselves

MEMORY VERSE: "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

CONNECTION: bugs to show how unique our God created our world and us

    (a connection is a visual reminder of the virtue)

background from vladstudio

SYNONYMS: one-of-a-kind, special, different, distinctive, individuality, rare, extraordinary

God is unique:

“But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does.” Job 23:13 (NASB)

Jesus is unique:

 “For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God.  But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart.  He has revealed God to us.” John 1:17-18 (NLT)

God made each man unique:

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

God gives us special gifts & talents:

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.  If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.” Romans 12:6 (NIV)

“He is the One who gave some the gift to be apostles.  He gave some the gift to be prophets.  He gave some the gift of preaching the good news. And He gave some the gift to be pastors and teachers.  He did it so that they might prepare God’s people to serve.  If they do, the body of Christ will be built up.” Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIrV)

“There are different kinds of gifts.  But they are all given by the same Spirit.” I Corinthians 12:4 (NIrV)

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 (NIV)

“Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him.  Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded:” Exodus 31:6 (NIV)

“So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the Lord has commanded.” Exodus 36:1 (NIV)

“He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems.  Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” Daniel 5:12 (NIV)

God uses our unique abilities to help Believers:

“For just was each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5 (NIV)

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” I Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

The Day of the Lord is unique:

“On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.  It will be a unique day—a day known only to the LORD—with no distinction between day and night.  When evening comes, there will be light.” Zechariah 14:6-7 (NIV)

background from vladstudio

ANTONYMS: commonness, similar, standard

Don’t hide your uniqueness:

“For am I now seeking approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man?  If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (ESV)

BIBLE STORIES/LESSONS

+  Deborah (Judges 4:1-24)— The prophetess & judge helps Barak lead the Israelites into battle against Sisera & the Canaanites.

+  Gideon (Judges 6:11-7:22)—The youngest of the weakest family is chosen by God to lead 300 men into battle against the Midianites.  

+  David & Goliath (I Samuel 17)—God uses a small boy named David to defeat the Philistine champion with 5 small stones.

+  John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1-6)—God uses a very unique man to share God’s message.  He lives in the desert, eats bugs & wears animal skins.

It's Caught & It's Taught---Honesty

It’s Caught!

The world lives & breathes with lies.  They lie to themselves. They lie to each other.  They especially lie if it gets them something they want or keeps them out of trouble. Unfortunately, our children are made with the same tendencies. “Benjamin, who broke the lamp in the living room?” “Not me!”

Teaching truthfulness means to go against the grain; to go against your child’s instincts. “Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.” Psalms 58:3 (NIV)

Benjamin lied about not breaking the lamp because he feared punishment.  He was protecting himself! Some adults do the same thing.

“Is everything ok, Honey?” You say “Yes, dear!” as you grumble & storm away! Of course he should know that you are mad that he failed to hang up his wet towel AGAIN! You storm around for 2 days until you finally lambaste your husband with all of your irritations all-the-while he has had no clue that you were upset about anything.

Or perhaps your wife has just come home from a shopping trip.  She was picking out a new dress to wear to your employer’s Christmas party. “What do you think, Dear?”  You say “It looks great!” even though you hate the color, wish it was a little less revealing, & think it is way over budget.  You keep your comments to yourself because you don’t want to deal with a possible argument.  Later, at the party you get irritated when other men notice the way her dress fits too!

 “God, help me to be a person of truth, grounded in your truth.  Help me to stand on your truth when the world around me denies you and your truth.  May I defeat the lies of the enemy with truth and may truth always come from my lips.” –Pastor John Blodgett (from his series on Spiritual Warfare at First Baptist Church of Elkhart in July 2010)  

Honesty should be a part of how you deal with anyone from your spouse, to your children, to your friends & especially unbelievers!  Since the world feeds lies, as does Satan, you should be representing God as a truthful God.  Remember that the church is the guardian of truth (I Timothy 3:15).

Let me go just a little farther with honesty.  God’s Word is truth (John 17:17)!  I am sure you agree! Of course you know His Word is also powerful.  In fact, I Timothy 3:16 & 17 says that “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We are made complete by the Word of God. It is powerful to do all of these things because it is truth! Honesty is not just refraining from lies, but is using God’s Truth in everything we do! What I mean is that you should be revealing or making known what God has said.

Let’s say that your child is gossiping (another thing that is often untruthful) about a friend to another one of his/her friends.  You overhear the conversation.  What should you do?  If you are rooted in truth, you can use the sword of the Spirit, God’s Word, so that God can make your child more complete & equipped for every good work. Allow the truth of Proverbs 18:7 & 8, which says “The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips. Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart,” to work in your child’s life! If you have already learned or explained the verse to your child, that’s great!  If not, take the time to talk about it.  Don’t be afraid to even explain it in front of the other child either!  Remember, who your child associates with will influence them greatly, so any influence you can have on them will benefit your child too! 

Don’t be surprised if you are also held to this standard by your child.  BE CAREFUL!!  Remember that God’s Word is doing the work, not the person sharing it.  Allowing your child to do this can sometimes become a respect issue though.  I would suggest that you evaluate the maturity & age of the child before giving permission for this to occur. If you do allow this, they need to know that they can come to you, but must do it in an honoring way.  When it is child to parent, this should be done in private & you might need to help them learn how to say it in a loving way. 

When we are honest to those around us & allow God’s truth to permeate all that we do, we will show our children that God’s Word is the living word that works in us & through us.  Remember IT’S CAUGHT & TAUGHT!!  Let’s take a look at how we might also teach honesty to our children.

It’s Taught!

Let’s go back to the case where Benjamin just broke the lamp in the living room. Before I talk about what has just happened, this is what I would have done:

1) QUOTE SCRIPTURE!

“The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.” Proverbs 12:22 (NIV)

2) TEACH!

“Benjamin, before we talk about this I want to remind you that lying is sin. God detest or hates lying & so do I.  I expect you to be truthful in what I am about to ask you.  You will get into more trouble if you are not truthful with me. Do you understand?”

I would then begin to ask detailed questions about what happened. “I see that the lamp is broken. Were you kicking the soccer ball in the living room? Did you knock it over?”

In most cases you will not be totally sure what all the truth is, so make sure to listen to what your child says.  If you have an idea of what happened & it seems that they are lying, use the facts of what you see to explain what it looks like happened. “It seems that you were playing with your soccer ball in the living room & your you accidentally kicked the ball into the lamp. I see your ball has some broken pieces on it.”

At that point, if Ben still denies that he knocked over the lamp, ask if he is lying. In this case, it is pretty clear that Ben knocked over the lamp.  I would punish him for kicking his soccer ball in the living room which is not accepted in our house & he would receive another, more severe, punishment for lying. 

However, if I could not pinpoint exactly what happened & Ben denies his involvement, I would handle it differently.  I would tell him “it seems that you might have broken the lamp, but God knows if you are lying. Let’s quote Proverbs 12:22 together…Are you lying to me?...Ok.  I am not going to punish you because I expect you to be honest with me. If you change your mind on what happened, you need to come talk to me!”

3) PRAY!

Ben let’s pray about this together.  Let’s ask God to help us to speak the truth in all circumstances.  You also need to ask God for forgiveness for lying.

October Virtue: Patience

DEFINTION: waiting until later without complaint

MEMORY VERSE: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” Romans 8:25 (ESV)

CONNECTION: the ocean or beach that reminds us to relax & not be in such a hurry!

    (a connection is a visual reminder of the virtue)

SYNONYMS: self-control, stoicism, composure, calmness,

tranquility, peace, perseverance

We are commanded to be patient: “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

We can set our mind to be patient: “A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)

Patience is the result of God’s Spirit: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” Colossians 1:10-12 (NIV)

We need patience despite our circumstances:“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (NIV)

“Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 (NIV)

 ^“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.” 2 Timothy 3:10, 11 (NIV)

Persistence & patience go together: “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.” Proverbs 25:15 (ESV)

“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIV)

-stated above- Romans 8:25 (ESV)

Love & patience go together: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” I Corinthians 13:1 (NIV)

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

Faith & patience go together: “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU.”And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:11-15 (NASB)

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.” James 5:7-8 (NIV)

“As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” James 5:10-11 (ESV)

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Psalms 37:7 (NIV)

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalms 40:1 (NIV)

“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Luke 8:15 (ESV)

The Lord is patient unto salvation: “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?” Romans 2:1-4 (NIV)

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV)

“Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.” 2 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

The Lord is patient with His wrath to show His power: “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE I RAISED YOU UP, TO DEMONSTRATE MY POWER IN YOU, AND THAT MY NAME MIGHT BE PROCLAIMED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE EARTH.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?” On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it? …What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” Romans 9: 17-20, 22 (NASB)

ANTONYMS: impatience, anxious,

eager, longing, yearning (for ungodly things)

Anger & impatience go together: “A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.” Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)

“A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.” Proverbs 15:18 (NIV)

Complaining & impatience go together: “They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"” Numbers 21:4-5 (NIV)

God punishes eagerness in ungodly things, such as riches: “A faithful man will be richly blessed, but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.” Proverbs 28:20 (NIV)

“A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him.” Proverbs 28:22 (NIV)

BIBLE STORIES/LESSONS

Abraham waits for a son (Genesis 15:1-6; 18:1-15; 21:1-7)—Abraham waits on the LORD’s promises for an heir.  Isaac is born at his old age.

Esau & his birthright (Genesis 25:24-34)—Esau trades his birthright for food that Jacob has prepared because he is too impatient to do it himself

Jacob waits for a wife (Genesis 29)—Jacob waits 7 years to marry his love, Rachel.

Rachel waits for a son (Genesis 29:1-15; 30:1-24)—Rachel watches Leah conceive. She gives Jacob her maidservant, Bilhah.  Rachel has her first son Joseph after many years of waiting.

Joseph waited on the Lord’s timing (Gen 37, 38-47)—Joseph waits through being sold, Potiphar’s Wife’s lies, the Baker & Cupbearer’s forgetfulness & then reuniting with his family.

Hannah waits for a son (I Samuel 1:1-20)—Hannah prays fervently for her first child.  Eli prays for her request. Samuel is born to her & Elkanah the next year.

Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matthew 18: 21-35)—We must forgive no matter how many times it takes for the Lord is patient with us.

Waiting for Jesus’ return (James 5:7-11)—Waiting for Jesus’ coming is compared to a farmer who waits for his crops to bear fruit.

Optional Definition for Patience
 -tolerance for delay
 -waiting when you want it now

It's Taught, but HOW?

Ok, so I know many of you are not natural born teachers or necessarily have a teacher's degree, but if you are a parent, YOU ARE CALLED TO BE A TEACHER! You are called to train your little one!


"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

In fact, as women we are also called to be teachers to younger women! "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live...but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children..." Titus 2:3,4

So HOW do you do it?

First of all, you don't have to have a degree in teaching! You do need several tools though:

Most importantly you need a sensitive spirit to the Holy Spirit. This requires a lot of time in prayer & in His Word! Again, IT'S CAUGHT & IT'S TAUGHT. Your character will lack if you aren't focused on shaping it through prayer or His Word! Any sins unconfessed or lack of time seeking Him will likely prevent your efforts from making any impact on your child or student!

Secondly you need to USE His Word. "And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:15-17. Not only is the Word of God profitable for teaching, correcting, rebuking & for theology, but it is alive & active (Hebrews 4:12)!

Sometimes as a parent, I feel I need to correct, rebuke or teach my child, but really it's God's Word that holds that position! We should instead take the Word of God & merely allow it to do it's job! Get the focus off of your child obeying you & get the focus on them obeying God's Word. When my child is whining, I need to stop myself from saying "Stop whining Leona!" Instead I need to bring the Word of God to oppose her actions. "Leona, Philippians 2:14 says 'do everything without complaining or arguing.' Let's change your attitude." Not only have you taught her God's Word is alive & active, but you have challenged her to obey Him! As a teacher, the idea of using God's Word to correct & teach impacted my classroom greatly! They really began to see God's Word in contrast to their actions & the actions of their peers. Weekly memory verses became more than just a weekly focus. The Word of God became a part of our classroom. It became a tool!

The third tool goes along with the second; You will have to spell it out! You must teach your child what the verse means! Let's go back to quoting Leona Philippians 2:14. "This verse tells us that in everything we do... whether it is eating or drinking (I Corinthians 10:31), playing with a toy, doing a chore, etc... we need to do it all with joy to bring glory to God (another reference to I Corinithians 10:31)." Without teaching your child or student what a verse means or how it is fleshed out, a child may not see what the Word of God is actually saying. This may mean teaching on the spot when they are in the middle of a situation like with Leona. This also means planning a teaching moment with your child or children. The more you teach intentionally, the more bad choices or situations you can often bypass! "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1: 22. They need to know WHAT it says so they can DO what it says!

The last tool is prayer! You need to again bring it back to God! If you have used the other tools I have mentioned, your child has seen that God's Word is alive & active in your life & the life of your family! Now is the time to show them what else Jesus exhibited to us while He was on earth. He not only showed how alive God's Word was in His life & the life of others, but He showed how important prayer was to His spiritual life. "Pray continually...for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:17-18. Your child (children) need to bring their weaknesses before God's throne & ask for His strength, His mind & His wisdom.

In order to remember these tools, I remember these steps:

Quote, Teach & Pray!