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What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
~Mark 8:36
Integrity: The quality of being strong and having strong moral principles; having soundness and wholeness in faith, word and deed.
Two groups of women have been meeting with me in the past weeks and I have also had personal appointments here in Oxford. Seeing a deep need for leadership and direction, I want so much to reteach the necessity for foundations. When a house is built on a strong, immovable foundation, it will, as Jesus said, not fall amidst many storms.
How do we give ourselves and our children a strong foundation or remind us and them of our foundation that will carry us through the many political, moral, spiritual and emotional storms of life in the years ahead? By remembering scripture, pondering it, tucking it into our hearts and building our lives around it again and again.
Many years ago, Clay and I dreamed up the idea of Our 24 Family Ways as we discussed our desire to disciple our children as we walked along the path of life together. As parents of young children, we wanted them to have strong foundations of godly character and an understanding of what it meant to please God so that they could develop integrity. It was one of the most important ideas we wanted to convey, as we knew Integrity is something that is developed over time. It must be taught, practiced, and lived over many years in order to grow strong and vibrant.
Our 24 Family Ways as a book grew out of that foundation of working through a simple way of teaching the most important ideas of Christian discipleship to our children. You can find a copy for your family at the link below, and for the next several months I’ll be sharing its major concepts here and on my podcast each week. I hope this will be a blessing to you as you train your own children and grow together in these areas!
I have learned the most about integrity by pondering my walk with God, searching my heart for attitudes that are not worthy of His love for me, and seeking direction from His word. We live in a world which seems to have walked away from the ideal of true integrity—actually being what you appear to be, truly and from the heart. Our world cares more about what people think we are than what we actually are. Seeking to keep up with the "Joneses" is age-old. But scripture is so clear that God wants our focus and love to be on Him first, and then on the very values of His heart.
Paul spoke of his need to remind believers again and again about the same truths so that they could keep afresh in their hearts those truths from the Bible that would never change, hold them fast, give them direction and a way to flourish each step of the way. Because of the turbulent nature of cultural storms, I feel this series is something that will encourage you and has kept me going forward through many seasons of life.
I hope you’ll enjoy this series!
Books Referenced in this Podcast:
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