Wisdom For Anxiety and Depression from God's Word.

Anxiety and depression are definitely a battle that can wage war for our minds and hearts. It can be crippling sometimes and we need to remember that it's not a battle we can face alone. 

We need God, His Word, His Holy Spirit, and His people to overcome any anxiety, depression or anything. 

When He says cast all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you, (See 1 Peter 5:7) He means it. 

When He says come to Him all who are weary and heavy laden, and He will give you rest, (See Matthew 11:28-30) He means it. 

But the question remains...do we actually do these things are do we try to carry these burdens alone?

I heard a good and eye opening thought recently from Pastor Louie Giglio about things such as anxiety and depression which has made me evaluate my own battle with depression.

In his "Goliath Must Fall" series and book he shares this insight: 

“Anxiety isn't a thing. It's the symptom of a thing and so we have to go a little deeper and ask a question, ‘What is making me anxious?’” and he explains that in his own life, “I gave too much credit just to anxiety. What was happening was something or someone was making me anxious and so I try to help and encourage people to go one step further, to go beneath the surface to ask, ‘What is it that I'm afraid of? Who is it that I'm afraid of? What was said that I wish I could now change the way it was said?’ I was trying to manage every outcome and I was trying to watch over my shoulder all the time.”

I find what Pastor Giglio says to be true and no matter what you and I face, we need The Lord's help to evaluate what is the root cause of our anxiety, depression or anything else.

Speaking from my own experience and witnessing the experience of others, while our anxiety or depression may want drive us to run from God and His Word, as follower's of Christ we need to learn to train ourselves to run to God and His Word as He is The ultimate, help, strength, healer and more that we need to over come these times. 

We all need to speak the truth of His Word ourselves no matter how loud the opposing voices scream otherwise. 

Are you anxious? Speak the truth of God's Word to yourself.

Is a believing friend anxious? Speak the encouragement and truth of God's Word to them.

May we speak a good word or The Good Word of encouragement from God's Word over our own lives or the lives of others who are facing times of anxiety and depression as He and His Word will bring joy and gladness back to us in place of anxieties and depression we face. (See Proverbs 12:25)

God is The Great Physician and His Word brings light to the all the dark places, even in our times of anxiety and depression!

So, pray, seek God's Word, and then speak a good Word, His Good Word to yourself and others! 

Your Brother and Servant in Christ,


Randolph Koch

P.S. While I'm seeking to encourage you from God's Word about this topic, if you are facing times of anxiety and depression, I want to encourage you that besides God's Word and prayer, that you should also consider seeking counseling for this, especially if it persists. There's wisdom in seeking counseling and there's nothing you should feel ashamed of in seeking help from others. So, get help through your local church, Christian Counselors, Biblical Counselors or other types of counseling as you're not meant to battle this alone! 

The Fruit of The Spirit - Faithfulness

Faithfulness isn’t an ear mark of this world. Our society is often a display of a lack of commitment, follow-through and corruption.

We see the opposite of faithfulness in the public through people through their financial dealings such as tax evasion, embezzlement and the like. We also see it through the sometimes unfaithful and corrupt behavior of some politicians and other officials as well. 

This is especially true when we see these supposed leaders seeking to tear down others and attempt to malign the character of others. 

We see it in the lives of famous people or everyday people too, as they sometimes aren’t faithful to their wife or husband. We see it in some people with a lack of work ethic. We see it with the lack of follow-through as often people don't do what they say they will do. 

We see it in friendships where someone betrays the trust of others. Like someone shared something confidential with them or they say they promise to keep it a secret and then when it comes down to it, they don’t keep it a secret. Or how about when someone propagates gossip about someone?

None of the above are what faithfulness is. 

The Definition of Faithfulness:

Greek Word: “Pistis” with means: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity

Or some dictionaries and commentaries refer to it as reliable, steadfast and unwavering.

This type of faith is spoken of in at least the 4 following ways in the Bible:

1- As an attribute of God

2- As a gift of the Holy Spirit.

3- As a positive attribute or characteristic that some have.

4- As an attribute or characteristic that many lack.

In Practical terms, faithfulness is marked by things such as loyalty, trustworthiness, reliability, commitment, following through, being a man or woman of your word, perseverance, being a good steward with what God has entrusted you with or others have.

Biblical faith is grounded in a belief that God is who He tells us He. It's also a trust in what His Word says over anything this world tells us and knowing He promises to work everything together for good.

We put our Faith in God and He then grows faithfulness in us.

I’ve heard it well said that faithfulness is the "gluing" fruit that will preserve our faith and the other fruit of the Spirit and identify God's will so we can be dependable and trusting to God and others. Because if you’re not faithful – the rest of the fruit of the spirit cannot grow as well in you.

Examples of Faithfulness:

God’s Faithfulness:

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Here are some of the ways God is faithful:

He protects us from evil: 
2 Thessalonians 3:3 - But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one.

He forgives our sin: 
1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

He Sanctifies us: 
1 Corinthians 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

He limits our temptations and provides a way of escape: 
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

He sent His Helper: 
John 14:16 - And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.

John 14:26 - But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Act 1:8 He promises that the Holy Spirit will come to empower us so we can be His Witnesses…then on The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2 the Holy Spirit was given.

He’s faithful to provide the help we need so we can live out our faith and live a faithful life!

Your calling to be Faithful:

Because God is trustworthy with us we can be faith-worthy in Him! For you and I, faithfulness begins when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.

Walking with Christ is a daily exercise in faith and faithfulness because you are to be committed to who God says He is from cover to cover in His Word.

We walk by faith not sight: 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Through every experience in life, no matter what your eyes see or tell you…you walk by faith and not by sight.

Furthermore, your life should be driven and motivated by what God says and not by what your eyes see as if you only follow the world…your vision will grow very blurry very quickly.

2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Be faithful to honor God by rightly studying, representing, interpreting and communicating His Word! 

Portraits of Faithfulness:

Read the “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11:1-12  as each of these examples are people God highlights as examples of faith.

As you read it, you'll not He doesn’t mention any of the failures of faith in their lives, rather, He focuses only on the victories.

Noah for example displayed the gift of faithfulness as he lived in a place that didn’t see rain and for 120 years built the ark and warned people of the pending judgment. He remained faithful.

Sarah was in her 90s when God allowed her to be able to conceive. As you read the entire chapter you’ll see examples of people who for one reason or another didn’t get to see God fulfill the promises He’d given them but they remained faithful and God recognized their faithfulness.

Hudson Taylor: Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God’s faithfulness. In his journal he wrote: 

"Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning … He sustained 3 million Israelite's in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all … Depend on it, God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply."

Practical Ideas For How to Grow in Faithfulness:

"Faith moves, faith takes action, faith does things, faith makes a difference in the way your life is lived." –Pastor Rich Jones

I recommend that you start by asking the Holy Spirit for help in growing in faithfulness.

Practice being faithful and one of the practical ways you can do so is by keeping your commitments.

You also have to be the one who purposes to walk in faith and not by sight. You have to put the faith in the faithfulness. Put your faith into action and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and not on this world.

Ultimately, it's vital be faithful in the little things and as Luke 16:10 says: “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.  

Be faithful in everything!

As followers of Christ, Faithfulness should be one of the ear marks of our lives as God through His Holy Spirit continues to help us grow in this Fruit of The Spirit. 

Let's pray for one another that God will help us continue to grow in The Fruit of The Spirit of Faithfulness and that we'll strive to be faithful in all we do for His Kingdom and Glory. 

Your Brother and Servant in Christ,


Randolph Koch

The Fruit of The Spirit - Goodness

From the very beginning of the Bible, God introduces us to what Goodness is.

In Genesis we see when God had finished creation – And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. -Genesis 1:31

With all of the Fruits of the Spirit, they are glimpses of the Character of God. And they are characteristics that we through the Help of The Holy Spirit will also prayerfully reflect. 

Goodness is no exception to this as Goodness is also one of the many direct reflections of the character of God. 

When we consider all of The Fruit, you can also think of Fruit as the beneficial results of the work of The Spirit in your life for God’s Glory as well as for the benefit of yourself and others.

Kindness and Goodness go hand-in-hand and are very similar in the Fruit that they produce in and through us.

The Fruit of The Spirit - Kindness

I’ve heard it well said that The fruit of the Spirit is the resulting character of someone who is allowing the Holy Spirit to develop maturity in their life. 

To express kindness is no exception to this because we need The Holy Spirit to work in and through us to develop and express kindness! 

If we're honest, kindness isn't very easy sometimes to practice and live out and this is especially true in an often unkind culture. However, we're supposed to be in and not of this world so we are without excuse for times when we're constantly unkind because we're called to grow in the wisdom and knowledge of Him. As we do, He will prayerfully help us grow in The Fruit of The Spirit as He's The One Who gives us the spiritual gifts in the first place!

What is Kindness?

Kindness is something that we, through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, purposefully do!

The Greek word that is translated for “kindness” is chrēstotēs which essentially means tender concern/care or uprightness. 

It is kindness of heart and kindness of action. Kindness is something you see in others and hopefully see in yourself as well as others see in you.

Kindness is something we see described in Philippians 2:3-4. "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others."

It’s the considering one another as more important than ourselves...  
It’s looking out for one another... 

Kindness seeks no reward for oneself... 

It’s in the little things as well as the big things...

It’s not a selfish attempt to get something for ourselves!

Kindness is really a mindset and something where we have to shift our minds or change our stinking thinking. 

Kindness is something we desperately need prayer and the active Help of the Holy Spirit to experience and bear.

You know people who are the kindest of people. Be like them.

So, what is the opposite of kindness?

Anger, bitterness, envy, strife, coveting, maliciousness, hatred, cruelty, being mean, holding grudges. Being petty. Having selfish motives and more. All of these things are the opposite of kindness and we need to reject these things in our own lives! 

What are examples of kindness? 

How can we be kind to one another? 

God’s Kindness:

Kindness is part of the characteristic that led God to provide salvation for us:

Titus 3:4-7 (ESV) "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."  

It’s the kindness of God we see in Psalms 23:2-3 (ESV) where the Psalmist says:
"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."  

It is God's tender care that makes Him gather us under His wings, to protect us and keep us close to Him and to be our refuge.

Psalms 36:7 (ESV) - "How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings."

Psalms 17:8-9 (ESV) - "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me."

Psalms 46:1-3 (ESV) - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 

The truth is, if God was unkind and unloving, no one could or would take refuge in Him would they? 

It was kindness that led Jesus to stop what He was doing and help others in need:

Mark 6:34 (ESV)  - "When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things."

Jesus was busy and always in demand but He helped people anyway. 

And kindness leads the Good Shepherd to rescue us when we stray which we see in the Parable Jesus taught in Luke 15:3-7 (ESV): 

"So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance."

For us to express kindness toward those who are against us requires the work of God:

2 Corinthians 6:4-7 (ESV) "but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;"

Our instruction to be kind:

God wants us to be more like Him! 

When we experience the Kindness of Christ, His love, grace and mercy and much more becomes real to us and in turn, we can share His love, grace and mercy with others, even those we feel don't deserve it. 

Furthermore, when you are kind to others, His love, grace and mercy can become real to others (who may have never experienced kindness their entire life) because they see Christ in you! 

2 Peter 1:5-8 (ESV)  "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."  

Or some versions translate as “brotherly kindness” (2 Peter 1:7) Instead of “affection”

We're instructed to make every effort to put on Kindness and many other character qualities!

We’re told to put on these things. Not a suggestion but a command: 

Col 3:12-15 (ESV) "Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."  

How to Grow in Kindness:

We need to pray and ask for The Holy Spirit's help to be kind an grow in the spiritual gift of kindness. We have to strive to practice kindness moment-by-moment! The Little things count! 

For example, when you’re at a gathering somewhere, if you see someone who tends to be alone – try to show them someone cares. Show them kindness.

If you're out and about on a hot day and you see someone who is homeless, hand them a bottle of water. 

If someone asks you to do something that you don't think is your job or you don't want to do, do it anyway. 

When someone is unkind to you, pray for them and try with everything within you to be kind in return. In other words, don't return unkindness with more unkindness. 

When you're driving your car and someone cuts you off...strive to let it go and realize you don't know what is going on in their lives. 

The truth is that Jesus endured a lot of unkindness and like Jesus, kindness is humbly giving of ourselves in love, compassion and mercy to others who may not be able to give anything back including those we feel don't deserve it or who frequently don’t thank us for it.
It's being kind regardless of what you do or don't receive in return.

Keep in mind that kindness is not dependent on our feelings, rather, we're to be kind even when we don't feel like it. That's where The Holy Spirit often helps us. 

Furthermore, kindness, love, mercy and compassion and grace are what we’ve been given from God yet none of us deserved it!  

Kindness Challenge: 

Challenge #1:  Let me challenge you to turn even your random acts of kindness into purposeful, fruit filled and fruit full acts of kindness.

There’s a saying that I like, “Be the change you want to see”…which I agree but in order to do that, the change has to really begin with you and me! 

It has to begin with God transforming us and empowering us to be His witnesses in the world! Ask Him to do so and allow Him to do so! 

Challenge #2: Let me challenge you to...Go BE That Change!  

Don’t just do “random acts of kindness” but also do intentional acts of kindness. You and I have to live it out!  We need to live life on purpose! 

Questions to get started with: 

-What if every action I made and every word I speak was seasoned with kindness and grace? 
-What if I chose to have an attitude of kindness instead of a cranky attitude?

-What if my response to other’s was kind more often than not?

-What if I allowed the Holy Spirit to fully be at work in and through me so I can produce more fruit? 

Friend, our world would be a far different place if we all would strive to practice kindness! We as followers of Christ should be leading the way! 

Keep growing and lets pray for one another that we'll grow in The Fruit of The Spirit of Kindness! 

Blessings in Christ,

Randolph Koch

P.S. I decided it was time to finish the rest of the series I put on pause. :-) In case you missed the previous messages here are the links to first 5 in the series:

Intro: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2016/09/the-fruit-of-spirit-get-ready-to-grow.html

Love: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2016/10/the-fruit-of-spirit-love.html

Joy: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2016/10/the-fruit-of-spirit-joy.html

Peace: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2016/11/the-fruit-of-spirit-peace.html

Patience: http://www.ashepherdsheart.org/2017/03/the-fruit-of-spirit-patience.html

Stay tuned for more of The Fruit of The Spirit in the weeks to come!

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Worship...It's not just for the holidays!

Read: Hebrews 10:24‭-‬25, John 4:24, John 15:19, John 17:14-16, 1 John 2:15, Romans 12:2, 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, Psalm 100:4, Psalm 96:8; Psalm 84 (Emphasis on verses 4 and 10)

The culture we live is vying for us to follow them and in many ways, it wants us to worship it. However, we are called to worship an audience of ONE...The Lord our God! 

We're to love God and not this world or the things of this world. We need to remember that the trappings of this world or temporal and everything will pass away but God and things of The Lord are eternal.

We're to be in and not of it as we're not to conform to this world. We're to be different and shine His light into the darkness. This is counter culture but we're either going to be In Christ or we are not. 

Worship and being an active part of The Body of Christ is a vital part of our faith and walk in Christ. This is also counter culture. 

We are called to worship with our lives and God's Word also places special emphasis on gathering together weekly to be instructed in The Word, Worship in Song, Fellowship, Give God the first fruits of your labor through your tithes and offerings, Caring for one another and more.

We shouldn't make gathering weekly a "sometimes" thing like only during special holidays. We also shouldn't make attending and being committed to the local church something that we do only when we "feel" like it because feelings come and go. No, we should be committed to the local church because God instructs us to do so and He knows what's best for us! 

You and I shouldn't attend out of legalistic reasons or just out of "obligation", rather, we should want to to be committed to attending because you know God wants us to do so.

Worship is a gift from God that in turn we give back to Him through our lives and weekly in a corporate setting or whenever or wherever you gather together with other believers. 

So, worship with your life and worship in connection to your attendance and heartfelt commitment to the local church because of God's great love for you and because The Body of Christ needs you as The Body isn't a complete body without you. 

In Christ,

Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

P.S. Please share this encouragement with others. 

P.S.S. Please pray for me as with any self funded ministry, (I work full time to provide for my family and to do His kingdom work) resources for projects are limited. Please pray with me as I'm currenlty working to acquire a specific type of DSLR camera to be able to do enhances biblical encouragement videos as well as still photography for projects as well. Thanks for your prayers! 

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html

Excerpts From The "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" Devotional and a gift for completing the plan!

Hello!

It was an exciting launch week and so far, 2,100 people have subscribed to the plan in the first week! This is incredible as I was honestly hopeful that prayerfully over the life of the devotional plan that 1,000 might subscribe to an complete the plan in the app and web site!

It's not about the numbers but it is about reaching as many people as possible with encouragement in their faith and walk with Christ from God's Word! 

Today, I wanted to share an excerpt from each day of the "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" devotional via the following images so you get an idea of what it's like:

What is the "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" devotional about?

Listen To An Audio Overview Here  

Hello! 

How do you walk in Christ? Like eating right and regular exercise, you have to be disciplined in exercising your faith, to grow in your walk with Him. God's Word outlines many practical principles that will help you successfully walk in Christ.

"9 Keys To Walking in Christ" is Live in the YouVersion Bible App and web site!

The aim of this devotional is to guide you through nine of the keys to help strengthen your walk.

Whether you just started walking in Christ, or have walked with Him for years, I pray this will be a spark in your faith that will help motivate you, driving you to walk closer with Him!

I pray that this devotional will encourage and challenge you in your walk with Christ!

It's an honor to serve you and I'm humbled and exited as God has blessed me with this opportunity to encourage the body of Christ from His Word.

I pray that you will sign up for the plan and help get the word out about the plan to your family, friends and church family too! 

Also, your continued prayers for a successful launch is greatly appreciated! 

 Listen To An Audio Overview Here 

On another note, I know the A Shepherd's Heart social media sites and website has been dominated by the devotional launch this week, however, it's been important in support of getting the word out about God has done. Rest assured I'll be sifting back into the usual biblical and practical encouragement posts and content in the weeks ahead. 

My current plan via the website is to finish The Fruit of The Spirit Series that I'd started a while back and put that on pause as well as other topics to encourage you in your faith and walk with Christ. 

Also, via social media, the usual A Shepherd's Heart biblical and practical encouragement posts will be back in action. 

If you're subscribed to the free A Shepherd's Heart Communications, you will receive additional content and news before anyone else receives it and you can expect some more encouragement resources will be coming your way if your'e signed up! 

If you aren't signed up, please sign up with your name and e-Mail address via the form on the right of the www.ashepherdsheart.org landing page. 

I'm always working to provide content that is encouraging to you in your faith and walk with Jesus. With this, what topics or content will be useful to you or would you like to potentially see? Please leave a comment here or send an e-Mail to rlk@ashepherdsheart.org. I'm also working to assess where to focus efforts and time and would like to share was it most meaningful as much as possible so your input would be very helpful! 

Thank you for your time and please pass this communication on to someone!

In Christ,
Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html

My Devotional Plan "9 Keys To Walking In Christ" is now Live!

Hello! 

I'm excited to share that my devotional plan is now Live in the YouVersion Bible App and site!

Here's the link: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/12135-9-keys-to-walking-in-christ

Plan description:

"How do you walk in Christ? Like eating right and regular exercise, you have to be disciplined in exercising your faith to grow in your walk with Him. God's Word outlines many practical principles that will help you successfully walk in Christ. The aim of this devotional is to guide you through nine of the keys to help strengthen your walk."

If you use the app or the website version, I'd be honored if you sign-up for the plan and complete it with me!

I'd also love it if you could share the plan with others!

I picked the launch date for fun on purpose to coincide with my Birthday. (Which is July 9th) lol. 

Kind of my "birthday present" to you and whomever decides to study the plan! :-)

In Christ Alone,

Your Brother and Servant, 

Randolph Koch

Please consider helping this ministry through prayer and other ways! Find out more here:  https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/help-a.html

Also, here are a few ideas of how I can serve you: 
https://www.ashepherdsheart.org/p/ministry-service-offerings.html

Parenting: The Art Of The Release and Other Practical Advice.

Read Proverbs 22:6, 2 Peter 1:3-12, Colossians 1:28-29, John 4:7-14 for an encouragement and challenge from God’s Word.

As a dad who has helped raise 5 kids, (All but one are young adults now but I give most of the credit to my wife that they made it into adulthood alive) :-), it’s not uncommon to reflect on things you could have or wished you’d done better as well as the things you did do well too. As I reflected recently, there were many things that came to mind and wanted to share a few reflections / learnings with you. There more to share another time but here's a mini-share for now. :-)

As a parent you learn quickly that there’s no manual for parenting other than of course as followers of Christ, the pages of wisdom found in God’s word.  We are also influenced in one way or another by how we were raised. So, each parent does (or should do) their very best to raise their children with the goal of launching them into adulthood, because launching them is the goal.

As followers of Christ we strive to model an abiding faith in Christ for our children.  However, as they launch into adulthood we have to remember that they have to choose to own their faith and even prior to this they have to own their faith if they are a follower of Christ.

Years ago I read a book by Stu Weber titled, “Tender Warrior” and in that book he describes a quiver of arrows.  What I learned is that there are different arrows for different weather conditions and as I recall, Stu used this as a picture of how each child is different and we pour into them differently and it's not easy sometimes to remember and do, but from the time they are born until they launch into adulthood we are practicing the art of the release. If you've done any amount of archery you quickly get the mental picture of that release.

"If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time." -Zig Ziglar

You have to have a direct aim with parenting and while it’s true that we do need to keep the day-by-day in mind, we also have to keep the future release in mind as we have a responsibility to help launch them successfully.  Ultimately we are not responsible for their actions, for the actions they choose, but, we are responsible for pouring as much into them as possible. 

This doesn’t mean we’re so wrapped up in their lives that we neglect our marriages and don’t continue to build a relationship with their spouses, (keep in mind, once they are launched it’s just you and your spouse if our married and you need to build into your relationship all along and if you haven't...that can make things difficult for your relationship) but it does mean we are responsible to do our very best in God’s strength in order to help our kids become adults.

The scripture reminds us that we’re to train up a child in the way they are to go and the hope is that they would turn to the truths that have been instilled in them from God’s word as well as the wisdom and life skills we tried to instill in them as parents. 

Remember this, as parents, none of us are perfect and we need to learn from our mistakes and grow in grace even for ourselves. We also need to draw from God’s Wisdom and Strength often as parents and consult Him through His Word and prayer. Please drink deeply from God’s Well! As we do, we can build into our children and practice the “release” and speaking from experience, as the day comes more quickly than we imagine. So, you and I better be ready and stay ready building into them as we practice releasing them into adulthood and we can’t do this in our own strength and wisdom alone.

Another thing to consider is that you don't have to go it alone with parenting nor should you. You should seek out and learn from the wisdom and experience of other parents who are at different stages in parenting or stages ahead of you as you progress forward as well. You can and will be used in the lives of other parents too!

Let's pray for one another as parents and let's encourage each other to keep pressing forward. Also, guess what…as your kids launch into adulthood, they will still need you and your counsel so get ready for spontaneous late night conversations on their terms (even in high school) because even though they want to be independent, they still want your counsel too. Doesn’t mean they will follow that advice but it does mean they still want your input so be ready for that! :-)

Keep pressing forward and practice the good form of release just like and archer does. 

In Christ,

Your Brother and Servant,

Randolph Koch

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