Kerry Beck’s Blog

Sing to the Lord

A Call to Worship and Obedience

1 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial[b] in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
11 So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.”

Psalm 95

Daily Easter Bible Readings

Daily Easter Bible Readings

As you prepare for Easter, these daily Bible readings should help your entire family review or learn the stories leading to Christ’s death & resurrection.

Sunday, March 16 - Palm Sunday
Luke 19:41-48, 1 Timothy 6:12-16

Monday, March 17
2 Corinthians 1:1-7, Mark 11:12-25

Tuesday, March 18
2 Corinthians 1:8-22, Mark 13

Wednesday, March 19
2 Corinthians 1:23-2:11, Mark 14:1-31

Thursday, March 20 - Maundy Thursday
1 Corinthians 10:14-17; 11:27-32, Mark 14:32-72

Friday, March 21 - Good Friday
1 Peter 1:10-20, John 15

Saturday, March 22
Hebrews 4:1-16, Romans 8:1-11

Sunday, March 23 - Easter: Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ
John 1:1-18, Mark 16

Leaders Take Action

Let us then, be up & doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
-Longfellow as quoted by Churchill

Leaders must take decisive action.  So, why do so many not take action?  Why don’t your children take action?

1.  They lack the will. 
Churchill knew that victory graces those with the attitude of action and strength rather than meekness and vacillation.

2.  They lack a plan
As Churchill puts it, “It is better to have an ambitious plan than none at all.”  He was prepared for crisis such as Hitler, German bombs, Russian Communism because he planned for them.

3.  They want perfection
All policies and battle plans need to be tweaked along the way.  If you wait until they are perfected, you will never get anything done.  Churchill once said, “The maxim, ‘Nothing avails but perfection, may be spelled, Paralysis.’”

If you want to raise your children to be leaders, start teaching them these 3 principles.  It is imperative your children have the will, have a plan and don’t expect perfection.

For more ideas on raising your children to be Godly leaders, get this free report and audio workshop.  Raising Leaders Not Followers

Delight in the Lord

Some of my favorite verses:

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness,
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Psalm 37:3-6

Too often we read these verses and just look at what God will do for us.  Insted we should see the qualifiers.  God gives you the desires of your heart, when?  When you delight yourself in the Lord.  When you spend time with Him regularly.  When you are saturated in His Word.  That is the time your desires and God’s desires for you match up.

God is Near

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Psalm 37:18

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

These are 2 of my favorite verses and I was claiming them this morning.  It’s interesting that I started reading the Mitford series this past week.  At Home in Mitford uses Philippians 4:13 often in the conversations and reminded me how much I appreciate Paul’s words in that verse!

A New Song

I waited pateintly for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay
And set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps
He has put a new song in my mouth - Praise to God;
Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:1-3

Has the Lord put a new song in your heart?

Wonderful Works

Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O Lord my God, are Your wondeful works which You have done’
And Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.

Psalm 40:4-5

Teaching Your Kids Discipleship

Yesterday’s sermon was thought provoking, not necessarily because of the application, but some interesting insights in the passage. The text was Matthew 8 where Jesus heals the leper, the centurion’s servant and Peter’s mother-in-law.

Peter Leithart showed this passage as one of a pattern in which Matthew shows Jesus’ miracles, followed by an explanation of Jesus’ ministry and finally a “call to discipleship” If you read Matthew 8-10, you will see this pattern repeated in Matt 8:1-22, Matt 8:23-9:17 and Matt 9:18-10:42.

Within Matthew 8, we see several applications that I want to teach my own children and learn these myself.

1. Do you really believe?
The leper comes to Jesus believing he can be healed as he says, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Do you really believe God can heal your problems, whether they are physical, job-related, familial, marital, financial? Can God really heal your situation?

2. Will you help anyone in need, even the wierdos around you?
Jesus does not withdraw from the outcast. In fact, he touches the unclean. Jews at this time would have nothing to do with lepers and were usually repulsed by them. In a few short sentences, it’s difficult to convey the distain that society had for lepers.  On the other hand, Jesus shows us how we ought to treat the outcasts around us.

Does God ever place people in your life that turn your stomach? You know, you really don’t want to be around them because they are weird.

3. Will you help those who might come back & hurt you?
Not only is the leper an outcast, the centurion is also an outcast to the Jewish community. Most Jews would not help him during this time period. Think about it, the centurion is a Gentile, a Roman, a military commander (against the Jews). In the near future, he might call up his troops to destroy the Jews. Ironically, Jesus declares, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” This Roman centurion has more faith than the Jews, God’s chosen people.

Jesus heals the centurion’s servant with just a word. He knew the times were changing from Jews to Gentiles. He also elevated the Roman centurion above the Jews due to his faith.

4. Jesus is the only solution to your problems.
After these miracles are described, Matthew reminds us of Isaiah’s words.
“He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sickness.” This often refers to Christ taking your sins upon the cross, but it also refers to Jesus taking our infirmities, weaknesses and disease upon Himself.

Discipleship is not just about “you” being saved & healed; it’s about you being healed so you can go be a healer, too. When you are saved, you are caught up in Christ’s river of life. So much so, that you can’t help yourself to reach out and “heal” those in need around you.

5. What model of discipleship will you follow?
After modeling discipleship to His disciples, Matthew further explains the cost of being Christ’s discipleship. When one of his disciples asked Jesus if he could “first go and bury (his) father”, Jesus tells him to “Follow Me”. I’ve often thought this man’s dad just died and Jesus won’t even let him bury him properly. This isn’t really the case. If that man’s dad had just died, he would not be talking to Jesus but instead making funeral preparations. This disciple wanted to care for his dad in old age and then follow Jesus Christ. Taking care of the elderly was very important to Jews, so he was following the pattern of those around him.

What we learn in this story is that even good & right family obligations must be put aside to follow Jesus Christ. Following Jesus trumps all other obligations.

Are you reaching out to the outcast, those you think are weirdos in your life?
Are you modeling this so your children will help those around them, too?
Are you placing Jesus Christ above all other obligations?
Or, do you put Him on the back burner so you can give your kids the best education possible?

Discipleship Training

Is life as a mom difficult?

These verses are always encouraging to me when I feel overwhelmed or “stressed out”.

The righteous cry, and the LORD hears

And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34: 17-18

Convicting Words

This morning I read these words during my quiet time and I was very convicted. I hope these words will encourage and convict you, especially as the holidays and extended family times increase.

But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your you will be condemned. Matthew 12: 36-37

Do you speak idle words?
What type of account can you give for your words…in the day of judgment?
Will your words justify or condemn you?

When I get home, I plan to read these words to my children to encourage them in their conversation. If we are all on the same page, we can hold each other accountable.

Remember that leader’s words are doubly important because they impact those that follow. As you inspire your children to become leaders, inspire them to avoid idle words and words that will eventually condemn them.