The "Sex Positive" Movement (Walt Mueller)

This article is very helpful to understand what’s going on. You might be shocked at what’s happening in culture but we need to know about this. Here is an excerpt:

Psychologist David Yarian, a proponent of the sex-positive movement, says, “Fundamentally, I think sex positivity is about looking at sex through the lens of natural playfulness and curiosity that has no strict agenda, judgment, or pressure.” Another proponent, sex therapist Vanessa Marin, says, “Being sex-positive means you get to declare, ‘This is my body. This is my life. These are my desires.”

With sex-positivity being taught both implicitly and explicitly as foundational in today’s school-based comprehensive sex education, the beliefs our kids hold are being shaped in ways that will yield behavioral evidence, now and for the rest of their lives, that they personally choose sex-positive. And with pop culture reinforcing the sex-positive message, along with elevating the self to a position of final authority on all matters of life, the message is convincing and clear. Sadly, the sex-positive movement sees traditional biblical sexuality as sex-negative.

The movement holds that “sex-negativity has been a yoke upon civilization for nearly ten thousand years, hoisted upon us by dominator/patriarchal culture as a system of control and exploitation.” But nothing could be further from the truth. The Christian knows that true human freedom and flourishing come when we live into and under the authority of God, choosing to see sex and gender as good gifts from a God who offers a resounding and celebratory “YES!” to sex and gender as He established them at creation. The reality is that God is completely “sex-positive”!

For the full article, click here.

Dear Parent, There Is New Hope For You In This Old Song

Martin Luther wrote A Mighty Fortress Is Our God as a reflection on Psalm 46. In this psalm, the psalmist feels terror and trials breathing down his neck. In the midst of threats all around, he hears his Lord say, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Can you imagine what this psalm meant to Luther amidst his trials, terrors, and threats all around? This is why the hymn A Mighty Fortress still speaks to us in mighty ways in the present day. Particularly, I think it is a great meditation for parents of teenagers in today’s world. With this thought in mind, I’d like to draw out some lessons and hopes for parents who struggle to lead their children during these dark days.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
What is a fortress? It is a stronghold of defense against your enemies. It is a structure that makes you feel totally safe from the threats outside. Dear Parent, God is your Fortress. He is a bulwark (“a defensive wall”) that never crumbles or cracks. There are no weaknesses in your God. No matter what happens in your child’s life God will never fail you or your child. Though all else seems lost and though the enemy (insert whatever seems most threatening to your child’s salvation and well being) appears like a force so strong that it could bring down the Fortress, we must have faith that our God has stood the test of time.

Dear Parent, He is your Helper. It does not say that God will keep your life free from floods and mortal ills but rather this hymn assumes those things will come at you and your family. The fact is that amidst all of this God is your Helper. We learn to know the “helpfulness” of God amidst our floods of suffering. What is a flood? Picture what Hurricane Katrina did. The waters broke through the levees in New Orleans and spilled over into the whole of the city. Floods know no bounds. They overwhelm anything in its path. The floods of pornography, vaping, drinking, self-righteousness, and worldliness destroy everything in its path until it comes to the foot of our Fortress. God is your Helper. God is your Fortress. Even when it feels like you are drowning, God is the One who will carry you through.

For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and pow'r are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Make no mistake about it, the same Serpent in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 is the same Serpent slithering around seeking to strike at our youth. Whether through cell phone, Netflix show, peer pressure, or even simply the busyness of life, Satan lurks and prowls around seeking to take someone away from the knowledge of God. Dear Parent, do not try to parent your child without remembering that you have an Enemy. The Dark Lord holds sinners in his dominion. Yes, it is God who is Sovereign over him but God Himself has given sinners over to his dominion. This is a grip that you cannot release. He is too powerful for you. Stop trying to fight his craft, power, and cruel hate with spiritual squirt guns. Imagine trying to stop a bank robber who has a loaded AR-15 assault rifle while you only have a dollar store squirt gun. Good luck. But this is what we can look like when we seek to do battle without the Holy Spirit and His weapons.

Dear Parent, his craft and power are indeed great. How great? Greater than you! Nevertheless, he is no match for the Omnipotent One. The Dark Lord is armed with cruel hate but we worship the God of Love. It is only His Love that can set your child free from whatever bondage they are in. Listen, if you try to parent in a way where you neglect the reality of Satan then you will fail. On earth is not his equal. Luther knew this and you should know it too. He is smarter than you. He is stronger than you. He is quicker than you. You are like a toddler trying to arm wrestle the strongest man in the world. He yawns when you try to defeat him in your own strength. But, he trembles when you pray. His knees are wobbling when He sees you call upon the Fortress. He flees when you resist him by the power of the Holy Spirit. Your children need your prayers more than anything.

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

Satan has his army. He delegates his demons to do his bidding. Even though your eye does not see, there is a war going on. Spiritual warfare is around every corner. When you relax in war, you get shot. Dear Parent, lurking around every spiritual corner is a war. We must prepare our children for it. A war takes place every time they open social media. A war takes place every time others gossip in the hallway. A war takes place every time their friends pressure them to do something ungodly. The Dark Lord and his army will seek to undo you and your child. This is no time to play Christianity. This is time for the real thing.

Should that make us fear? It should if we didn’t have help. But here is the truth: We do have help! We have the one who has tied Satan onto a leash like a owner leashes a dog. Satan and his army can only do what our God allows them to do. Even then, everything that happens to the believer is for their eternal good! This should not make us relax though. We must reject complacency at all times. Your job, dear parent, is never over. There is no off-season. We must stay in this fight and fight we must but we can have hope. God has willed that He will triumph through us. Think about this hope. You might have a wayward child that seems carried away in sin like a tumbleweed in a tornado. Behold your God! Nothing is outside His Sovereign Power. Regardless of the result, He will triumph through us. That should cause us to pray until our last breath. Dear Parent, your child will be attacked but if they are God’s child then God’s truth will triumph through them. Do not neglect the study of God. Do not neglect the teaching of your children the ways of God. This is no time for half-hearted theology. This is no time for trendy topics. Our children need to see how big God is and how big His gospel is. His truth will triumph. The time to study theology is now. The time to show our children how theology applies to life is now!

The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.

Remember, the Prince of Darkness is no joke. Still, we tremble not for him. Like the wolf chasing the three pigs, eventually the wolf runs out of breath and gets tired. He couldn’t endure. We can resist the devil by the Holy Spirit’s power. The Dark Lord will not endure. God, on the other hand, never tires and never changes. God does not have to put forth energy in being God. He simply is God all the time and never tires of being God. He exercises His power and yet He is never fatigued. He is always applying His wisdom and yet His mind never grows weary. The God who promised that He would crush the head of the Serpent in Genesis 3 is still our God today. The Dark Lord may blow and blow and blow upon your house but he will eventually tire out. Like the three pigs, the question is: What is your house made of? Are you building your home on the foundation of Christ? Are you seeking above all else to show your children Christ? Are you striving to know God and overflow with the knowledge of God onto your children?

There will spiritual assaults upon you and your children. We must teach and train them to endure. We must show them how to fight when anxiety overwhelms them in the middle of the night. We must show them how to fight against lust when someone sends them something inappropriate. We must show them how to fight when the world seeks to change the way they think about sexual ethics. The Prince of Darkness is fighting against them and we must teach our children how to fight back. Are we more concerned with raising up our children to be worldly successful? They must learn to treasure up God’s Word in order to use it.

That word above all earthly pow'rs, no thanks to them, abideth; The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth.

Dear Parent, the Word of God never fails. It is above all earthly authorities. When the world sought to destroy the Bible the underground printing press was formed. When the world sought to kill preachers, more were sent out into the world. All men are like grass and their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of our God stands forever. Dear Parent, trust this Word! This Word is what your child needs. They need the Word more than they need a good resume. They need the Word more than they need popularity. They need the Word more than they need a good education and a good job. Do you believe this? It is the Word that reaches the heart by the Spirit’s hand. The Spirit transforms us by using the Word in our lives. This is the spiritual power and the heavenly dynamite that will topple our idols and destroy sinful desires.

Not only do you have the Word at your disposal but you also have the Spirit. God Almighty dwells with you! The Spirit and the gifts are yours in Christ. He is on your side! Parenting in a postmodern culture might look impossible. It should. It is impossible. You need the Spirit but do not fear because you have the Spirit if you have Christ. It is He that will guide you. It is He who is stronger than the peer pressures of youth culture. It is He who can give you better guidance than the worldly wisdom floating around. He has sided with you.

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also; The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.

Because we have the Spirit we can let goods and kindred go. Dear Parent, do you believe that if your child gained the whole they could still lose their soul? What good would that be? Are we teaching our children to value the world and the things of the world or are we teaching them to lose all for the sake of Christ? Is your parenting motto like Paul’s life motto: To live is Christ and to die is gain?

The culture is constantly tempting you to think that it can satisfy our eternal desires. The new iPhone, the subscription to Netflix, the next post on Instagram, the cool group of kids at school, making that sports team, getting that grade, having that relationship, or developing that success. All these things tempt us and our children to think that the world can satisfy us. We must teach our children that there is One who surpasses it all! There is One of such great worth and value that all the riches of the world are worth throwing out in order that we might know Him.

Dear Parent, do our children see in us such a desire to know God that we wouldn’t be ashamed to die for Him? Do our children see our confidence in God in the face of opposition? Does our faith in our Fortress make our children fearless? It is His kingdom that will forever stand. Dear Parent, do not fear. God will never be conquered nor caught in the hand of the Enemy. His kingdom is undefeated and unstoppable. No matter what threatens your family, you can be sure that nothing will defeat God’s kingdom. This is your hope. This is your God.

The Trend That Is Sweeping Across Youth Culture...And It's Not Good

There is a new trend in the teenage world—juuling. It is the e-cigarette of choice at the moment for those who desire to get a nicotine “fix”. There is no shortage of middle school, high school, and college students who “juul”. This is also very alarming because recent studies have shown dangerous and very harmful results from these products. Here is an article from the Washington Post that tells more.

In 2018, more than 37 percent of 12th-graders reported vaping at least once in the past 12 months, according to findings released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, even though many were too young to legally purchase the products. A year earlier, the figure was about 28 percent. When teens were asked about use in the 30 days before the survey, 21 percent said they had vaped, which was nearly double the rate from 2017.

Because of a variety of factors — genetics, trauma, peer behavior — some teens develop a strong attachment to the products, bonds that are unshakable even in the face of escalating consequences. Experts say teen brains are particularly vulnerable to addiction because they are still developing and that it is easier for teens to fall victim to addictive products because they have less impulse control.

They worry the chemical will shape the brains of teens, priming their “reward pathways” and making them more vulnerable to other kinds of substance abuse. They worry, too, that many pediatricians lack the expertise and treatments to help young people who cannot quit. And there are few treatment options for teens addicted to nicotine. While adult smokers seeking to quit have benefited from nicotine patches and the drug varenicline, better known as Chantix, there is scant evidence those treatments work for young people, according to Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician and researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital who specializes in tobacco cessation and who treated Cade Beauparlant.

“We have millions of kids now, millions of adolescents who are using mostly Juul — and in some cases other devices — who are unable to quit,” Winickoff said. “It’s something we don’t have the infrastructure to deal with.”

For the rest of the article, click here.

Parents, this is time to ask your child if they are juuling. To be honest, these items are VERY easy to hide and many simply keep them in their pockets. I have heard and seen students all around the city who juul at home, in the car on the way to school, in the bathroom stalls, in class, in the locker room, and pretty much anywhere you can imagine. Please, ask your child about this.

Sleep Is Part Of Your Worship

There is no doubt that many people struggle with good and healthy sleeping habits. To be sure, some of the problem (if not much of the problem) has to do with our late night use of technology. To be sure, yet again, we also need to make certain that we don’t oversimplify the problem. There are many reasons why we don’t sleep well and our chronic lack of sleep can be a good indicator that something else is going on physically or spiritually. In these cases, we need to seek more counsel from people who know more than we do.

Over and over again, I hear students say that they try to fall asleep watching Netflix. Others will try going to sleep and once they toss and turn on their bed for a short amount of time they give up and turn their phone or TV back on.

I my experience I am seeing many people who are getting an average of 4-6 hours of sleep each night while studies show that those same people should be getting an average of 8-10 hours per night. It comes as no surprise to me that many of these people are the ones who struggle with anxious thoughts, endless stress, and even lust. Part of the reason why they aren’t getting sleep is caused by their anxious thoughts, endless stress, and due dates coming up. Unfortunately, it can seem like an endless circle where stress causes lack of sleep which causes more stress which causes more lack of sleep. I have had to learn that one of the earliest questions I need to ask when counseling someone is how much sleep they have gotten in the past several weeks.

To be clear, our children’s sleeping issues come from a variety of causes. We need to be careful saying that it is a one-to-one result of “bad parenting”. Sure, there are many helpful tips that we can implement but at the end of the day it is our children who must fall asleep for themselves. There are many reasons why we can have bad sleeping habits and if these are overlooked for a long period of time then they can cause further problems down the road.

Paul tells the Romans Christians in Romans 12:1-2 that we should present ourselves as “living sacrifices”. This means that the totality of our lives (body and soul) should be given to God as our spiritual worship. This includes our sleep. We should not pride ourselves for being able to stay up all night getting work done as if we are the most productive people in the world. Neither should we pride ourselves on getting 2-4 hours of sleep and fighting through the day like nothing is wrong with us as if we are Superman or Superwoman. One of the best ways we can worship God is to lay down our heads on our pillows and trust that He is good, He is sufficient, and He will provide for us. There are many nights where we have to fight to relax. There is a reason why God made us as creatures who need to spend a third of our lives sleeping. Think about that for a moment.

The following article is one of the more helpful articles I have found that dives into this topic more while also giving helpful tips for us to sleep better and help our children sleep better. Here is an excerpt:

In the Psalms, David shows that peaceful sleep is an act of trust and a sign of humility. “I lie down and sleep,” David said, “I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (Ps 3:5–6). He also said, “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps 4:8).  Getting a good night’s rest shows that we know God is in control and will watch over us when we are at our most vulnerable.

Sleep is a sign of trust and humility. But it’s also a spiritual discipline. As D. A. Carson says,

Sometimes the godliest thing you can do in the universe is get a good night’s sleep—not pray all night, but sleep. I’m certainly not denying that there may be a place for praying all night; I’m merely insisting that in the normal course of things, spiritual discipline obligates you get the sleep your body need.

Like most spiritual disciplines, to be most effective sleep requires both a change in attitude and a change in habits. Here are a few things I learned and practical steps I’ve taken to better develop the spiritual activity of rest:

Get enough sleep — There are a number of factors that affect the quality of your rest, the most important being how long you sleep each night.

The amount of sleep a person needs varies from individual to individual and changes over the course of their lifetime. But if you’re like most people, chances are you’re not getting adequate sleep to be fully rested.

Here is the average number of hours of sleep, based on age, a person needs every day:

-6 to 13 years of age: 9 to 11 hours

-14 to 17 years of age: 8 to 10 hours

-18 to 25 years of age: 7 to 9 hours

-26 to 64 years of age: 7 to 9 hours

-65 and older: 7 to 8 hours

For the full article, click here.