Raising Gifted Children in the Christian Faith
About the Author of this Guest Post:
Jemmy is a trained psychometrician with an expertise in Child Psychology and has over 10 years of experience working in primary education with a special focus on gifted children. He is a contributor with IQ Test Centre, an organisation for IQ testing of children between 5 and 16 years old. Read more of his content on his website, and on his Facebook account.
The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14) tells us the story of three servants, each set on their way with a number of talents.
When the servants return, two come bringing gain and have multiplied the talents given to them by their master. They are praised but the third one, who so feared to lose his given share that he buried it, is cast out, for he brings the master nothing more than that with which he set out. This parable can be understood, today, in the most literal sense: talents are given to us for cultivation, to be nourished and to be multiplied. Any parent who sees signs of giftedness in his or her child might need to consider this as a talent, one they should nurture and not bury. Let's take a look at how to raise a gifted child within the Christian faith. The parable of talents reminds us that we should cherish the gifts within ourselves and others. Raising a gifted child means, on one hand, that we should embrace their gifts and help the child pursue and develop them. Whether it is in the arts, the sciences or somewhere else, a talent should be nurtured. This can mean that the parent should provide opportunities for the child to practice their talent and encourage it, for in this way their gift is honored. However, honoring and nurturing the gift doesn't mean reducing the child to their ability. Many parents are enchanted with their children's gifts or view them as the only thing that matters. This can lead to a lopsided development, especially in regards to the emotional and social aspects of life. Children who are very smart can still struggle with making friends, fitting in, and developing the capacity for good relationships. Often, this occurs because children might be “out of sync” with their peers, so it is important to help children manage these aspects of their life and ensure that their life is fulfilled.
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Deceptive Wolves in Apostle’s Clothing: The Test to Unmask False ApostlesPassage of the Day: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles... For you bear with a man, if he brings you into bondage, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself, if he strikes you on the face. (2 Corinthians 11:13, 20 WEB) Hi dear reader, you may or not be aware that I help to steward a Facebook group for the Lord which has more than 400k members and growing by the thousands daily. These members are looking for sincere and true teachings of the gospel of grace. They are hungry for spiritual food, looking for Biblical content that edifies them and helps with the challenges they are facing in life. You're most welcome to join the group! Whenever the devil sees something belonging to God growing big, he will almost certainly send his workers of iniquity to infiltrate God’s camp. When the early church was growing exponentially, false believers like Ananias and Sapphira came amidst the church, bringing ulterior motives and wicked plans with them like an infectious plague (Acts 5:1-11). God had to strike them dead in order to protect the unity and healthy growth of the church in its infancy stage. During the Apostle Paul’s time, there were people who pretended to be apostles. They saw the churches growing and envied the influence that the true apostles had. As Paul wrote in the passage of the day, these people were just proud people looking to exalt and enrich themselves at the expense of the spiritual health of the church. They were deceivers and indirectly working for the devil to mislead true believers who couldn’t see through their hypocrisy. Through the Apostle John’s writing, Jesus also stated that He knew there was such a problem going on in the church at that time. On top of that, He made reference to testing someone to see if he is truly an apostle. Through this test, it is possible to tell whether someone is lying about being an apostle. ““I know your works, and your toil and perseverance, and that you can’t tolerate evil men, and have tested those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and found them false.” (Revelation 2:2 WEB) It is important to know how to conduct this test because people are still pretending to be apostles today. Not having the true revelation of God’s word, they seek to impress men by claiming this honorable title for themselves. I have since deleted everyone I saw in the Facebook group who calls himself an apostle, for the sake of safeguarding God’s true flock. Why Satan’s Plan to Destroy the Sky will Fail and a Huge Revelation from the Song of Moses5/10/2018 Why Satan’s Plan to Destroy the Sky will Fail and a Huge Revelation from the Song of MosesRead more original devotionals like this one and get exclusive Bible-based content on our Patreon page - welcome in advance to the amazing community of Bible-believing, revelation-seeking Christians! “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, “I will ascend into heaven! I will exalt my throne above the stars of God! I will sit on the mountain of assembly, in the far north! I will ascend above the heights of the clouds! I will make myself like the Most High!” Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the depths of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you. They will ponder you, saying, “Is this the man who made the earth to tremble, who shook kingdoms; who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities; who didn’t release his prisoners to their home?”” (Isaiah 14:12-17 WEB) Hi dear reader, the passage above is God’s prophecy of judgment against the King of Babylon, not Satan: “that you will take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, “How the oppressor has ceased! The golden city has ceased!”” (Isaiah 14:4 WEB) Another proof that Isaiah 14 is not directly talking about Satan is because it says that the souls in Sheol (hell) will ponder and ask “is this the man”. Man - not devil, fallen angel or demon. However seeing the pride that oozes from the five “I will” statements in the passage, it’s undeniable that Satan was working behind the scenes, using the King of Babylon for his own demonic agendas. I believe that each of the 5 points of the pentagram (star) which the occult uses for their magic spells, represents each one of the arrogant “I will” statements. The star itself represents “morning star, son of the dawn”, in reference to Satan, the false god which those who practice the occult knowingly or unknowingly worship. Through the passage, we can also infer Satan’s main mission: He is working to develop a way to gain access to heaven on his own terms, so that he can usurp God’s throne and change his fate (of being thrown into the lake of fire at the end of time). Breaking Bondages Through the Passover LambRead more original devotionals like this one and get exclusive Bible-based content on our Patreon page - welcome in advance to the amazing community of Bible-believing, revelation-seeking Christians! “Pharaoh got up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] in Egypt, for there was no house where there was not someone dead. Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the LORD, as you said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as you have said, and go, and [ask your God to] bless me also.”” (EXODUS 12:30-32 AMP) Reading the account of the plagues of judgments done by God in Egypt, I feel really frustrated by the stubbornness of Pharaoh and his refusal to let the children of Israel go. I believe that there is a very important reason for God allowing Israel’s deliverance to be dragged out like this and not an immediate, decisive one. He is teaching us a principle of deliverance from bondage. Out of all the plagues that God did through Moses and Aaron in Egypt, only one of them is a picture of Jesus. That plague is the last one, the “Death of the Firstborn” where every household of the children of Israel (in short) was instructed to roast an unblemished lamb, eat it, and paint the blood of the lamb on the doorpost and lintel of their house. The lamb represents Jesus the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. There are many lessons about Jesus to learn from the Passover lamb: “Tell all the congregation of Israel, ‘On the tenth [day] of this month they are to take a lamb or young goat for themselves, according to [the size of] the household of which he is the father, a lamb or young goat for each household. ~‘Now if the household is too small for a lamb [to be consumed], let him and his next door neighbor take one according to the number of people [in the households]; according to what each man can eat, you are to divide the lamb. ~‘Your lamb or young goat shall be [perfect] without blemish or bodily defect, a male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. ~‘You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. ~‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel [above the door] of the houses in which they eat it. ~‘They shall eat the meat that same night, roasted in fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. ~‘Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted in fire--both its head and its legs, along with its inner parts. ~‘You shall let none of the meat remain until the morning, and anything that remains left over until morning, you shall burn completely in the fire.” (EXODUS 12:3-10 AMP)
God passed over every household that had the blood of the Passover lamb on its doorposts and lintel: “For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel [above the entry way] and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to slay you.” (EXODUS 12:23 AMP) Pharaoh, which represents the devil, only let the children of Israel go after the final plague which involves the Passover lamb (Jesus). Should Believers watch Horror Movies for Fun? Hi dear reader, the Bible teaches us as believers to abstain from every form of evil - no exceptions! I’m so thankful that we are not alone in this, but as the passage of the day says, it is the God of Peace who sanctifies us and helps to keep us separated from evil things. Under the New Covenant, God supplies us with the desire and the grace to live a holy (set apart) life for Him! I used to really enjoy watching horror movies in recent years after I got over the fear of them through a cool mental trick that I believe God gave me as a form of practical wisdom. However just this week, I received the revelation that I have to abstain from horror movies too because it is definitely evil. The Book of Life, Books of Remembrance and How God Predestined us for Salvation“And I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them [for this heaven and earth are passing away]. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged according to what they had done as written in the books [that is, everything done while on earth]. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds. Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal separation from God]. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15 AMP) Hi dear reader, the passage above teaches us that there are at least two types of books about us that God has in heaven: Books of Remembrance which records the deeds of every person, and the Book of Life which records the names of every person who will have eternal life. Additionally, we learn that the only criteria for someone to be thrown into the lake of fire is that his name is not in the Book of Life. These two types of books are written at different points in time. 7 Biblical Ways to Know your Calling in LifeOverview:
Hi dear reader, I believe that somewhere along your walk with the Lord, one question you’ll have is “What is my calling/purpose in life?”. God’s word teaches us that there are ways to find out! The answer I received is that my calling is to write anointed content for the Lord. Social Media Tips for Believers: How to Become a Voice of Wisdom and Grace in Today’s Online World1/9/2018 Social Media Tips for Believers: How to Become a Voice of Wisdom and Grace in Today’s Online WorldThis is an original devotional. Support our ministry byjoining our membership on Patreon to receive valuable rewards like original eBooks, devotionals, sermon notes and more exclusive Christian content! “He who corrects and instructs a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who rebukes a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you; Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.” (PROVERBS 9:7-9 AMP) Find a Christian-related post on social media with lots of engagement and you’re likely to find negative comments from people that the Bible calls “scoffers”. God’s word teaches us that the wise thing to do when seeing these comments is not to try to convince them, because you can’t. You’ll just get insulted and become angry. “Surely the churning of milk produces butter, And wringing the nose produces blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.” (PROVERBS 30:33 AMP) The anger, if unrestrained, will lead to strife: “The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes]; Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode.” (PROVERBS 17:14 AMP) Soon a full-out war of words erupts and both parties start to insult each other. In the end, God is not glorified, and unbelievers who read the exchange mock Christians for this public display of foolishness. Jesus spoke these wise words: ““Do not give that which is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, for they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (MATTHEW 7:6 AMP) Correction and instruction are to be reserved for wise people who are teachable and want to learn from their mistakes. They can see the value of your words and your good intentions. When you follow God’s wisdom regarding this, you are the one reaping the benefits: “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself [for your own benefit]; If you scoff [thoughtlessly ridicule and disdain], you alone will pay the penalty.” (PROVERBS 9:12 AMP) The Internet is filled with two types of opposing voices: God’s voice (anointed sermons, articles, online Bibles, Bible-based social media posts) and the voice of the world (everything sinful which is influenced and instigated by the devil and his demons). Just like how Wisdom (representing Jesus) calls out to the naive and inexperienced: “Wisdom has built her [spacious and sufficient] house; She has hewn out and set up her seven pillars. She has prepared her food, she has mixed her wine; She has also set her table. She has sent out her maidens, she calls From the highest places of the city: “Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says,” (PROVERBS 9:1-4 AMP) And the foolish woman (representing the world) also calls out to the same naive and inexperienced people: “The foolish woman is restless and noisy; She is naive and easily misled and thoughtless, and knows nothing at all [of eternal value]. She sits at the doorway of her house, On a seat by the high and conspicuous places of the city, Calling to those who pass by, Who are making their paths straight: “Whoever is naive or inexperienced, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks understanding (common sense), she says,” (PROVERBS 9:13-16 AMP) With these two voices calling out for our attention, sooner or later we will go into the house of one of them - either to enjoy increased blessings, or end up suffering the natural consequences of sin. If someone walks past Wisdom’s house, they will likely go into the foolish woman’s house. As Christians, we should collectively use our online presence and reach to help amplify God’s voice and drown out the world’s voice, like Wisdom’s maidens. While calling out, the words we use are also important. There is no point in shouting loudly in the streets (by posting frequently) but using words that don’t glorify God or help His agenda: “Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].” (EPHESIANS 4:29 AMP) Make it a principle to follow: Only post what is good for building others up and to be a blessing. That means no judging, criticism, condemnation which is being a hypocrite as Jesus pointed out: ““ Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]. For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you. Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (MATTHEW 7:1-5 AMP) As Christians, our role is simply to invite the naive and inexperienced to enter our Mistress’s house to learn the ways of God and enjoy the blessings, not to wage cyber warfare on them. God is inviting the world to receive wisdom for their own good. It’s a proclamation made out of love. Let us represent the One whom we serve correctly by extending love and grace to everyone, both online and offline. Overcome your Fear of the Dark with this TruthIf you enjoy reading this devotional, there's many others that i've written exclusively for patrons who support our ministry. You can receive rewards to grow in your faith and revelation like exclusive content, devotionals, eBooks and more by joining us a patron on Patreon. I think we’ve all been there: staring into a dark room or space and imagining frightful apparitions there. It’s our minds playing tricks on us. A result of all the scary things we’ve ever seen in life. My mind’s favorite imagination: a ghostly lady with long black hair, wearing a flowy white gown and floating outside the window. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you - I’m just sharing how crazy the mind can get when imagining things. To set things straight, there’s no such thing as ghosts. The Bible doesn’t say that the spirits of the dead can return to earth to haunt humans who are alive on earth. However, there are evil spirits also called “demons” who are on earth - those are real. Contrary to a popular misconception, no, they are not in hell. Only those fallen angels who committed the sin of interbreeding with the human females (read about it in Genesis 6) are being tormented in hell: “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:6-7 NKJV) “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;” (2 Peter 2:4 NIV) In the verse above, the word “hell” translated in Greek is “Tartarus” which is believed to be the lowest pit of hell which the worse offenders get sent to. Apparently the suffering there is the most painful! Even the devil is not in hell and has never been to hell. He is roaming about on earth and in outer space. He will only be thrown into the lake of fire at the end of time (Revelation 20:10). After he’s thrown into the lake of fire, he won’t be the king there, sipping on champagne while sitting on a throne and laughing at sinners burn. He will be burning and tortured just like anyone else in the lake of fire, for all eternity. The King of the lake of fire is God Himself, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now that we have established the foundational truths, I want to share about my experience with the fear of the dark. Will I Go Broke from Being Generous? A Christian Devotional about Giving and ReceivingThis devotional is an excerpt taken from my new eBook: "Sandcastles Don't Last Forever". “And He sat down opposite the [temple] treasury, and began watching how the people were putting money into the treasury. And many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a mite. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this poor widow put in [proportionally] more than all the contributors to the treasury. For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”” (MARK 12:41-44 AMP) In the past when I read or heard the passage above being preached, I would always be inspired by the widow’s faith & generosity and find that it was a pity that she would stay poor - I assumed that her situation wouldn’t change. However I missed out one important truth: Jesus saw her. Whenever Jesus saw someone being generous to Him/His Father in heaven, they would receive a blessing of provision that exceeded what they gave. |
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AuthorHi I’m Milton Goh, I'm 30 years old and i'm a blogger who writes about Christianity, Parenting, Life Lessons that I learn from Movies/Shows, and Lifestyle. |