{"id":41303,"date":"2026-08-12T22:45:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T05:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?post_type=portfolio&#038;p=41303"},"modified":"2026-08-12T23:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T06:02:38","slug":"2026-eyes-2","status":"publish","type":"portfolio","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/gospel-express\/2026-eyes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Eyes of God"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>One of the most challenging things about raising teens\u2014and I have four of them\u2014is teaching them to be themselves and stay true to their values.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41305\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eyes-1-300x175.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eyes-1-300x175.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eyes-1.jpg 635w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Experts say that teenagers are especially prone to caring about what others think of them, especially their friends. But if we are to raise proud, strong men and women of faith, we must teach our children to overcome the desire to fit in and nourish their capacity to stand up for what they believe in. Most importantly, we need to model this kind of behaviour by living lives true to our values and speaking up for what\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p>In this Scripture reading, Moses tells the children of Israel that if they obey God\u2019s commands, life will be good for them\u00a0<em>\u201cbecause you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>This phrase teaches us that we must live our lives according to what\u00a0<em>God<\/em>\u00a0will think of us, as opposed to what other people may. There will be times in life when doing the right thing won\u2019t be popular and doing the popular thing won\u2019t be right. Regardless, we need to do\u00a0<em>\u201cwhat is good and right in the eyes of the LORD\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-41306 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eyes-2-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We live in a society where people care immensely about what others think of them. Whether we realize it or not, the things we say, the clothing we wear, and the places we shop are all greatly influenced by how other people will perceive us. While it\u2019s normal and natural to want to fit in, there is also a time and place for standing out. It\u2019s far more important to \u201cfit in\u201d with God and be cast aside by the people around us then to fit in with everyone around us and be cast away by God!<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the only approval we ought to seek is God\u2019s. When we make God our only source of approval, we eliminate the need to impress others and free ourselves to live our best, most godly lives.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-41307 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/eyes-3-e1786600882110.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 Deuteronomy 12:28<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-41304\" src=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/unnamed-300x66.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"66\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/unnamed-300x66.png 300w, https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/unnamed.png 325w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; One of the most challenging things about raising teens\u2014and I have four of them\u2014is teaching them to be themselves and stay true to their values. Experts say that teenagers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"portfolio_entries":[29],"class_list":["post-41303","portfolio","type-portfolio","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","portfolio_entries-29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/41303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/portfolio"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41303"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/41303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41308,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio\/41303\/revisions\/41308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41303"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_entries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_entries?post=41303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}