A Charge to Parents

My heart has been heavy in prayer the past couple of days.  As many of you know, I was the administrator of our church school for eleven years.  In that time we had many students come and go, and I was blessed to witness God touch many hearts and lives.  But here we are four years later, and my mind wonders, "Where are they now?" 

I must confess I have no idea where some of the children have ended up.  I have not kept in contact.  Others I have been updated either by visits from students themselves, reports from family and friends, or through social media.  The one thing I have observed as an administrator and even more so now as time has passed is that children, for the most part, follow in the footsteps of their parents.  When they become adults and are on their own, children have a tendency to live out what they witnessed in their own homes. 

If parents pursue wealth, materialism, and popularity, then their children have a tendency to do so as well when they become adults.  If parents had a habit of being dishonest and hypocritical, then their children grow up to be dishonest, hypocritical adults.  If there were addictions in the home, children tend to have those same or similar addictions as adults.  If parents failed to give God first place in their lives, to faithfully assemble with the saints, and to seek God's face, then their children also tend to fail in these areas.  I have seen exceptions to the rule.  I have witnessed children who were brought up in God-fearing homes and still rebel as adults, and I have seen children that grew up loving God in spite of a Godless home.  However, these occasions are few.  The vast majority do not break out of the pattern. 

Often times parents will send their child to a Christian school, Sunday school, or youth group with the mindset that someone else will do the job of diligently teaching their child to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7.  Parents shirk their own responsibility and hope someone else will take up the slack, but a parent's actions often trump the Biblical instruction they receive outside the home.

Proverbs 22:6 instructs parents to "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."  When you are training someone for a job, a good leader will work alongside the trainee showing him/her what to do.  You do not say, "You go do this, but I will be over here doing the exact opposite."  Likewise, a drill sergeant training his new recruits will run alongside them.  He himself must be in shape in order to get his troops in shape.

Parents, you are training your child whether you are intentional about it or not.  You are training your child in prayer, in seeking the face of God, in intercession, and in worship through your own devotion to Him or your lack thereof.  There isn't any neutral ground.  How can a child be expected to have his/her own prayer closet when he/she never sees you in yours?  My heart has been heavy because our world is rocking and reeling.  Good is called evil, and evil is called good.  We are certainly in the last days, and I see so many who have had an acquaintance with God, but do not really know Him, nor are they known by Him.  I can pray over the seeds that have been planted and intercede on their behalf, but I have come to realize that the souls of children are largely in the hands of their parents.  God gave them to you, and it is up to you to see to it that your child makes it to Heaven.

I am very thankful and grateful for my parents.  They did not send us to church.  They took us.  They didn't tell us we needed to read our Bibles and pray.  They did it with us.  As my brother, my sister, and I became adults, the decision to live for God was ultimately ours to make, and we had to figure that out on our own.  But because of the Godly influence in our home, we all, along with our families, are serving God.  And I do not say that to brag, but in honor to my parents and to God.

In no way is this post meant to criticize or judge.  Rather, I pray it serves as a challenge and encouragement.  Don't believe the lie that a child's peers or others have a greater influence than you do as a parent.  Whether your child is willing to acknowledge it or not, you as his/her parent carry a great impact. If you feel you have failed, and even if your child is already left your home, it is not too late.  First, get your own walk with God in order.  You cannot be that Godly influence you desire to be without the power of the Holy Spirit continually leading you, guiding you, and giving you the wisdom and discernment you will need.  Secondly, go to your child and confess your shortcomings.  Sincerity and openness will go a long way.  On many occasions I have had to apologize to my own children for mistakes I have made as their parent, and my relationship with them is much stronger because I am willingly to admit that I am human and I make mistakes.  What is more important - your pride or your child's soul?  Lastly, intercede, especially if your child is no longer in your home.  Pray over the seeds that have been planted in his/her life.  Find Scriptures to pray over your child and trust God with the results.

Dear Heavenly Father,
My heart is heavy because I know lives are hanging in the balance.  My prayer today is that these words would touch the hearts of the parents who read this post, and they would be encouraged to fight for their children.  Your Word does not return void.  Your promises are yes and amen.  You are faithful and will do all that You have promised to do.

What is Most Important?

     "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God will all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:  This is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these."  Mark 12:29-31

In this passage one of the teachers of religious law questions Jesus as to which is the greatest commandment.  Jesus' response is one with which we are all familiar and boils down basically to love God and love others.  However, there is an essential component that precedes loving God and others that is often overlooked.  It is the realization that there is but one God and that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  You can't love the One True God if you are loving the wrong God.  In a day and age where human reasoning states that there are "many paths to Heaven" and that "God is simply whoever you believe Him to be," it is essential that we get the foundation right.  Jesus quotes a passage from Deuteronomy 6:4, and in that passage God begins by telling the Israelites that first and foremost there is one God.  He is the One True God, and He is not whoever we would have Him to be.  He is the God we are to love with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.

When we get the first part right - Who it is that we are to love, and when we begin to seek Him and love Him with all  heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength, the second part - loving our neighbor - comes a little easier.  That is not to say that it is a walk in the park by any means, but when we truly love God, we do not want to do anything that displeases Him.  As we grow in our love for Him and realize His great love for us, it becomes a little easier to share that same compassion and love with others.

As this passage continues, the teacher of the law agrees with Jesus and goes on to say, "This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law."  To which Jesus responds, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."  Christians today would be nearer to the Kingdom of God if we were less wrapped up in what we "do" for God and more concerned with sitting at His feet.  We must get the foundation right.  Loving God is most important.  It is more important than the things we do for Him.  He does not want our gestures, our rituals, our duties, or our service.  All those things are good, and they have their place in advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth. These are natural responses of our love for Him, but these things are not what He desires most.  What God desires most is us - heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Many times it is easier to give God our acts of service than it is to give ourselves, to sit quietly at His feet and allow His Spirit to speak to our spirit, and to set all of our affections on Him.  May we not forget what matters most.   

Dear Heavenly Father,  I pray that in the midst of all my busyness and service for You and Your Kingdom, I would not forget the most important commandment - to love the One True God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength, and equally important, to love my neighbor as myself.  Help me to set my affections solely upon You.  I pray that my love for You would grow more and more each day.  Help me not to be distracted by the cares of this life or even my Christian duties, but to spend time at Your feet learning of You and growing deeper in love with You.  In Jesus' Mighty Name, Amen.

Eyes of Love

"...Jesus beholding him loved him..."  Mark 10:21

     As I was reading my Bible this morning, this excerpt from Mark jumped out at me.  Did you know when Jesus looks at you, He loves you?  He sees you through eyes of love.  How comforting to know that even with all my faults and numerous shortcomings, He loves me.  The Scripture states that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  There are many times when my thoughts, my motives, my actions, my words do not bring glory and honor to God.  Yet in the messed up state I am in, He loves me still.  Just as I am, He sees me through the eyes of grace.  He is patient with me allowing the Holy Spirit to do a perfecting work in me.

     While it is such a comfort to know God's unconditional love towards us, we would be wise to remember that He looks on others in our lives with that very same love and compassion.  That person who has hurt us, that person with which we find difficulty getting along, that person who just rubs us the wrong way - He looks at them with eyes of love as well.  The same mercy and grace He extends to us, He also holds out to them. When we realize how much we have been forgiven of our sins, it becomes much easier to forgive others of their trespasses against us.  May the Lord help us to extend the love and forgiveness He has so generously bestowed upon us to everyone we encounter.

     Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You, thank You, thank You for all your love and mercy in my life.  Thank You just doesn't seem enough.  Even with all my imperfections and mistakes, You love me.  In the words of Will Reagan, "You see me.  You know me.  And You love me through and through."  How awesome!  How overwhelming!  Help me to realize how great Your grace is in my life and help me to extend that great grace to those I meet.

"What do the Scriptures teach?"

    This morning as I was spending time in the Word and in prayer, I was reading the first part of Mark chapter ten.  Basically, the passage is about marriage and divorce.  The Pharisees came to Jesus as they did on so many occasions in an attempt to trap Him with a question.  In this passage, the question was posed, "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?"  Just as He did at other times when the Pharisees questioned Him, Jesus responded with Scripture.
     In our lives, we would be wise to respond as Jesus did in every situation.  We need to ask ourselves, "What does God's Word say?"  Then we need to follow God's Word and not our own will.  The Psalmist said, "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."  For some Christians, they do not know God's Word.  They have not invested the time in studying and meditating on God's Word, and therefore, they are unaware of what it says.  But for many more, they may know God's Word inside and out, but there is no application in their lives.  Many times we know what the Word of God states, but we try to ignore it or make excuses for not adhering to it in a particular situation in our lives.  For example, in this passage, our flesh does not want to be married anymore.  We are tired of trying to work it out, so we make excuses to get around God's command. And we do this with numerous other situations in our lives as well.  When someone hurts us, we don't want to be patient, kind, or long suffering.  Instead we want revenge.  We want to seek our own profit and not the profit of others.  We know what God's Word states, but we want to yield to the desires of the flesh, instead of submitting to the Holy Spirit.
     Living after the Spirit is really simple.  Our minds tells us that it is hard.  In our flesh we desire to do whatever makes us happy at the moment.  But most of the time, if we are listening, we know what the Spirit is saying, it is just a matter of our will submitting to the will of the Father.  We have been given the power to do His will through Jesus Christ and the work of the cross.  If the Holy Spirit is living in us, we have everything we need to do God's will, it just comes down to the choices we make.  We have everything we need at our disposal, and all we need is to decide - are we going to follow after the flesh or are we going to submit to the Holy Spirit living in us?  It is pretty much that simple.
     Heavenly Father, my prayer is that I would respond as Christ did in every situation in my life - "What do the Scriptures teach?"  I pray that I would submit to Your will in every area of my life.  I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, I would walk Your path and not my own, that the choices and responses I make, both great and small, as I go throughout my day would bring honor to my King.