ARE YOU RAISING GODLY CHILDREN?

Sunday, August 11, 2019

ARE YOU RAISING GODLY CHILDREN?

1 Kings 22:51-52

51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:

1 Sam 2:18-19

18 But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod 19 Moreover his mother made him a little coat, and brought it to him from year to year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

           Why are so few of our young people serving the Lord? We could blame the culture but we ARE the culture. We made the culture what it is. Our two texts point to the influence of HOME and PARENTS upon our spiritual fabric.

           In yesterday’s newspaper, one of ten people “busted” for drugs was a former member of our Sunday school. I remember her as a lovely young lady with bright eyes and clear complexion. There was such promise in her face. The mug shot, I thought, could not possibly be her! It was a picture of an old woman with frazzled hair and a miserable expression. What went wrong? My heart still aches for her.

           Parents, are you having conversations with your children regarding “God’s will and plan” for their lives? Are you pushing your agenda instead of being open to God’s agenda? Perhaps you are even resistant to God’s control of your children. If you wish for your child to be free of God’s control then you should be careful what you wish for.

           Samuel’s mother gave her son to the ministry in the Temple as soon as he was weaned! She visited him once every year and brought him a hand-sewn coat. She was his mother but God was his God. Hannah was a partner and not a competitor with God.

Matt 16:25-26

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Dear Lord, as this new school year begins, protect our children and guide them into your perfect will. AMEN