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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Full surrender

I'm just wondering....where are all of the "Christians" who are fully surrendered to Christ?  All any true follower of our Lord has to do is look around and the sad state of the church is pretty obvious.  The church is full of people who proclaim Christ with one side of their mouths, and talk filth with the other....so called believers who act no different than the world and thank God that it's "all under the blood".  Where do people get the idea that they can say, do, and think what they want and take the Lord's grace for granted?  Somewhere along the line, the church lost it's way...the line between holiness and worldliness has been made unimportant!  I believe one of the biggest areas where we have let things slide is in the home...starting with the family.  Believers have stopped discipling their children!

Christ's people should be different, set apart, and held to a higher standard.  We shouldn't try to fit into the world and if we're honest, we shouldn't even like most of the things the world likes.  It's time for a revival...a total surrender of all believers....time to give your whole self to Christ and do what He would have you do.  One of the ways I try to get this point across to my children is something I myself have been using as a standard.  I tell my kids to ask themselves, "If I were doing (saying, thinking, etc) xyz and Jesus showed up, would I be ashamed?"  And then I remind them that He knows about it either way!  Just this one simple question can make a huge difference in the way we behave.  One day we will stand before Him and have to give an account for how we lived.  This should make any believer keenly aware of how they are living...keep us on our toes so to speak.

I want to raise children who will do His will, not their own....who will not try to keep pace with the world but will stick out like a sore thumb!  I want them to understand that there is more to being a believer than just proclaiming Christ with your lips.  You must be changed from the inside out!  You must surrender yourself to His ways, not your flesh.  Our children must understand that they cannot continue to live a sinful lifestyle and take advantage of the grace of God!  Romans 6:1-2 proclaims it..."What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"  Read your bible, study His word in earnest, and it will be clear that being saved isn't a license to sin...but license to give it all up for His namesake.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Raising Godly children

Around here we have been in somewhat of a valley for quite some time.  There have been many, many trials.  Over the past week, the trials seemed to be unending, coming from every direction and usually at the same time : )  However, through it all, God has of course been faithful!  And I give Him all the glory.  With all that has been happening, when my husband found me having a tearful moment yesterday he of course thought I was worried about bills, or the girls' recent illness, or something along those lines.  However when he asked what was wrong, I said something that I never would have said years ago...before Christ picked me up out of the miry clay and washed me clean.  I told him I was far more worried about raising children who love and live for the Lord than I was about paying the electric bill or anything else.  You see, troubles come...it's part of life.  There is no sense worrying about our food, shelter, and clothing because His word says there is no need to.  I know that God will work all those things out as He sees fit.

Now, I know that the salvation of my children is in His hand as well so I'm not really worried about that.  What I was tearful about is the example I set for them....how I live out my life for Christ before them through the years.  I don't want to fail...I can't let that happen.  I must do whatever it takes to give them a Godly example to learn from...I must feed them scripture daily for every situation in life...I must remember to praise and thank the Lord when things are hard instead of complaining!  It's a tough job...no doubt about it.  But it's one that I'm ready to tackle with a fresh determination.  Things have been pretty chaotic around here and I've let things fall by the wayside.  It's time to pick myself up, crawl into the lap of Jesus, pour out my heart to Him daily...and then let Him use me as He sees fit.  Times a wastin' as they say....    Moms who are in the trenches day to day with many children, don't let it overwhelm you to the point that you let things slip away.  Feeding and tending His sheep needs to be the top priority of every day!  Take your burdens to the Lord, and He will work it out.  In the meantime, keep quoting scripture, keep nurturing, keep disciplining.  Do it all for His glory and His namesake.