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September 28, 2008
A Powerful Message
I received a VERY powerful message from the word today at church. We had a speaker/pastor from Alabama visiting and he taught us on the way we should be raising our children despite the teachings/lessons we were taught by our own parents.
He started by saying how the Father of the family is held most accountable. I knew this, but listening to him today really shed a lot more light.
I, like the pastor today, was not raised in a christian home. Neither of my parents used the Bible or God in their training or teachings or discipline and I have followed suit, for the most part. He said how this will go on for generations and generations and it does. I have allowed myself to raise up wrath in my own children by my own anger with them and I have seen them, in turn, do the same with each other.
And as with my parenting I have also chosen these paths with the friends I have made in life, those not of the faith or belief in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
I feel and believe that in the past 10 years I have tried to change and pull on the armour of God and stand against the wiles of the devil. It has NOT been easy.
It is a constant stuggle for sure, but I believe and I continue to pray that I am making strides with this. I catch myself all the time, I stop and think, "This is not what God would want me to do or say." And I think for me it has been even harder, more of a stuggle, because my immediate family, as a whole, are not saved and so I find myself struggling with things they do and say to me and not wanting to overreact or say something foolish or selfish because they will be quick to persecute me because of my beliefs. And this has happened and continues to happen.
The pastor today said something to the affect that, "Stirring anger in your own children takes the wind out of their sails." This has happened to me just recently and I know I am guilty of it as well.
What gave me encouragement today though is that discipline is NOT comfortable, it is painful and when we discipline others we WILL be persecuted ourselves.
How true that is...
~: Children, obey your parents (in the Lord), for this is right.
"Honor your father and mother." This is the first commandment with a promise,
"that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth."
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord. :~
~:Ephesians 6:1-4
AMEN!
Posted by tracey at September 28, 2008 01:45 PM