The Most Important Things to Teach Your Children

She was pregnant and expecting her first child. Like all mothers, she was concerned about what others might think, but there was no way she could not be excited about what was about to happen. Then, it hit her. This gift from God was His, and she and Joseph were only caretakers with the responsibility to train up the child so this gift could be given back to God.

What do you teach that child? What values do you give to prepare the child for the trials which lie ahead? What expectant mother has not had these thoughts? As you think about these matters consider that these same responsibilities were faced by Mary, the mother of Jesus. Read Matthew chapter four to see what Mary taught Jesus as she trained Him in the way He should go.

A child must be taught the meaning of life. When Satan appealed to Jesus to live by the rule of self gratification, to fulfill the lust of the flesh and to make that the dominate force which controlled His life, He was ready! He had learned one important truth in His upbringing. “Man shall not live by bread alone.” If one lives by the rule of self gratification, he misses life. The only way for man to live is to understand that every word which God speaks gives life!

A child must be taught that God is more important than material things. The Lord was offered all the treasures of this world, but He turned them down. Those who had trained Him for life put in His heart that only God is to be worshiped. “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.” Look at the two verbs used—worship and serve. They cover not just formal times of adoring God, but aspects of daily living. When one craves material things, they become his lord and he becomes subservient to them. A child must know that materialism cannot become a master!

A child must be taught about the nature of God. Satan’s misuse of the Bible did not confuse Jesus for a moment, for He knew God. He had not just been taught the Word of God, He had been taught the nature of God. He did not just know about God, He knew God!

Let me encourage all young mothers and fathers (the same could apply to “expectant” grandmothers and grandfathers). Look at that child of yours as Mary looked at the child God gave to her. He was simply a gift from heaven, loaned and entrusted to her for a short time, with the grave responsibility to prepare the child for the next time the child would see God. Prepare your child! Teach him the Bible. Teach him about life, about “things” and about Him!

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Has He Asked Too Much of Us?

Have you ever been given a task which seemed impossible to fulfill? Consider this one. There are, according to the latest census information, 1,286,461 people in Palm Beach County, and the Lord wants us to tell each one of them about the cross. How much time would it take to teach them? The only time referenced in the Bible to the conversion of a lost person is the one hour it took Paul and Silas to teach the jailor. Do you have the 1,286,461 hours remaining in life to do this (that’s 146 years)?

However, you are not alone in this responsibility to teach others. Suppose every active member at Palm Beach Lakes would devote one hour per day to talk to a lost person in Palm Beach County? (This is not to say our responsibility ends at a county line.) How long would that take? The answer is an astounding ten years! Now the reality is that not every member will do this, and that a single hour with a lost person is not usually long enough. Sounds like an impossible task, does it not?

There is another matter for us to consider. Not every person in this county will take the time to spend an hour with us talking to them about the Lord. We already know this from experience when we have tried to say anything to them about their spiritual life. You can remove them from the calculations above. That certainly allows us more time to talk to those who are interested who will give us more than an hour to tell them about Jesus. So the actual number of hours may not have changed that drastically. Sounds like an impossible task, does it not?

Before you get overwhelmed with this task, just remember that the Lord is greater than our trials. What He asks of us is nothing compared to what He asked of the apostles in the first century. A dozen men were told to preach the gospel to the entire world. Sounds like an impossible task, does it not?

Yet, they accomplished it because He was with them. Beginning at Jerusalem, the gospel went to Judea, Samaria and then to every creature on the planet (Acts 1:8; Col. 1:23). Oh, that we had hearts as devoted as theirs!

A very special opportunity lies before us with the upcoming gospel meeting with Sam Jones. The presence of visitors during that week is directly related to the number of individual invitations which are given. The more we invite, the more we will have in attendance.

As you think answering the question how do we teach every person in this county, think of the pigmy who was asked how he ate an entire elephant? His answer was, “One bite at a time.” Our answer is, “One soul at a time.” It is not impossible!

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Six Souls who May Keep America From Falling

I’m sitting trying to think of a single Christian I know in America who does not love this nation. I’m sure they exist, but I do not know anyone who does not salute the flag, think of veterans on Memorial Day or stand respectfully at the singing of the National Anthem. In fact, I cannot think of any I know who does not resent those artists who change the music to that part of the song which speaks of “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” They resent those singers who use the occasion to manifest their own voices.

Yes, we all are concerned about the future of this land. One cannot read the Bible without seeing how God deals with nations. His holy nature cannot let the ungodly prosper forever. Solomon said, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Pro. 14:34). America has been exalted, but America is now far from righteous. Add to this the words of David, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psa. 9:17). Has America forgotten God? We are concerned about the future of this nation.

So what can we do about it? Some think that the cause is hopeless. America, founded on many of principles of the Bible, is faltering. Shall we throw up our hands and quit?               Others think that the answer lies in better government. They overlook the fact that the government is a reflection of the people who elect the officials. Corruption in Washington comes from voters who elect and send ungodly men to represent them. We need more godly men to lead us, but this is not the solution because the ungodly outnumber the godly.

There is a solution. The answer is found in Genesis 18. God was ready to turn into hell five cities which had forgotten Him. As He approached Sodom and Gomorrah, He revealed His intentions to Abraham. This friend of God knew the one thing which could alter His plan. Ten righteous souls would have caused God to spare the cities. There were only four righteous people in those cities. Sodom was destroyed because of a lack of six more souls!

So what about us? What about our land? If you knew that six more souls would insure your children and grandchildren could live in America, what would you do? Would you seek for six more souls?

This past Sunday we asked you to give us a list of six souls you want to lead to Christ. These names will become part of the daily prayer life of this church. Thank you for your response. Our next united effort is in just two weeks when Sam Jones is with us. Be part of this effort to find six more!

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His Plan Demands the Best of Sheep and Shepherds

The wisdom of God is obvious in everything He does. One of the greatest manifestations is in the role He gives to elders as they shepherd the flock. Consider His wisdom as He gives the grave responsibility to elders to shepherd the flock, and then think about the grave responsibility that the flock has toward those God has appointed as elders. Several years ago a couple placed membership in a congregation in Arkansas. Read the words they wrote and gave to the elders when this happened. Think of how this shows the solemn obligation for every eldership and then how it applies to every member of the church.

“We are asking to commit the welfare of our souls to your care. Although the weakness of the flesh often betrays us, the prime objective of our lives is obtaining salvation for ourselves, our children and our fellowman. We therefore ask with all sincerity that you help us in every way possible to be successful in this endeavor. Besides spiritual food, encouragement, and fellowship, we fully expect that the help you give might well take the form of numerous requests to serve, instruct, correct, and, if necessary, even discipline. With this in mind, we ask that when and if either of us responds in a negative fashion to a request or fails to measure up in a given task, that you not write us off but help us grow, and as soon as possible try us again. We view membership in this congregation as an obligation to be subject to its eldership, to be helpful and encouraging to all its members, and to take an active part in the work. We, therefore, state our intentions to give freely of our time, our talents, and our money in order to fulfill that obligation.”

Look at their words which emphasize the responsibility of elders: “. . . commit the welfare of our souls to your care . . . help us . . . spiritual food . . . encouragement . . . fellowship . . . requests to serve, instruct, correct, and, if necessary, even discipline . . . not write us off but help us grow . . . try us again.” What a fabulous list of words for every elder and every member’s view of the work of elders.

Look at their words which emphasize the responsibility of members: “. . . prime objective of our lives is obtaining salvation for ourselves, our children  . . . help us to be successful in this endeavor . . . help us to grow . . . an obligation to be subject . . . to be helpful and encouraging to all . . . to take an active part in the work . . . give freely of our time, our talents, and our money in order to fulfill that obligation.”

His plan is amazing. Every Christian has a role in that plan. May we think soberly about our roles!

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What’s Your Problem?

Several years ago, I saw this article in a church bulletin without the author’s name being given.  Over the years, the principle set forth has helped me so many times in dealing with problems.  I hope that it will help you as much as it has me.  My only regret is that I do not know who wrote it.

Everybody has problems—that’s life—there is no escaping it.  But some people seem to have greater problems than others; at least, they think they do.  All of us have known of people who are always deluged in troubles of one sort or another.  Since Christians are to “bear one another’s burdens” and to “weep with those who weep,” I have often tried to share the troubles of others and to help them find some solutions.

In this “fellowship of suffering,” I have discovered that most of us have a tendency to borrow problems that are not really ours.  We worry about troubles whose solutions are beyond our reach.  We try to assume responsibilities which actually belong to others.  Thus, our problems are unnecessarily magnified.  We need to find the lines delineating our problems, distinguishing ours from others.

When the used car dealer cheats you and lies to you, that is his problem, not yours!  Your problem is to continue to be honest and fair to him, despite his dishonesty.  Your problem is how to react to his dishonesty.  If you retaliate by being dishonest with him because he was dishonest with you, you have fallen into the same trap and you are no better than he is!

When a group of fussy old ladies gossip about you, that is their problem, not yours.  You have little or no control over what these ladies do and say, but you do have control over what you do and say.  Your responsibility is to continue to be kind to them, even if they are unkind to you.  If you gossip about them because they have gossiped about you, you have slipped into the same cesspool they are in.

It is my responsibility to teach and warn and exhort people to quit doing wrong and start doing what they should.  If they ignore me or laugh at me, that is their problem, not mine.  My problem is to patiently continue to try to help them—to love them though they hate me.  If I grow angry with them because they are angry with me, I have become a hypocrite and have betrayed the very thing I have tried to teach them.

My responsibility is to try to know and to teach God’s word, patiently and plainly and kindly.  What my hearers do with this word is their problem and God’s; it is not mine!  The power of God’s word is not in me, but in God.  If some people are not affected by God’s word, what can I do to improve on it?  To artificially cram it down another person’s throat is to deny that person’s individual freedom and to make him an artificial disciple and to tacitly deny my confidence in the power of God’s word.  My problem is to teach; the rest is up to God and my hearers.

When hard times come, your problem is to continue to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness first, and to work for your physical needs second.  Jesus promised that if you would put first things first, “all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).  Economic problems and threats of hard times are not your chief worry; that is Jesus’ problem.  If you can trust Jesus at all, you can trust Him on this promise, and if you trust Him in this, then you have entrusted the problems of your physical as well as your spiritual needs to Him.  It is now His problem.

Now, what did you say your problem was?

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