Thursday, January 8, 2015

Losing Our Children to the World


Although I {Micheal Pearl} am greatly concerned for these first generation homeschool kids {second generation Christians}, it is the third generation Christians now being born that really cause me to tremble. I look at these beautiful young children and wonder how many of them are going to reach maturity in purity. 

Pornography will very likely get over half of them. Their minds and thought life will be molded by ever worsening flashing digital media. Their relaxed, pleasure-seeking, second-generation Christian parents take it all for granted. At least their parents {first generation Christians} came out of a life of sin and were somewhat on guard against evil. They worshipped God with a memory of the mire from which they were redeemed. But the new parents have never been to war with the Devil, never been wounded in battle, and do not know the peril that awaits their children. These “greenhouse” Christian parents think that because it worked out well for their parents, it will by default work out well for them. After all, they are good Christian parents; why shouldn’t their kids turn out to be radiant believers as well? Because those lovely children are carriers of a genetic predisposition to a disease called sin. And historically, third generation Christians are religious, but lost.

I’ve likely alarmed you, and you are now asking, “What can I do to guarantee that my children (or my grandchildren) become real, born-again Christians?” Go back and walk in the old paths with them. “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” {Jeremiah 6:16}. First and foremost, you must become a Spirit-filled believer, daily rejoicing in the blessing of God, giving praise and honor to him in the presence of your children. You must manifest the fruits of the Spirit {Galatians 5:22-23}. Your children must see your compassion and justice. They must see your abhorrence of sin. 

But most importantly of all, they must be raised on the Bible stories, not children’s Bible stories, but real adult Bible stories of law, sin, judgment, repentance, faith, heaven and hell. Reality. Don’t raise your children to live in a make-believe world…teach them TRUTH. Then they will walk in truth, and you will “have no greater joy than to hear that [your] children walk in truth” {3 John 4}, instead of grief. Instill a Biblical reality. You cannot expect one or two hours at church each week to feed their spirits any more than you would trust two meals per week to feed their bodies. They will become what you daily feed them. Give them one hour of TV per day, followed by one hour of Bible teaching, or visa versa, it doesn’t matter. You should expect the TV worldview to win. It is a better communicator than you are.

 Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

You can read all of it HERE.