Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. Joel 1:3.
Not until parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with perfect hearts, will they be prepared to command their children after them. A reformation in this respect is needed,—a reformation which shall be deep and broad…. They should patiently instruct their children, kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in order to please God.
The children of such a household are prepared to meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the basis of their faith, and they have a foundation that cannot be swept away by the incoming tide of skepticism….
Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should erect an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. If ever there was a time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Fathers and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble supplication for themselves and their children…. A well-ordered Christian household is a powerful argument in favor of the reality of the Christian religion,—an argument that the infidel cannot gainsay.—Patriarchs and Prophets, 143, 144.
The home is the child’s first school, and it is here that the foundation should be laid for a life of service. Its principles are to be taught not merely in theory. They are to shape the whole life training. Very early the lesson of helpfulness should be taught the child…. The more fully the spirit of true ministry pervades the home, the more fully it will be developed in the lives of the children. They will learn to find joy in service and sacrifice for the good of others.—The Ministry of Healing, 400, 401.
With God at Dawn p. 300
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Dani-Lyn age two who is having seizures from RSV. Jean
—-Please pray that David will get the mental help he needs as his family is suffering. Buck
—-Please pray for Sophia she is only one year old. The family was told she has an in-operable brain tumor, her Dad is in the Navy and is now seeking further medical help. Please please pray that God can and will heal this baby girl. Michael
—-A lady from church just called and asked me to send in a request for a friend named Jin he is going to have to start dialysis and they are concerned about. thanks. M.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,
Someone shared with me their concern about a friend who was dating a non-believer. Nearly all of this girl’s friends were very concerned. Thankfully, when she the young man she had been dating plainly told her that he had no longer had any interest in God and would never become a Christian, she broke off the relationship. It was very difficult, but she did it through faith. All rejoiced that she had done the right thing.
“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3 God’s Holy Word directs us to refrain from any type of partnership with those who are unbelievers. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor 6:14-7:1
When King Solomon first became king, he was close to God, but as he took wives of the nations about him, his relationship changed. Bible explains his downfall: “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.” 1 Kings 11:1-8
Think of it! Solomon, who had been especially favored of God, was led astray by his heathen wives to the point that he worshipped their idols, even Molech with its abominable practice of burning their children alive. Had he been told when he was close to God that someday he would be an idolater, he would have recoiled in horror, but through little compromises here and there, he became just that.
This prohibition covers more than just a romantic relationship. It covers a business partnership or any other close relationship as well. James reminds us, “know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4 Frightening position!
May we choose wisely our relationships. May we remember the example of those who did not and take heed lest we also stray from the path of righteousness. May we stand firmly for God without compromising in the slightest, for one compromise leads to another which leads to another until we have fallen far from where we were standing.
Rose