This is good!
|
|
Four Examples to Set For Our Children
by Edwin Louis Cole
The only difference between the church-wise and the street-wise is that one is religious and the other profane. Young people brought up by street-wise dads or in fatherless homes are street-wise. Young people brought up in church with no relationship with God are church-wise. Churchianity is growing up in church.
Christianity is growing up in Christ.
It is our responsibility as leaders of young people to influence and instruct them not to be church-wise or street-wise, but to be God-wise. Young people may not always listen to you, but they will always imitate you. Your example is not in your words spoken, but in your deeds done, which become a pattern followed. Training is simply teaching by example.
To train up a child properly is to set an example for them to follow. It is not the father's responsibility to make all his children's decisions for them, but to let them see him make his.
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV
This is the pattern for leading the young people of today. Following the pattern set by Abraham, God wants leaders to do four things:
- Make
sure
the
young
are
saved.
That's
our
number
one
priority.
It
is
what
God
wants
above
all
else.
God
is
a
God
of
perpetuity,
and
wants
righteous
generations
to
follow
after
righteous
generations.
- Leave
a
legacy.
Men
in
nations
are
not
great
by
the
virtue
of
their
wealth,
but
by
the
wealth
of
their
virtue.
The
greatest
legacy
we
can
give
a
young
person
is
the
legacy
of
faith.
We
need
to
share
our
testimony
of
how
God
saved
us,
because
when
young
people
see
us
only
in
a
Christian
context,
they
think
we
are
just
preaching.
They
need
to
know
what
changed
us
from
a
sinner
to
a
saint.
They
need
to
know
that
a
change
of
heart
is
what
changed
our
lives.
- Teach
the
young
a
trade.
Give
them
a
work
ethic
and
the
study
habits
by
which
they
can
learn.
- Give the young the moral foundation for marriage and help them find a spouse. Lower morality always leads to higher mortality. The two most important decisions a young person makes are choosing to believe in Jesus Christ and choosing a spouse.
The foundation for marriage is the understanding that marriage is a covenant relationship. Sex is the sign of the covenant of marriage. Sexual union is the consummation of the marriage in common law. We generally build our teaching about sex based on the negative: "You may get pregnant," or "You may get a disease." The truth is, the sexual covenant of marriage is positive.
|
The
greatest
sight
in
all
the
world
is
to
see
a
father
reading
the
Bible
to
his
children.
Will
you
be
that
father?
- Ed Cole |
Every man and woman is given a priceless gift from God. That gift can only be given one time to one person in one lifetime. When you give a person that gift, it shows they are the most unique person in the world to you, because you have given what no other person will have in all the world. Young men and women need to understand that virginity is the one gift God has given to them one time to give to one person in one lifetime.
If seducing spirits and doctrines of devils can morally eviscerate or spiritually emasculate the father, they can decimate the young people. Eli and Moses caused their sons to be fatherless. David caused Adonijah to be fatherless. They did not do the works of Abraham and disciple their sons in the ways of the Lord.
We are to ensure the salvation of our children, leave them a legacy of faith, teach them to be productive on their own, and teach them the moral standards of God's Word. They are not to be church-wise or street-wise, but to be "God-wise." We befriend them by offering intimacy, discipline, love, and value. We train them by example.
For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers. - 1 Corinthians 4:15
Leaders of young people today must decide how much responsibility they will accept. Your care for others is the measure of your greatness. How much responsibility you will accept determines how great you will become. It is good to be a teacher. It is better, and more rare, to become a father of the faith to this fatherless generation.
The greatest sight in all the world is not Niagara Falls, the pyramids, Taj Mahal, the Alps, or the Grand Canyon. The greatest sight in all the world is to see a father reading the Bible to his children. Will you be that father?
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing
For a FREE 14-day Site Tour, please click here.
Copyright � 2001 CFAITH All rights reserved.
Do You Yahoo!?
Send your FREE holiday greetings online at Yahoo! Greetings.
