Mothers, Are We Preachers At Home?

Be A Preacher At Home Dear godly Mothers, Our Children Will Benefit Greatly!

Yesterday, June 30, 2009, I was with my 21 year old daughter, sitting in the parked car while we waited for my son to finish his piano lesson. We had decided to wait at the park and read the Bible out-loud to each other since we are learning the power of the spoken Word of God.
While sitting we observed 3 boys who had just arrived at the park, they must have been about 13, 12 and 11 years of age. It was a wet and soggy day so the park was empty, except for the boys. Leah was reading to me and I watched those boys as they balanced and ran on a large fountain rim, then pulled out some picnic tables and jumped on them. As I watched I heard a "still small voice" say, "go talk to them about me".. I mused.. "ummm what, ummm really?" "Go talk to them about me, it will effect them for their entire lives." I looked at Leah and told her that God the Lord just told me to go give those boys the gospel, "so let's pray"... I felt ashamed for being so slow to obey, and got out of the car, with Bible in hand walked over to them.

"Hi there! Hey have you got ten minutes to talk about something?" The oldest boy, who had pierced rings on either side of his lower lip asked,"What about?", (I answer)......."The Bible." He jerked back as if hit, "No! I don't believe in God."........ "Don't believe in God? How can this be? just look at the grass and trees, nature and all He has created, How can you not believe in Him?" The youngest boy wanting to please the older chimed in that he didn't believe either. Eric, who must be about 12 yrs. took the gospel tract that the others refused and stood still with interest in what I had to say, so I began to show him scriptures in the Bible. Genesis and John is where God lead me and explained about creation and how God made man from the dust of the earth, also about sin and what Jesus did for us on the cross. Eric admitted his sin and I asked him what he has done about that sin, since God cannot have sin in heaven nor can He look upon sin. I pointed him to Jesus on the cross and His sacrifice, taking our sin upon himself, becoming sin for us and about his need to believe in Jesus and repent of his sin. I told him that Jesus Christ is God and that He arose from the dead and is alive forever more. During the whole time I was talking to Eric the other two boys tried all they could to interrupt me. They kept pulling on Eric and trying to get him to leave saying, "Why listen to her, you have better things to do with your time." I asked them, "Why do you hate God? Why don't you want to listen to the Bible, are you afraid to hear God's Word?" They were both very nervous when I read the Bible to Eric, the youngest ran over to me, grabbed my Bible and tried to pull it out of my hands, but God had given me a good grip on it and he couldn't, I said, "Young sir, this is my Bible." I asked him what he would do with it? he answered, "I'd burn it." The older boy took the tract away from Eric and pretended to rip it apart. I gave Eric another tract and told him to put it in his pocket right away or they would take that too, and he listened to me. The two boys took up pine cones and threw them at me trying to stop me from talking. I encouraged him to read the tract and look up the scriptures from it in his Bible and pray for God to show him the truth. Eric thanked me for talking to him, and I left. (Please pray for this child and the other boys.)

Mothers! With great earnestness, teach your children the Word of God! Eric was different than the other two boys... why? I don't know the answer, but here is a clue, he told me he had a Bible at home and had heard something about God, he knew a little bit about what I told him. The other two boys made me think of two demons running around trying to keep Eric from learning about God, (Leah, who was watching, praying, and reading the Bible out-loud in the car) told me that they looked like two demons to her.

This whole affair sobers* me so much! We as mothers must be keepers at home and preachers at home... love Jesus Christ the Lord, learn about Him, draw close to Him, obey, reverence, fear and honor Him, He is God, Creator of heaven and earth! *As we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. We will be more like Jesus, He will lead us in the way we should go! *Our children will benefit as we seek God, they will learn to do the same as we set the example in our words and living till our very lives are "preachers at home". Let us be sober! The lives of our children are at stake.. Who will they be like?

*Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. (1 Peter 5:8-10)

*Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. (James 4:8)

*and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates.
(Deuteronomy 6:7-9)

Are Your Children Putting On the Whole Armor Of God Daily? -- INTRODUCTION OF SEVEN PARTS

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thus with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
(Ephesians 6:10-18)

As I woke up to the radio alarm one morning, I was hearing a sermon about putting on the whole armor of God. I listened with great interest and remember very keenly hearing the, "still small voice" of God in the depth of my soul, telling me to apply this to my life. I heard the sermon again that day, (This station played sermons twice daily) and began to study Ephesians Chapter 6.

I WAS ALARMED! Was I hearing that we should put on the armor of God daily?
Could this be? But according to the sermon I had heard and the Word of God, yes, this is what we should do. I became very, very sober at the thought that my walk with God is daily . . Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. " and Ephesians 6:10-18, (above), this tells me I must put on the armor of God in order to stand in the evil day. I thought, this certainly is an evil day!

As I grew in the understanding of putting on the armor of God piece by piece, and practiced doing so, I became very excited to see the spiritual strength and deliverance God gave me through doing so.

It came to my attention that my young ones needed to know about the armor of God, but how was I to communicate this lesson to them? And so with prayer and seeking God's direction, I came up with a plan.

WE MADE A SOLDIER!

Our soldier and his armor pieces were made from cardboard. The soldier himself had to have armor placed over his clothing, so we used Velcro strips to fasten the pieces. Our soldier looked somewhat like the one pictured above. The children colored in the armor pieces and we wrote on each one it's meaning.

I explained to my young ones the duties of a Roman soldier and what each piece of armor was used for:

The Girdle--Here was the point of junction for the main pieces of the body-armor, so that the girdle formed the common bond of the whole, it helped to hold the armor together.

The Breastplate--The breastplate covers the vital parts, as the heart, to help protect from the sword of the enemy.

The Sandals or shoes-- the sandals, bound by thongs over the instep and round the ankle, and having the soles thickly studded with nails so they could stand their ground in times of battle.

The Shield-- The shield here described is that of the heavy infantry; a large, oblong shield, four by two and a half feet, and sometimes curved on the inner side. It served to shield from hard blows and arrows that were covered with a type of pitch and set on fire.

The Helmet--The protection for the head. The helmet was originally of skin, strengthened with bronze or other metal.

The Sword--serves both for attack and to parry the thrusts of the enemy.

I told them to think how a Roman soldier had to act on the mornings when a battle was about to begin. He would rise quickly when awakened, and immediately put on his armor piece by piece so he would be ready when the battle cry was heard, it meant his very life.

I told them to imagine this soldier jumping up and dressing in a clown suit instead of armor and then running out to the battle field. He wouldn't last long would he? No, because he had no protection and he would be cut down right away, not only that, but the enemy would probably laugh at him.

Then I explained our spiritual enemy, the devil. We memorized Ephesians 6 and talked about the unseen battle that is in the spiritual realm. We talked about the Captain of our souls, the Lord Jesus Christ, and how He has all power over the enemy. Jesus told us to put on the armor, it is HIS armor, not ours, and we need to obey Him. The children were very excited about the whole idea and began the practice of putting on the armor.

This introduction about putting on the whole armor of God is simply to explain why we do so. For the next seven blogs I hope to explain each piece of God's armor and how we have been putting it on almost daily for the past 16 years, not as a ritual but as a living reminder and example of the spiritual battle we are all engaged in.

Here is a commentary by John Gill about the Armour of God, that I appreciate very much:

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God... Not that which God himself is sometimes clothed with, and uses against his enemies; but what he has provided for his people, and furnishes them with; the particulars of which are after mentioned: and it is called "the armour of God", because it is prepared by him for his people, and is bestowed on them by him; and because it is in its own nature divine and spiritual, and not carnal; and because it is provided for fighting the Lord's battles, and is used in them; and because the efficacy of it is from him, and the execution it does is owing to him: and it is whole, complete, and perfect; and all of it is useful, and no part to be neglected, but all to be taken and "put on"; which is not to make and provide this armour, but to take it, as in Eph_6:13; as being ready made and provided, and to expect and prepare for battle, and make use of it; and this supposes saints to be in a warfare state, and that they are in the character of soldiers, and have enemies to fight with, and therefore should be accoutred with proper and suitable armour, to meet them:

that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; who is the grand enemy of Christ and his people, and a very powerful and cunning one he is; so that the whole armour of God should be put on, which is proof against all his might and craft, in order to stand against him, oppose him, and fight, and get the victory over him, which in the issue is always obtained by believers; for they not only stand their ground in the strength of Christ, and by the use of their armour confound his schemes, and baffle all his arts and stratagems, but are more than conquerors through him that has loved them.

To be continued...God willing!

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(Ephesians 6:10)

Please See: Part 1-Truth
And: Part 2- Righteousness
Part 3- The Preperation of the Gospel of Peace
Part 4- The Shield Of Faith

Are Your Children Learning To Pray?

Ecc 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

My young ones were 3 and 4 years of age, and my heart was earnest for them to be godly. As I thought on the early Church, I imagined the people gathering together for fellowship and prayer. In my minds eye I saw them kneeling in prayer and worshiping God together for hours at a time, but where were their children? Ah, I thought, they must have been along side their parents on their knees as well, and learning to pray.

Learning to Pray!

The thought alarmed me! So with sober and careful willingness, I began to teach my children to pray.

In the morning after we read the Bible, we got down on our knees together, I began with a prayer of thanksgiving, the children took turns thanking God too, and then we prayed for family and friends, and so on. . . At first I kept the time to 10 minutes and gradually increased it until we were praying together for 2 hours at a time, (I was doing most of the praying.) We didn't pray that long every single day but there were many days that we did, and it was not a burden to them. My grown daughter now tells me that after awhile as time went on and I prayed, she would play with her hands and make up games, but most importantly, she was learning to pray, and so was I! I'll never forget the time after a long prayer session my 5 year old son exclaimed, "Mommy, I feel like gold is being sprinkled all over my head!"And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: it shall rejoice in his salvation. (Psalms 35:9). Yes, it was a very joyful time!


This was wonderful but I had to learn another lesson concerning prayer and that is; "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Yes, praying long hours together is good and teaches children the practice of praying together well... but fellowship with God does not stop as we get up off our knees. . . it's a daily and continual fellowship!

Are your children learning to Pray?
Are you?

When we are praying through-out the day; singing prayers to God, praising Him, falling on our knees and calling on Him for help in crisis, we are teaching our children to pray.

When our children have their own "child like" crisis we can teach them that all answers lie in calling on our Lord Jesus Christ. Any form of trouble, sickness, sadness, hurt, problems. . . Where do we teach our children the answers lie? (In man?) Oh, let us teach them to seek God for help first of all! Doing this will train them and teach them that Jesus Christ our Lord is the One they should go to for every need in every situation all throughout their lives!

Oh mothers! Let us teach our children to pray and draw near to God!
Let us pray earnestly for our own dear children, for their salvation and godliness!
God is faithful! We have a noble work to do!

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

Welcome!

Greetings to you!

It seemed like a good idea to create a blog for the purpose of sharing the wonderful things God has been teaching us here at home.
We have learned; patience and contentment, joy in our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, to be sober minded, to let God by His Spirit pour forth His fruit out of our lives, to rejoice in adversity, to proclaim the gospel of our Saviour to our family and all those around us!

Oh so much more!
This blog is for the glory of God and to proclaim His goodness and mercy!