Dearest Mothers, Who Are You Training Your Children For?

Dearest Mothers,

Today I went with Mark 6:12 Ministries https://www.youtube.com/user/mark612ministries?feature=results_main  to give the gospel at the annual  running competition in Duluth called, The Grandma's Marathon. Thousands of people from all over the World attend this event to participate or observe. Steve and John preached the gospel while the rest of us gave out tracts and held signs and banners.
It was an exciting day indeed as we had many wonderful opportunities to talk to people, one-on-one about the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
  
We are familiar with the usual scoffers and mockers, but each year it is worse then the year before. Many people hate the message of the cross, and as the days become more evil the numbers of people increase who exhibit pure hatred of the gospel message.

This blog is for encouraging young mothers to train their children for Jesus Christ, so even though giving the gospel and sharing with people is very exciting, I want to shift to the purpose of this post-

My greatest grief and heart ache is when I see more and more of the children and young people becoming despisers of truth. I'm sorry to say it is much worse now- more then ever before in past years. I wish you could have seen the hardness in their very young faces as we offered tracts or as they read our signs, so you could better understand the seriousness of what I am saying. How can children be so hard and exhibit such hatred and scorn for the gospel?

God tells Parents to train up children in the way that they should go, Proverbs 22:6  He tells us foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, Proverbs 22:15  But He gives instructions in the training of children, see Deuteronomy 6:4. There are so many other verses which speak of training children for God, you can find them in this blog, but better yet go straight to the Bible. The children and young people who are so hateful and opposed the the gospel are being trained but for evil and for satan.

There is a training of children for God, and there is a training of children for satan.

 Do nothing to teach children truth, neglect them and just give them over to the World and satan will take over to train them. They will be trained in violence, immorality, disrespect for authority, in hatred and every evil thing imaginable. They will hate God and His people. It is happening today, I quake for the future of America and for the World.

Judgement is here. America deserves judgement as she has made it legal to shed innocent blood through abortion, close to 60 million babies slaughtered since 1973. She been given over to violence, and corruption. Her people are despisers of God and His Son Jesus Christ the Lord, the Creator of all.This Scripture describes it well:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)


- Please wake up Mothers- don't leave your children to be trained by vile and corrupt haters of God. You teach them Truth- Jesus said, "I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no man can come unto the Father but by Me."
Read the Bible to them, teach the Word of God, expose the lies of the devil to them (who wants them to hate God and end up in hell.) Give them truth- fight for their souls! Deny yourselves and take up the cross and follow Jesus- it's hard work but with strength from God you can do it. Invest your time in training your children for the Lord Jesus.

He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity: and the rod of his anger shall fail.
(Proverbs 22:8)
The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened. The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity. The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth. The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. (Proverbs 10:27-32)

THE CHRISTAIN MOTHER By John Abbot- 1833, Chapter 2: Part Six

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER

by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society

To Begin With Chapter One Go Here: The Mothers Responsibility

Chapter 2: Part Six

The Mother's AUTHORITY

As an illustration, let us suppose that James and Mary are playing together in the evening, and James gets vexed and strikes his sister. He has done this without any provocation, and ought to be punished, and to ask his sister's forgiveness. But the mother has perceived that, during the whole day, James has manifested a very unpleasant disposition. He has been irritable and unyielding. She sees that now he is excited and angry.
Every parent knows that such variations of feeling are not uncommon. One day a child is pleasant and affectionate; the next, every thing seems to go wrong; little things vex, and the whole disposition seems to be soured. The mother perceives that her son is in this frame of mind. He has done wrong, and ought to ask his sister's forgiveness. But she knows that, in this excited and unamiable frame of mind, he will be strongly tempted to resist her authority.

Unreasonably vexed as he is, it would be one of the hardest acts of submission for him to ask the forgiveness of his sister. If the mother tells him to do so, the temptation to refuse is so strong, that, in all probability, he will decline obeying. She must then punish him. And here comes the contest, which must be continued, if it is commenced, till the child submits. Now, how is this contest to be avoided? By overlooking the fault? Most certainly not. The mother rises, takes James by the hand, and says, "My son, you have been doing very wrong; you are behaving badly, and must not stay with us any longer; I will carry you to bed." She accordingly leads him away to his chamber.

Just before leaving him for the night, she tells him in a kind but sorrowful tone, how much she is displeased, and how much God must be displeased with his conduct. As usual, she hears him say his prayers, or kneels by the bedside, and prays that God will forgive him. She then leaves him to his own reflections and to sleep.

He is thus punished for his fault. And as he lies in his bed, and hears his brothers and sisters happy downstairs, he feels how much wiser and better it is to be a good boy. In the morning he awakes. Night has given repose to his excited feelings. He thinks how unhappy his yesterday's misconduct made him, and resolves to be more upon his guard for the future. All his rebellious feelings are quelled by the soothing influence of sleep. His passions are not aroused. The mother can now operate upon his mind without any fear of having a contest with a determined and stubborn will.

When the children come down in the morning, she calls James and Mary before her. Taking the hand of each, she mildly says, "My son, you made us all unhappy last night by striking your little sister; I hope you are sorry for what you did." "Yes, mother, I am," says James; being led easily now to the feelings of penitence and submission, to which, during the moments of irritation and excitement, he could not, at least without great difficulty, have been driven. Thus, by judicious management, the desired object is attained, and perfectly attained, while the contest is avoided. The fault is not overlooked, and James is humbled.

But had the mother, regardless of the child's peculiar state of feeling, commanded him immediately to ask forgiveness of his sister, it would, in all probability, have led to a scene actually painful to both mother and son. And the final effect of the discipline would, perhaps, have been less beneficial upon the mind of the child.

But cases will sometimes occur when it is not possible thus to avoid the strife. When such an emergency rises, it is the duty of the parent boldly and resolutely to meet it. If, from false feeling, you then shrink, you are disloyal to the sacred trust which God has committed to your care.
Is it kindness for a mother to let her child die, rather than compel it to take the bitter prescription which is to restore it to health and strength?
And is it kindness to let those passions conquer, which, unsubdued, will be, for time and eternity, a scourge to their possessor?

If there is any cruelty in the world which is truly horrendous—it is the cruelty of a falsely indulgent and unfaithful parent!

Continue to Chapter 2: Part Seven

THE CHRISTAIN MOTHER By John Abbot- 1833. Chapter 2: Part Four

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER

by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society

Start at Chapter One Here: The Mothers Responsibility

Chapter 2: Part Four:

The Mother's AUTHORITY

Is it said that by noticing such little things a mother must be continually finding fault? But it is not a little thing for a child to disobey a mother's commands!

This one act of disregarding authority prepares the way for another. It is the commencement of evil which must be resisted. The very first appearances of insubordination must be checked.

There are doubtless cases of trifling faults occurring, which a wise parent will judge it expedient to overlook. Children will be thoughtless and inadvertent. They will occasionally err from strict propriety, without any real intention of doing wrong. Judgment is here requisite in deciding what things must be overlooked; but we may be assured, I think, that direct and open disobedience is not, in any case, to be classed among the number of trifling faults. The eating of an apple banished our first parents from paradise. The atrocity of the offense consisted in its disobedience of a divine command.

Now, every mother has power to obtain prompt obedience—if she commences with her children when they are young. They are then entirely in her hands. All their enjoyments are at her disposal.

God has thus given her all the power she needs to govern and guide them as she pleases.

We have endeavored to show, by the preceding illustrations, that the fundamental principle of government is—when you do give a command, invariably enforce its obedience. And God has given every mother the power. He has placed in your hands a helpless babe, entirely dependent upon you; so that if it disobeys you, all you have to do is to cut off its sources of enjoyment, or inflict bodily pain, so steadily and so invariably that disobedience and suffering shall be indissolubly connected in the mind of the child.
What more power can a parent ask for than God has already given? And if we fail to use this power for the purposes for which it was bestowed, the sin is ours, and upon us and upon our children must rest the consequences.

The exercise of discipline must often be painful—but if you shrink from duty here, you expose yourself to all that sad train of woes which disobedient children leave behind them. If you cannot summon sufficient resolution to deprive of enjoyment, and inflict pain when it is necessary, then you must feel that a broken heart and an old age of sorrow will not be unmerited. And when you look upon your dissolute sons and ungrateful daughters, you must remember that the time was when you might have checked their evil propensities.

If you love 'momentary ease' better than your children's welfare and your own permanent happiness, you cannot murmur at the lot you have freely chosen. And when you meet your children at the bar of God, and they point to you and say, "It was through your neglect of duty that we are banished from heaven—and consigned to endless woe!" you must feel what no tongue can tell.

Ah! it is dreadful for a mother to trifle with duty. Eternal destinies are committed to your trust. The influence you are now exerting will go on, unchecked by the grave or the judgment, and will extend onward through those ages to which there is no end!

Continue to Chapter 2: Part Five

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER by John Abbot- 1833 Chapter one part 2

THE CHRISTIAN MOTHER
by John Abbott, 1833, Worcester, Mass. Published by the American Tract Society

Read: Chapter One: Part One

Part Two:
The Mother's RESPONSIBILITY
"Be an example . . . in speech, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6


. . . A pious and faithful mother may have a dissolute child. He may break away from all restraints, and God may leave him to "eat the fruit of his own devices." The parent, thus afflicted and broken-hearted, can only bow before the sovereignty of her Maker, who says, "be still, and know that I am God." The consciousness, however, of having done one's duty, divests this affliction of much of its bitterness. And beside, such cases are rare.
Profligate children are generally the offspring of parents who have neglected the moral and religious education of their family. Some parents are themselves profligate, and thus not only allow their children to grow up unrestrained, but by their example lure them to sin. But there are others, who are very upright, and virtuous, and even pious themselves, who do, nevertheless, neglect the moral culture of their children; and as a consequence, they grow up in disobedience and sin. It matters but little what the cause is which leads to this neglect. The neglect itself will ordinarily be followed by disobedience and self-will.
Hence the reason that children of eminent men, both in church and state, are not unfrequently the disgrace of their parents. If the mother is unaccustomed to govern her children, if she looks to the father to enforce obedience, and to control; when he is absent, all family government is absent, and the children are left to run wild—to learn lessons of disobedience; to practise arts of deception; to build, upon the foundation of contempt for a mother, a character of insubordination and iniquity. But if the children are under the efficient government of a judicious mother, the reverse of this is almost invariably the case. And since, in nearly every instance, the early years of life are entrusted to a mother's care, it follows that maternal influence, more than any thing else, forms the future character.
The history of John Newton is often mentioned as a proof of the deep and lasting impression which a mother may produce upon the mind of her child. He had a pious mother. She often retired to her closet, and placing her hand upon his youthful head, implored God's blessing upon her boy. These prayers and instructions sunk deep into his heart. He could not but revere that mother. He could not but feel that there was a holiness in such a character, demanding reverence and love. He could not tear from his heart, in after life, the impressions then produced. Though he became a wicked wanderer, though he forsook friends and home, and every virtue; the remembrance of a mother's prayers, like a guardian angel, followed him wherever he went. He mingled in the most evil and disgraceful scenes of a sailor's life, and while surrounded with guilty associates, in midnight revelry, he would fancy he felt the soft hand of his mother upon his head, pleading with God to forgive and bless her boy. He went to the coast of Africa, and became even more degraded than the savages upon her dreary shores. But the soft hand of his mother was still upon his head, and the fervent prayers of his mother still thrilled in his heart. And this influence, after the lapse of many guilty years, brought back the prodigal, a penitent and a child of God; elevated him to be one of the brightest ornaments of the Christian church, and to guide many sons and daughters to glory. What a forcible comment is this upon the power of maternal influence! And what
encouragement does this present to every mother to be faithful in her efforts to train up her child for God! Had Mrs. Newton neglected her duty, had she even been as remiss as many Christian mothers, her son, to all human view, might have continued in sin, and been an outcast from heaven. It was through the influence of the mother that the son was saved. Newton became afterward a most successful preacher of the Gospel, and every soul which he was instrumental in saving, as he sings the song of redeeming mercy, will, through eternity, bless God that Newton had such a mother.
The influence thus exerted upon the mind, in early childhood, may, for many years, be apparently lost. When a son leaves home, and enters upon the busy world, many are the temptations which come crowding upon him. If he leaves home without established principles of religion and self-control, he will most assuredly fall before these temptations. He may indeed fall, even after all a mother has done, or can do; and he may become deeply involved in guilt.
But he may apparently forget every lesson he learnt at home, while the influence of a mother's instructions, and a mother's prayers, is yet working powerfully and effectually in his heart. He will think of a mother's tears, when remorse keeps him awake at midnight, or when danger threatens him with speedy arraignment at the bar of God. The thoughts of the sacredness of home will often throw bitterness into his cup of guilty pleasure, and compel him to sigh for the virtue and the peace he has forsaken. Even though far away, in abodes of infamy, degraded and abandoned, he must occasionally think of a broken-hearted mother. Thus may he, after many years, perhaps long after she has gone down to the grave, be led, by the remembrance of her virtues, to forsake his sins.
A short time since, a gentleman, in one of our most populous cities, was going to attend a seaman's meeting in the mariner's chapel. Directly opposite the chapel there was a sailor's boarding house. In the door-way sat a hardy, weather-beaten sailor, with arms folded, and puffing a cigar, watching the people as they gradually assembled for the meeting. The gentleman walked up to him and said, "Well, my friend, won't you go with us to meeting?"
"No!" said the sailor, bluntly. The gentleman, who, from the appearance of the man, was prepared for a repulse, mildly replied, "You look, my friend, as though you had seen hard days; have you a mother?" The sailor raised his head, looked earnestly in the gentleman's face, and made no reply.
The gentleman continued—"Suppose your mother were here now, what advice would she give you?" The tears rushed into the eyes of the poor sailor; he tried for a moment to conceal them, but could not; and, hastily brushing them away with the back of his rough hand, rose and said, with a voice almost inarticulate through emotion, "I'll go to the meeting." He crossed the street, entered the door of the chapel, and took his seat with the assembled congregation.
What afterward became of the man is not known. It is however almost certain that he must have had a mother who had given him good instruction; and when the gentleman appealed to her, hardened as the sailor was, his heart melted. It is by no means improbable that this interview may have checked this man in his sins, and led him to Christ. At any event, it shows the strength of maternal influence. It shows that years of wandering and of sin cannot erase from the heart the impression which a mother's instructions and a mother's prayers have left there.

Continue To Read: Chapter One: Part Three

Are Your Children Obedient and Happy? Part 4-Be Still Before God

Mother's, Be Still Before God, Listen and Learn From Him

Please see Are Your Children Obedient and Happy?
Part 1
Part 2

Part 3

In the last post of this series I have spent a great deal of time addressing the attitude of mothers in obedience to Authority. The godly wife's first priority in obedience is to God and then to her husband.
(For the single mother, her first priority in obedience is to God, then perhaps she can find a pastor or an elder to place herself under... this is a touchy area for many single mothers, but I would encourage them to place themselves under some-kind of authority in the body of Christ. This would be a matter of prayer and seeking God for direction. I do believe it is prudent to do since we as women need strong direction and support in many areas of decisions to be made.)

For the godly mother, her attitude in obedience to God and to her husband is crucial for training the children to be obedient to authority. If you have not read part 3 in this series, please do!

I have been grieved. Our youth in America are being destroyed by the evil mentality of false teaching, being corrupted. Parents are deceived, so many, many have looked to the ideals of man for direction in training their children. Parents themselves have been raised with the ideals of man and know nothing else. What are the ideals of man? Among a few: To raise a child with high self esteem, a drive to achieve a good life with a proud heart and sensitive not to offend others. I'm sure you can add to this list... it could fill this blog!

The ideals of man are opposite of what God desires for us.. (For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He takes the wise in their own craftiness. (1 Corinthians 3:19) Man's ideals are about man and what is good for man. God's plan for us is to bring glory to Himself... it's not about us nor our happiness, but there is no true happiness without God!

• The people of God should not be conformed to this world and it's ideals.( And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2)
  
  
• The people of God should reject the advice of the ungodly in training of children since the ungodly are at enmity with God and cannot understand the mind of God, because they do not have the Spirit of God. (Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 1 Corinthians2:12)
  
• The people of God should look to God in training their children. God's Holy Word has all the answers for us and instructs us in training our children. (I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with my eye. Psalms 32:8)
  
  
• The people of God should take the job of training their children for God very seriously. (Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6)

Oh mothers! Please! we must set priorities straight! We must stop placing friends, activities, television, movies, our own comforts, and many other things in front of raising our children for God! Yes there are social pressures that seem to demand your involvement in activities outside of the home, but are these pressures from God or man? Have we created these pressures by taking too much on and saying, "yes" to too many things when asked to do them?

The best thing for us to do is to be still before God and let Him direct our path. For those who feel that their life is in a mad whirl wind, Be Still before GOD. (Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalms 46:10)
Dear, dear mothers, if you feel you are too busy to be still before God, and cannot find time with Him... in reading His Word, praying and seeking His face, asking Him-to direct your path, and quietly listening for Him to speak to your heart, then dear heart... You are too busy! This is not good and not of God. Remember that we have an arch enemy that wants to snatch you away from God and as a result deprive your children of rich blessings, since you cannot train them for God. Think and pray, ask God to help you to have the time, and perhaps remove certain activities from your life.

I have so many things to say on this subject. I too must keep my priorities straight!

For now... May our sweet Lord Jesus Christ direct you and help you in training your children for HIM!

In the next post I plan to write about: " So Called, Disorders of Children"