Satan is after your kids- Protect them. 1 Peter 5 & Joel 1:3

     My title may be a bit blunt, but this is the message the Lord has been teaching me over the last few months.  Satan’s easiest target is your child.  Satan is sly and deceiving and ready to destroy God’s people. We need to be alert at all times, watching over our children.  Do you know who is after your child? 1 Peter 5:8 tells us “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
  The Lord has shown me how our enemy is after our children. If you do any research on lions, you will find that they seek out the youngest of the herds. They know they are the easiest target and don’t have a fighting chance. The Lord is trying to teach us about our enemy and how he works. Sure- he’s out to destroy everyone, but the easiest prey – is your child. It is our responsibility as parents to guard them and their hearts. In Proverbs 4: 23, King Solomon said:

Guard your heart above all else,for it determines the course of your life.
 Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
 Look straight ahead,and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
(notice what affects the heart:words, what we see, where we go,what we hear)

      Movies, TV shows, magazines, music, books- they are all affecting your child. What are you putting in your child’s heart? Sorcery? Witchcraft (Disney channel)? Promiscuity? foul language? Please don’t be fooled! It’s shaping your child’s future and they way they think.

     Who exactly are you fighting? evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. You must put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against the strategies of the devil read more…. 

God gives us instructions:
Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,  so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Deut 11:19-21

When are we to teach our children?

1. when we are at home
2. when we are on the road
3. when you go to bed
4. when you wake up
5. everyday and every moment

Again, the Lord commands us :
“to teach them to their children”  so the next generation might know them—  even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children.
 So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands. Then they will not be like their ancestors— stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful, refusing to give their hearts to God ps 78:5

“And what does he want? Godly children from your union” Malachi 2:13-17

Tell your children:  Tell your children about it in the years to come,
and let your children tell their children. Pass the story down from generation to generation Joel 1:3

      This world we live in today is manipulating parents with the things it promotes.  I hear some parents say that as long as they are reading, it doesn’t matter what it is they are reading…really? So would you serve candy bars for breakfast and serve cheese doodle for lunch? Certainly you care about their health…so what is more important to you? Their stomach or their heart? It’s clear from scripture that the very thoughts we think, the things we see and the words we hear go into our hearts and then flow out into our lives. Be Careful, be careful.  Jesus said in Luke 6 :45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. What are you putting into your child’s heart? 

Warning: “But be careful. Don’t let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods.  If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against you. Deut 11:16 Do you serve any other gods/idols? Do you put anything before God? Hmmm what is the first thing you think about when you wake up? That is a good test of the heart. Is it praise? or something else?

    I do not understand why children’s movies have so much foul language! Why is God’s name used in vain constantly? We have become so desensitized to this that we either ignore it or shrug it off like it’s nothing. I am not sitting here as Ms. Perfect Christian Parent!!!! No way! I fall short – more often than I’d like to admit. It hasn’t been easy to fit church, youth groups, and children’s bible classes into my schedule- there’s been plenty of times where I just didn’t want to go- I’m tired!  However, I can see the rewards and the fruit of all the years I have invested- and still many more years to go. Even now I’m in a bit of a dilemma with my schedule, one child being on swim team will eliminate our family night Wednesday bible studies..hmm so what should I do? Forget church and go forward with swim team in hopes of a college scholarship or stop and go to church and trust God to help us. Whenever I decide to put God first, somehow everything seems to work perfectly. I tell our soccer coaches, we leave wednesdays at 6:45 no matter what and I rearrange cheerleading so I can make that one hour on wednesday night.  You will find that if you put the Lord first, He will take care of everything you need and it will work out better than you thought – and it will bless your life. :0)

 
     You see, we think there is no time for church or God…. I see it everywhere.  I think many parents today think that because they were raised in a church, they are saved… hoping salvation runs in the genes for their kids salvation-but it doesn’t work that way.  Why is it that your child does not know Jesus? What is your priority? Sports, clubs, money or Salvation? This is your responsibility- the guardian of your child’s soul. If you don’t have 1 hour to give the Lord out of the 168 hours a week He gives you, then you are either too busy or really don’t care. okay, okay…. I hear you, some of you don’t like church – well join the club, and just go- or find a way to teach your children about the Lord. Form a small group, or a bible study.  If you absolutely refuse to go to church, get creative- because excuses don’t work with the Lord

This is great advice. If you don’t know which way to go, scripture instructs us to  “stop”, “look”, and then ask. We will then find the path we are to travel and find rest for our souls.

Be careful! That you and your children are not cut off:

   “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.

SATAN IS AFTER YOUR KIDS! WITH FALSE TEACHING, DECEPTION, AND LIES.

Hosea 4:6  My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me, I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children.

Hosea 5:7 They have betrayed the honor of the LORD, bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore

Proverbs 22:6 Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.

Psalm 22:30 Our children will also serve him. Future generations will hear about the wonders of the Lord

Psalm 115:14 May the LORD richly bless both you and your children

Deuteronomy 4:10 Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

Deuteronomy 11:19Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up

Psalm 78:5 For he issued his laws to Jacob; he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children

Psalm 78:6  so the next generation might know them— even the children not yet born— and they in turn will teach their own children

  How can we teach our children? I’m sure there are many ways of teaching our children about the Lord, but the best way is to be an example. Do they see you praying? studying? worshipping? What do they see you reading? watching on tv? Be an example, teach them the fear of the Lord, take the extra step to lead them along the godly paths. You will not be disappointed, but the Lord will bless you for your obedience. Remember, we reap what we sow. What are you sowing?

Micah 1:2-4 Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
    Let the earth and everything in it hear.
The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you;
    the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
 Look! The Lord is coming!
    He leaves his throne in heaven
    and tramples the heights of the earth.
 The mountains melt beneath his feet
    and flow into the valleys
like wax in a fire,
    like water pouring down a hill.
.And why is this happening?
    Because of the rebellion of Israel^[a]—
    yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
    Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
    In Jerusalem, its capital!…..
Oh, people of Judah, shave your heads in sorrow,
    for the children you love will be snatched away.
Make yourselves as bald as a vulture,
    for your little ones will be exiled to distant lands.

  Pray for our children.  Prayer is powerful and it works! ( speaking of this- Stormie OMartian’s book “the Power of a Praying Parent” is a good book with great prayers and scriptures to speak over your children) There are so many dangers out there that we do not see. There are so many things that are hurting our children, yet we don’t see it.  The things we don’t think can harm our children, can..ask the Lord for discernment. I see the lion prowling around, and he has a plan of destruction, that no one sees. He doesn’t want you to teach your child or parent them. He wants to separate us from our children. Everything satan is doing now is deception and many think it is unharmful, but this lion is about to pounce and devour it’s prey. Open your eyes and fight back.

  Scripture makes it clear- we are to teach our children day and night about the Lord. Are we walking in obedience or making excuses?  Decide today who you will serve. May the Lord bless you, and always and everywhere keep your children and other believers covered in prayer. May the peace and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 

Hear the Word of the Lord:
My people are being destroyed
because they don’t know me.
Since you priests refuse to know me,
    I refuse to recognize you as my priests.
Since you have forgotten the laws of your God,
I will forget to bless your children.
Hosea 4:6

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