Answers to Prayers

1 John 5:14-15: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" (NIV).

Parenting tests this passage like few other experiences. Because we love our children, we assume we know what is best for them. We pray for God to honor our plans and are shocked when God sometimes leads us down a more difficult path, with testing and pain.

For me, the turning point came when I realized I was looking at God as a "cosmic vending machine". When I prayed, I somehow felt He was obligated to comply. Then, a colleague gave me a simple guide that changed my perspective on prayer. He said, "Prayer is asking God to align you with His will, rather than asking Him to be aligned with yours."

God knows what you and your children really need. When we pray, He is at work answering those prayers, but in a way that suits Him and His Kingdom. Faith trusts the wisdom of His answer, even when His answer is different than what we expect.

Pray for God's will to be done and your prayers will be answered.



COURTESY: DAILY PARENTING DEVOTIONAL

On Televisions and Mobiles......

James tell us, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:14). The Apostle Paul tells us that “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor 10:13).
That’s why our God, through the Law of Moses, treats his people as a tightly-governed child “under guardians and managers until the date set by his father” (Gal 4:2). He carefully works us toward maturity, seeing that we’re faithful in small things before putting us over many things. That’s what a good and loving Father does.

A pre-teen or a teenager with unrestricted cell-phone usage, Internet or television consumption is being placed in a very, very difficult place of temptation. The company of that young man or woman is now away from the scrutiny of parents, and is now left only to his or her discretion or conscience.

I wonder then, when it comes to cell phones and unrestricted TV viewing, how many parents do precisely what our Father never does, and never will do.

Are there some young Christians who can handle such? Of course. Should you assume your child is one of them? Your Father is more careful of you than that.

And, did I also mention PICTURES? ! “Mistakes” today can be so much bigger than when we were kids. A young person can make a bad judgment call with a text or picture, and when that relationship goes sour, that picture is all over the internet.

It doesn’t mean you have to turn your house into an Inquisition hall or the Jail.
It simply means your child knows that you love him or her enough to check in frequently to see what’s going on in life. It also means that you communicate clearly that the child doesn’t have a personal cellphone, autonomous of your authority.

The best solution I have come up with is for parents to own extra phones, and give them to the kids when I want them to have them. They don’t need to keep them all of the time. This way they do have access to a phone, but they don’t give out that number to everybody and constantly text friends. Checking up on your kids’ texts and things really can have a negative feel to them - that they’re not trusted and stuff. So keeping the phone does away with that, also.

All things can be used for God’s glory. The point is: Christian parents raising children according to God’s word. Cell phones,TV, the Net are not the enemy.

Communicating your love to your child means communicating your involvement. The gospel message is one of Fatherhood and sonship, of a Father who knows the hairs on our head (Luke 12:7), who fights for his children when they’re tested, tempted, or mistreated. Picture that kind of God to your children, even if they grumble and complain at first.

#1 Don’t Criticize Or Compare!

This one’s got such long lasting effects that you have no idea when it’s gonna rear its ugly head up again. A critical spirit is a destructive thing and you must remember to cloak yourselves in tender mercies. Don’t attribute motives, or take offense or lose patience. (I hear some of you asking, “Do you want a tall order of fries with that?”)

Children look at us and learn. If we expect of them to be meek, respectful, submissive, loving, organized, make sure we model that. Are we willingly submissive?

Be a primary example of their future calling!

Mothers And Daughters

In Job 42:15, we see that Job’s daughters were the fairest in the land- not just in beauty and brains but in temperament as well. Now how would we who strive to be good Christian mothers make our daughters beautiful in temperament, attitude and behavior?

I recently found myself being asked this by women I consider my closest sisters in Christ. The first time it happened, I gave in my bit of understanding and left it at that. Then it happened again—not once, not twice, but five different times. Literally, God has been asking me to post on this! How do we live in Christ as mothers to future Women of God? How do we bring our daughters up?

It’s hard for me to accept I’m having difficulty getting thru to my daughter in spite of being a woman myself. But haven’t we all heard of familiarity breeding contempt?

Instead of giving y’all a list of what to do, upcoming is a list of what we must take care not to do: spoken from experience (mine and others).

Is it wrong for a Christian to want to be rich?

A lot of people I know criticize new generation churches for proclaiming the prosperity gospel. But, in actuality, what's the prosperity gospel all about? Jesus has promised each of us peace and prosperity. As the children of the King of Kings, are we not prince and princess who can lay claim to their Heavenly Fathers ' bountiful riches? We are! So can we actively pursue money generating works? But isn't money the root of all evil?

Let's take it from 1 Timothy6:6-10.

6But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
7For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
8If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Our MAIN AIM is to pursue Godliness. The way to that is CONTENTMENT or gratefulness. If you are grateful , truly grateful for what you have, then it's hard to want anything more. Once we are thus able to control our wants, we are no longer vulnerable to the trickery of our desires. Those who "want to get rich" precariously perch themselves at the edge of a BIG fall. By focusing on what money can buy us, we are taking our eyes off what is really important.

So, is it wrong to be rich? Well, the world in general considers you rich by the number of material blessings you possess. Our desire to meet this standard is what makes it so wrong. By wanting what we don't have, we express a lack of contentment.We are in fact proclaiming,"God hasn't done this right!"

The Scripture commands us on this accord to flee from our lusts for things and to seek the kingdom of God. Pursue godliness. Don't put your hope and security on a fickle master like money.Our Ever Dependable God is more than capable of richly supplying us with things to enjoy!

Why me,Lord?

Ok, all hands up those of you who have asked this at least once! I have news for you people - even Jesus did this! He knew He has sent to earth fwith a single purpose.Yet hours before the ultimate act of obedience, He asked His Father," Why me? Do I really have to do this? ( Matt 26:39)

Consider the scenario of guy yappin' away on his mobile while navigating heavy traffic. A lady jaywalks. He loses control of his vehicle and rams into a crowd of pedestrians. She made a poor choice. He made the wrong choice of time to be on his phone. Either way, people hurt all over. The ripple effect...
Bad stuff can also happen coz we live in a world that isn't perfect.

So are you telling me that either way I'm a goner??

Not by a long way! There's Someone who has promised to stick with you thru thick and thin. Read it all over again in Matt:28:20.You can count on Him anytime. Bad things are bound to happen on earth.That's the way of the world.

But keep in mind, there are no tears or sadness in Heaven. He will wipe away your tears. Don't we,loving parents, go out of our way to comfort and console a crying child? Do we not wrap them in our arms until the pain subsides? Are we above and better than our creator at Godly parenting? (Read Psalm 56:8, Rev 21:14,Matt 5:4)

For those of you still singing the chorus at the pity party-Two wrongs do not make a right. Learn to ask for His decision before consulting self. Even Jesus did this. The world is most often wrong.

Following thru on your decision…

Today’s world can subtly pressurize us into turning away from our decisions. Everything is presented so seductively… as innocent as a sheep…But a wolf is still a wolf.
Making the right decisions include a commitment to follow through. Even if others try to convince us to deviate from our decisions, we should remain firm.

Our children do not realize the possible long-term effects of their small, daily choices and fail to comprehend they do not have as much control over the consequences of their choices as they think they do. Once they open the door a crack, Satan can get a foot in and once his foot is in, he can enter and even move in. Train children to look ahead.

The Ripple Effect....

Every decision we make has consequences that ripple out like a stone in pool. Not only are there earthly repercussions but also eternal consequences. The consequences may not play out just in our lives but also in another’s.

Many of these decisions may seem trivial; some of them are serious; a few of them are monumental. Ultimately, they are eternal in their consequences. Getting out of a small but bad decision is very hard— harder than it seems. But each decision tends to lead to other, harder choices. Even decisions like going to a party, getting an education, selecting an occupation , buying shoes that look good (but pinch terribly),hanging out with a wrong crowd coz they make usu look good… it’s not major decisions alone that have eternal consequences.!

How do we take a decision then? How do you teach our children to make a choice that doesn’t hurt them eternally? They must know what to do and when to do it when each decision presents itself.
We need to prepare ourselves and the time to make choices is before we find ourselves in the situation. It’s easier to choose when our emotions aren’t involved and the consequences don’t yet exist. Making some basic decisions early in life will free us from making a lot of troublesome day-to-day decisions later. For example, if we have already decided to live by the Word, we will not have to decide whether we should accept a cigarette or an alcoholic beverage when it is offered to us.

Remember that making no decision at all could be just as deadly as making the wrong decision. When we choose not to witness, either thru word or actions, we are accountable eternally. When you see something wrong happening in church and you do not object to it, or even harbor under the misconception that the elders of the church know better, realize you too will be held accountable. Test everything against the Word. Seek only His Kingdom. Everything else will follow.

Obedience 2

Just googled the same song... turns out there's a verse I didn't know....

We want to live pure, we want to live clean.
We want to do our best.
Sweetly submitting to authority, leaving to God the rest.
Walking in the light, keep our attitudes right, On the narrow way.
For if you believe the Word you receive, You always will obey!

Hmm...... there's a bit of swallowing words I need to be doing here.. lets see if I can learn it well enough to teach the kids soon.....

This verse actually does drive home the fact that this isnt just a kids song. Its an eye opener for adults too...Obedience to the faith is the only way for salvation. You must obey God’s way, by putting their faith in Christ, in order to be saved. Secondly, it is an act of obedience on our part to act in faith and carry His word to all nations (The Great Commission). Thirdly, it is certain that true faith is going to produce obedience to the faith in our lives.

Obedience!

Eureka!
There was this song I had learnt long time back in Sunday School... there's was just one line I had missed out in memory.. had been praying over it... and I GOT IT!...HERE IT IS.....

The OBEDIENCE Song
Obedience is the very best way, to show that you believe.
Doing exactly what the Lord commands, doing it happily.
Action is the key - do it immediately, joy you will receive. (this was the line I 'd missed!)
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.
O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E
Obedience is the very best way to show that you believe.


:D...Guess I know what I 'll be doing next weekend!! I often make sure at least one or two of the next generation know the songs I learnt.. It's a quest I've been on for a while...gather all the kids I can get... and teach them the same.

Scripture Pearls to pray over your Children....

I received this in a mail today and thought it was too good not to share with all of you...especially when we are united in praying over the Children.. :D

Much as we'd like, we can't keep our most precious belonging wrapped in cotton wool..they need to go out into the Big, Bad World. And while we may say they can't help but get tarnished in the world's atmosphere..we can polish them daily with softly whispered prayers all the time, every time.. Here are a couple of promises you can declare over your child-- even those unborn.

Cover them in prayer before they go off into the world alone so that they make the right decisions, and stay away from all that was evil.

Acts 19:20.........I thank you Father that Your Word prevails over our children.
Isa 54:13...........That they are taught of the Lord and continue to be Prov 13:1.......... the fruit of godly instruction and correction.
Isa 54:13...........Great is their peace and undisturbed composure.
Prov 2:6............ Father, give us counsel and wisdom in bringing up our children.
1Pet 1:14.......... I say they are obedient, not conforming to the things of the flesh,
1Pet 1:15.......... but holy, in all conduct.
1Pet 2:2........... desiring the pure milk of the Word that they may grow thereby.
James 1:19............That they are swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.
Heb 13:5.......... Their conduct is without covetousness, .......... and they are content with what they have.
Heb 13:16......... They do not forget to do what is right and to share.
2Pet 3:18.......... I pray that they grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, 1Thes 4:1......... and abound more and more in how they should walk and please You.
1Pet 5:5........... That they submit to their elders, and to one another, 1Pet 5:5........... being clothed with humility.
1Pet 5:7........... That they cast their cares upon You, Father, for You care for them.
James 1:22............I thank You that they are doers of the Word, and not hearers only, Ph'm 1:6...........effectively sharing their faith.
2Tim 1:7 ..........not having a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.
2Tim 1:9...........Father, You have saved them and called them with a holy calling, 2Tim 1:9 ..........not according to works, but according to Your own purpose.
2Tim 4:18.........Deliver them from every evil work and preserve them.
John 10:5 ........They will by no means follow strangers, not knowing their voices.
2Tim2:22 .........They abide with others who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, James 3:10 ..........and cursing comes not out of their mouth.
1Jn 5:18 ..........Because Jesus keeps them safe, the wicked one does not touch them.
Ps 91:11..........Give Your angels special charge to accompany, defend, preserve Ps 4:8.............and provide safety for them, day and night.
1Jn 2:5 ...........Because they keep Your Word, Your love is being perfected in them.
1Jn 2:15 .........They do not love the world or the things in the world, 3Jn 1:11..........and they do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.
1Jn 1:7 ...........They walk in the light as You are in the Light, James 4:8 ...........cleansing their hands and purifying their hearts, 2Tim 2:22 .......They follow after righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
Heb 13:18........They have a good conscience and desire to live honorably, Prov 3:4 ..........having favor and high esteem with God and man

The Idiot Box!

Continuing on the last blog, why must I prescreen my kid’s exposure to TV? What must I do if they have viewed something considered harmless but is in fact the most insidious poison?
Yes, people, it’s not just gory images, profanity or indecency that I must screen my kids from. What about satanic influences such as Wicca presented most appealingly? Kids with special powers who channel spirits to help them carry Herculean heroic stuff?
And what about all those fight video games?
The world’s view of what is righteous, manly and accepted has become so distorted that it is easy even for those of us on the vigil for Satan to be deceived.
And what do we tell them?
We tell them, ”Don’t say that! Don’t do that! Coz it’s rude and reflects badly on you, we say.
Well, they may not always listen… :)… But eventually the message gets across…
Likewise, just like we monitor their speech and actions, so also must we monitor their viewing. Certain images harm their perception of life.
I hear you say, “How am I going to do that? How am I going to control their visual intake?”
That’s why it is important to discuss what they saw in the light of personal values and God’s Word. You can not afford to lose heart. Being proactive means being aware of what children are learning, how they are being entertained, and who is on the other end of the phone. Keep an open line of communication…..I’m trying to do this all myself. If any of you have any new ideas, let me know… I would love to know each and everyone of your experiences.
Being a parent isn’t easy…being a Christian one is tougher! Nevertheless, I know we’ll succeed coz after all…I can do all things through Him who strengthens me!