Winter Campmeeting

MY FAMILY

Children are a blessing from God. Many people treat them as if they are anything but a blessing. They will be more of a blessing if you apply God’s Word in the way you raise them. Stand on God’s Word for your family. Believe His promises.

For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you.  Psalms 147:13 NKJ

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. 5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.  Psalms 127:3-5 NKJ

The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.  Proverbs 20:7 NKJ

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.  Psalms 128:3 NKJ

A wise child is an incredible blessing, but a foolish child will bring years of pain and grief. Foolish, undisciplined children disrespect their parents. Your children will give you the respect due you as a parent if you discipline, correct, teach and train them as the Word of God instructs. Protect your children and be careful over their friends and whom they associate with.

A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.  Proverbs 10:1 NAS

A wise son makes a glad father, but a self-confident and foolish man despises his mother and puts her to shame.  Proverbs 15:20 AMP

A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.  Proverbs 17:25 NKJ

Whoever keeps the law [of God and man] is a wise son, but he who is a companion of gluttons and the carousing, self-indulgent, and extravagant shames his father.  Proverbs 28:7 AMP
 
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 25 Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her who bore you rejoice.  Proverbs 23:24-25 NKJ

Take responsibility for the raising of your own children. You shape their future! Eli got in trouble with God because he allowed his sons to do whatever they wanted to do. Undisciplined, untrained children lose out on their inheritance —spiritual and material.

Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.   Proverbs 22:6 AMP

A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share in the inheritance among brothers.  Proverbs 17:2 NAS

Don’t be shocked when your kid does dumb stuff. They are kids! You will need patience and you will need to be consistent in your discipline and training ­—not just for a day —for at least 18 years!

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.  Proverbs 22:15 AMP

The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left undisciplined brings his mother to shame.  Proverbs 29:15 AMP

Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your heart.  Proverbs 29:17 AMP

Withhold not discipline from the child; for if you strike and punish him with the [reedlike] rod, he will not die. 14 You shall whip him with the rod and deliver his life from Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead).  Proverbs 23:13-14 AMP

He who spares his rod [of discipline] hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines diligently and punishes him early.  Proverbs 13:24 AMP (…disciplines him promptly NKJ)

Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.  Proverbs 19:18 KJV (…do not be a willing party to his death. NIV)

Correct your son, and he will give you rest; yes, he will give delight to your soul.  Proverbs 29:17 NKJ (…he will give you peace…NIV)

A child is accountable for his/her attitude and behavior just the same as an adult. “He’s just a kid” is a cop out. Kids are responsible for themselves and should be held accountable.

Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right.
Proverbs 20:11 NKJ

Your leadership style in the home relates directly to your leadership style in other areas. You can act like you have it all together out there, but back home your kids know the real story! Your first responsibility is your own family. You cannot abdicate your familial responsibilities and then expect God to use you in the church. If you want a leadership role in the church you must be a leader in your home. Show some character and integrity in your home and you will be fit to minister to the Body of Christ!

He must rule his own household well, keeping his children under control, with true dignity, commanding their respect in every way and keeping them respectful. 5 For if a man does not know how to rule his own household, how is he to take care of the church of God?  1 Timothy 3:4-5 AMP

Let deacons be the husbands of but one wife, and let them manage [their] children and their own households well.  1 Timothy 3:12 AMP

[These elders should be] men who are of unquestionable integrity and are irreproachable, the husband of [but] one wife, whose children are [well trained and are] believers, not open to the accusation of being loose in morals and conduct or unruly and disorderly.  Titus 1:6 AMP (…wild and disobedient NIV)

There are all sorts of ads on the radio and on television. Often, when it gets down to the fine print, the announcer speaks so fast that you can’t keep up with him. Why does he speak quickly? He’s reading the part the company would rather you didn’t hear. The important message: Buy it now. 

Satan makes the same presentation: Don’t worry about the future; you can have immediate fulfillment now! The strength of Satan’s temptations is that worldly things are available immediately. You can have them - for a price - and they will provide temporary gratification.

The Enemy doesn’t bring up tomorrow. He invites us to forfeit our future by demanding immediate fulfillment of our desires. There is nothing you or I “must have” now that is worth stepping out of God’s will or losing the privileges and opportunities He has prepared for us. God has a plan for our lives, and there is absolutely nothing that can compare with His will, His purpose, and His goals. 

Our relationship with God is the most important aspect of our existence. No experience at any time in our lives compares in the slightest with knowing Him. Yet every day, because we must “have it now,” we’re tempted to choose what Satan has to offer. 

We sacrifice our future when we make irrevocable decisions in times of emotional weakness. Jesus Christ can help us face any temptation or trial Satan can throw our way. The Lord is there for us, and He will never leave us or forsake us.