1st Quarter Newsletter 2011

     The Hebrew word for reward is: "to compensate".  How many people in our day and age honestly view their children as a compensation from the Lord?  Penelope Leach, a British psychologist who writes on parenting issues, found that the average time spent between parent and child dropped forty percent between 1973 and 1993.  If we do value our children, why do we spend so little time connecting with these precious souls?  If our desire, as Christian parents, is to mold and shape them into the image of Christ, why would we send them off to be molded and shaped by those who do not hold a Biblical world view?  We expect our children to stand for God while being bombarded with messages that entice them into secular views and reasonings that run contrary to God's principles.  Many of the youth we encounter in churches are filled with doubts.  Unfortunately, few will share these doubts and questions with their parents.  More often than not, they are stuffing their struggles in the hidden places of their hearts where Satan has the opportunity to fertilize the soil of these dark places.  Doubts and questions that are left unanswered will turn into a lifestyle of unbelief.  Our hearts go out to these children and parents.

     The red, hot, fiery arms of the statue god, Molech, received offerings of firstborn children in ancient days.  The firstborn child was given to this god in exchange for prosperity.  It seems a disgusting practice, but is it really very different from what our modern culture practices today? Abortion, child abuse, and neglect are so prevalent in our society. It is clear from statistics that we are not making the same sacrifices for our children that prior generations have made.  Not only are we not making sacrifices for our children, all too often, our children are the ones being sacrificed.

We are very grateful to Mike and Chris Harding for opening the doors of Love Gospel Church to Jesus Cares Ministries last month to teach a weekend seminar.  We have never had an opportunity to do our children's seminar on the east side of town.  We had very few participants, but the ones who came were such a blessing and very eager to learn.  Our desire is to put the parenting seminar on the web site for others to utilize.  The seminar consists of 6 classes with interactive studies after the sessions to reinforce the teachings.  Jeremy, from Love Gospel, was kind enough to record the sessions and I must tell you that there could not have been a better crew to put this together.  We hope that many pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and individuals are able to benefit from these teachings.  It is our hope and desire to restore to the church God's view of children as a blessing and reward.       Take time to connect to your children today and every day.  Psalm 18:35 in the New Century Version tells us that the Lord stooped down to make us great. Stoop down to listen to your child or teen today. You might be surprised at what you hear.