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"When I was first asked to speak, I began praying to God for a topic, I didn't have one single thought about what today. God gave me the thought and the title. He wants me to talk about the "Christian Home" and our children.
All of you know my deep love for the children and how I want them to be saved and have the proper Christian environment in which to grow up. A Christian home life is the best gift parents can give to their children. The only qualification for that is a believing Christian parent!
As many of you have heard my testimony, you know that I was blessed to have been raised in such a home. The Lord was always present and welcome in our home. The things I remember about my early years, are not how many toys I got, or the trips I took, for there were very few of those. I do remember the love, peace and kindness, and that I felt safe. I remember my sainted Daddy's prayers and testimony, praises at home and in church. Also, my mother's prayers and testimony. I remember the Bible being read to us as a family, and blessings were always said at the table before one bite of food was eaten, thanking the dear Lord for our daily bread and for meeting our needs.
These are the memories we want our children to have. I want the same for my own daughter and son-in-law. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Today in many households, both parents work, and we cannot be home with our children. It is so important to entrust your precious gifts to a Christian caregiver, so that the Christian home life and environment can continue to be instilled and maintained! Encourage your children to become friends with other Christians, this helps them to stay out of trouble. We need to know their whereabouts and with whom they are associating. Our job is to "do the possible, and trust God to do the impossible."
We need Godly rules in our home, homes that are void of alcohol, drugs and the evils of this world. We need protection from the ways of the world, need to be set apart, safe in our Christian homes.
Children must be taught to obey their parents and follow rules. Attitudes need to change about material possessions, and to use them to serve the Lord. Ephesians 6:1 says, "Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." Obedience to parents is part of a child's obligation to Christ.
Daily devotions are a good source of teaching and a way to grow closer as a family. Prayer is the way to solve problems and to bridge gaps. Make God a welcome guest in your home, and He will become part of your family.
As the Christian home grows and strengthens, family members will seek salvation sooner and the Christian life will become their way. They too will begin to thirst for the peace, joy, love and harmony. And will enjoy all the fruits of the Spirit that being saved brings. These are the good gifts of life.
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Our Christian homes can become so strong and the walls so fortified through prayer and faith that Satan cannot penetrate them.
Ecclesiastes 3:12 says, "I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live."
Some of us may be struggling with the foundation of the Christian home, due to the fact that a spouse or a loved one is not yet saved. Prayer, prayer, and more prayer is the greatest weapon! We need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit ourselves and spend more time on our knees, and believe! Mark 11:24 says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
If there are children at home get them involved in praying for that loved one's salvation. 'Daily prayers diminish our cares.' Be a good example! We need to get rid of any sin in our lives, so that God can work through us. Talk about God's gift of eternal life, praise God aloud often. Those loved ones are listening, even if they pretend not to be.
When my husband Don and I were first married, he was a Catholic and not saved. Oh, he thought he was saved simply because he was a Catholic but he wasn't. When God blessed us with our daughter Debbie, she and I attended the Baptist Church in Easton, Pennsylvania. Don didn't attend. Yes, he took us to church and picked us up, but he refused to go inside. God used our daughter at the age of five to remedy that! One Sunday, the pastor asked if anyone needed special prayer and that beautiful child stood up in the midst of the whole congregation and asked for prayer for her Daddy! She said, "Pray for him because he doesn't love Jesus." Everybody in the church fell to their knees in front of the pews and prayed. There was not one dry eye in the house when they finished! Well, it wasn't long before Dominick was going to church with us every Sunday. He accepted Jesus as his Savior and was baptized. God sometimes uses the children to perform his miracles. So continue to pray and believe.
Let's not forget to tell our family members that we love them. Hug each other often. With God's help we can build a home full of laughter and joy - a haven for our weary souls and bodies. A happy home reflects God's loving kindness to all of us!
'Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.' Proverbs 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, so be happy in the Lord."
Children who have been taught about Jesus are able to put it all together by the age of 6, 7 or 8. Encourage the children to seek salvation, the sooner they are saved, the better it is!
Make a brand new start. God loves us and wants to give us eternal life. Ask forgiveness for your sins, believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected so that you could be saved. He took all the sins of the world, including yours, upon Himself - even though He was sinless. Accept Him through faith, make Him Lord of your life. Surrender all your sins, troubles and cares - lay them at the foot of the cross, and take up your Christian garments that have been washed whiter than snow. Wear them and serve the Lord.
Christ loves us more than we can humanly understand. Let's love Him back.
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