Salvation For the Next Generation

Updated on Monday, August 30, 2010 at 1:01PM by MAD21

[Editor's Note: This post is the second contribution to a wonderful series we are doing on Biblical virtues and praying for our children. I firmly believe that as parents, it is part of our responsibility, and an honor, to pray to our Father in heaven on behalf of our children. I pray you are blessed and encouraged by the words of these posts and that you will join me in my passion for growing strong, confident, loving, honorable and faithful children of God.]

By Nick (My Experience As...)

First let me say thank you for the opportunity. I used to write nearly every day but lately I have been so busy that I haven’t done any writing. This is helping me more than I can say.

If you know me then you can skip this paragraph, but if you don’t it might be helpful to get an idea of where I’m coming from.  I am a father to 4 children. I love them dearly and believe each to be a gift from God. I mean this quite literally as my wife had two miscarriages and a tubal before we had our first and we were both struggling with horrible depression until God spoke to us through our pastor.  This is a powerful story that I’d invite you to read on my blog. I’m also a youth pastor and have well over 50 students I pray for all the time. My heart breaks for most of them because I know they have heard the truth, but have not responded to it.

I believe we need to pray for our children daily. I don’t even mean our natural children, but all those of this generation of students.  I have made a strong effort to get the names of all of my students, even those who came once and haven’t been back, into the hands of people in my church.  I ask them to pray for the kids every day, and I know they are covered in prayers. We pray for protection, and peace. We ask for strength and wisdom. We seek blessing and perseverance on their behalf.

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Doing The Unexpected

By Pat

It's so easy to share our struggles, to tell about how we grapple with faith and the the things we question in our Christian walk. I know I certainly do my share of it! After all, we as Christians are all walking a similar path. Although the destination is the same, the route we take and the scenery along the path is usually quite different. We like to share; we need to share.

I am so thankful for the gift of friendship and the chance to give my cares and prayer requests to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and for the chance to share theirs as well. What a blessing. This past Saturday evening, God spoke to me concerning an issue I have been praying about for the past couple of months, and oddly enough, He didn't speak through one of the friends who are familiar with the issue I am wrestling with. Even though several people know the situation and have given me encouragement, and have kept it in prayer, they usually only discuss it with me when I bring it up, not spontaneously... and that's fine.

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Praying For Our Kids to Love God's Word

[Editor's Note: I am so excited to bring you the first contribution to a new wonderful series we are doing on praying for our children. I firmly believe that as parents, it is part of our responsibility, and an honor, to pray to our Father in heaven on behalf of our children. As we work our way through this series, we will talk about teaching work ethics; salvation; love; purity; respect; self-control; perseverance; a love for God's word; and other virtues and life lessons. I pray you are blessed and encouraged by the words of these posts and that you will join me in my passion for growing strong, confident, loving, honorable and faithful children of God.]

*****

By Jason, M.Ed., M.A.R., Headmaster

"More to be desired are they than gold,
   even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
   and drippings of the honeycomb." Psalm 19:10

"Oh how I love your law!" Psalm 119:97

When someone really treasures something, it's not hard to tell.  Whether it's the Ravens fans who always wears purple or the young man in love who can talk about nothing but his beloved, people generally show their true affections plainly.  

If you talk to my boys for long, it's not hard to figure out what they treasure.  Right now, it's Legos and Matchbox cars.  I like Legos and Matchbox cars, too, but you can probably guess that my boys' love of their toys sometimes leads them to fight with each other. 

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Faith Through Times of Struggle

By Pat
 
My husband and I are struggling financially right now, a situation we didn't think we'd find ourselves in again after many years of our business doing well. We are worried about how to pay certain bills, and we realize that at 51 years old, it will be difficult to find new work, possibly even new careers. And yet, despite the current hardships, I cannot help but continue to feel blessed. I see the world around me, and I am made aware how much worse it could be. As I look around the dinner table at family, smell the food I have prepared, I feel blessed. I feel rich.

I am forced at this time to re-evaluate myself, my gifts, my talents, and for this time of reflection and seeking God's guidance, I am grateful. Perhaps God will lead us into something which provides greater service to Him. Perhaps our business will pick up. We don't know. But what we DO know is this; God is in it, and blessings abound! We may be struggling now, but the love of family, the caring prayers of friends, the faith that wavers but yet remains, and the promises of God in the Bible remind us daily that we are, indeed, very rich!

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

Are You Wondering?

By Pat

I recently went through a very difficult, emotionally trying time, and although it's over now and the outcome mostly favorable, spiritual questions remain for me. We all know, as Christians, that we are to trust in God and give Him our cares. We all know that God has our best interest at heart. But we also know that sometimes things don't go the way we want them to, and that even God's faithful followers don't always get their way. Well, what then? During the five months of the difficult period I went through, I prayed fervently.

Desperately. I prayed for God to make sure that the outcome was as I requested it to be, for I knew that was what was needed, and I knew that God knew that, too. But after a time, I began to also pray for God to enable me to accept whatever happened; not only accept it, but continue to trust God and not allow anger, pain, bitterness and resentment to affect my faith. And quite honestly, I wasn't sure what I would do, how I would go on if wrong decisions were made. What would I do? A horrible way to feel.

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