Forming a Home for the Glory of God, part I
Labels:
Important messages
Fathers, do not
provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and
instruction of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4
Raquel, our oldest daughter,
and Daniel, our oldest son, both wrote about their home life in 2012. I think
that a son or daughter can express with more authority the impressions of his
childhood than a parent can. I might have classes, in which I give my opinions
about bringing up children, but in the end, the proof lies with the children
themselves. How did they see their childhood and adolescence?
Of course, we have heard our
other five children speak of similar impressions, as those expressed here, but
I have these written accounts conveniently at hand. They make it easy for me to
convey to you, with greater strength, three basic and essential ingredients
that can make a Christian home stand firm. Dan wrote to us personally and
Raquel wrote in a Christmas letter the statements that I have copied. Also in
2003, Mike, the youngest son, wrote his testimony.
God’s reality
in the home
 |
| Raquel being interviewed for a TV program |
Raquel: “God
answered prayer after prayer supernaturally. None of us had any excuse to doubt
God.”
“Through
trials, Dad and Mom always prayed for us and God always sent that peace that
passes understanding. They taught us so faithfully to trust God and lived it
themselves.”
“I was
especially thankful for my godly upbringing when we had our car accident and we
found out that especially in trials, God shows himself faithful. He filled us
with such peace and joy and a supernatural acceptance that this too was God's
plan, understanding that so clearly that even to this day I have never wanted
to wish it all away. And the joy remains.” (The accident left Raquel in a wheel chair.)
Daniel: “Another memory that is so clear in my mind
was when we were living in Pinotepa. Dad was gone on a trip somewhere. Mom was
home alone with us kids late at night… all the lights were out. Mom sang over
and over again the song, To be like Jesus, to be like Jesus all I ask, to be
like Him, all through life’s journey, from earth to glory, all I ask is to be
like Him. What an example! I can’t sing the song without thinking of that
time.”
“I do remember a large church in Oaxaca that we used to
go to quite often and dad would preach there. We all sat as a family on the
men’s side of the isle with Dad until he got up to preach. There was a
restaurant near the church and the owners were Christians. One of them was
healed in a meeting… before that she couldn’t lift her arm.”
“I remember
always looking forward to camp. The last year we went to “Camp Lebanon” you
shared stories about your upbringing and our family. That last year was
special. I remember the last night when Dad dismissed the meeting and no one
moved. What a time of prayer we had afterwards! Two of the most rebellious
young people didn’t even move for a while.”
 |
| Rachel and Mike |
Mike: “I grew up on
the mission field and I have to say that I wouldn't trade that opportunity for
anything in the world. When I am asked what caused me to continue in God's work
after leaving home, I have to agree with the answer that my older brothers and
sisters give to the same question: It's the reality of God – it’s as simple as
that. We grew up in a home where God was alive and we were able to see God
work on a regular basis. Day by day He would supply needs, because my parents
put God first in everything. One of the biggest problems in Christian homes today
is that kids are raised on a form of godliness that has no power. God isn't
allowed to be real. Oh, it's what everybody says that they want, but few are
willing to trust God for everything in the home. I remember making a commitment to the Lord
at the age of six during a communion service.”
…………………….
“And (Joshua) said to the people of Israel, When your
children ask their fathers in times to come, What do these stones mean? then
you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.
For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you
passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us
until we passed over, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the
hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” (Joshua 4:21-24)
I saw these “stones” piled up
in my childhood home. The moving of the Holy Spirit in the lives of my parents
caused me to see the reality of God at an early age. All the pleasures of the
world lose their flavor before a living and true God. To see His power and to
experience His guidance dims all the brilliance of the world and the
demonstrations of its capabilities. Above all else, if Christian parents want
to keep their children from going in the way of the world, their children must
experience the reality of God working before their eyes.
Paul wrote to Timothy of the
end times, when nominal Christians would have a form of godliness, but deny its
power. In my case, I knew also the reality of our enemy since I was a child. My
father worked among the native people in Midwestern U.S, who know a lot about
supernatural power. Dad tried to protect me from what was all around us, but it
was impossible to avoid it all.
When you see someone doing
strange and even supernatural things and, in taking him to psychiatrists, they
tell you that there is no mental problem, then you have to consider another
source for his behavior. When someone loses the use of a part of his body and
the doctors tell you that they can find no cause for his condition, don’t be
surprised, because in the Gospels you read of lunatics, of a lady disabled and
bent over, and of a person deaf and dumb, whose infirmities Jesus attributed to
demons.
When I was twelve years old,
I had a Chippewa friend my age, whose older sister went to see a medicine man
and immediately began to have visions of little men dancing around her bed at
night. One evening in a meeting, the spirit in her manifested itself and what I
saw robbed me of a lot of sleep for a long time. I knew this girl well and she
was a perfectly normal teenager, but what we saw in her face in that meeting,
what we heard her say and the voice with which she said it, was not hers. I can’t describe it; you would have to see
for yourself. I could give many examples.
One thing that I know since
childhood is that the spiritual world is very real and the physical world is
subject to this other world. God must be a palpable reality in our daily lives
and our children should experience Him. An American army commander’s wife, who
found Christ in meetings in our home, spoke of sensing Someone else present
every time she entered the house. Not long ago, six people entered our house
with TV cameras and the master of ceremonies asked me about the peace that he
felt here. An elderly judge, after leaving our son’s house in Alaska, commented
about the peace that he experienced inside.
Entire families were present
in Christ’s meetings and the children were at hand, whenever He placed them in
the midst of the people to teach about the Kingdom of God. When Jesus fed five
thousand men and, on another occasion, four thousand, the writers add that
women and children were also fed. It is very clear that whole families attended
these events.
At one of them, a child
played a very special part: “There is a
boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so
many?” (Jn.6:9). Well, that boy found out “what they are for so many” The
Bible doesn’t tell us what happened to that child, but you can be sure that he
never forgot that afternoon. When the world came to him with its offers of
provision, he could always think about that better world, that is a fountain
for all of our needs. And when the world offered him a position, we could look
back upon the ministry that he was involved in, through which about 20,000
people were fed, when he was only a little boy.
Children should be with their
family, when the church comes together. Today Christians are committing the
same error that the disciples committed, when parents came to Jesus, wanting
Him to bless their children. The disciples wanted to dismiss them and Jesus
became angry with them. In these days, the children are dismissed, when the
regular meeting begins. One justification that we hear for this practice is
that children cannot sit still for long and so they will create a disturbance.
In that case, they are admitting a very serious lack among us, which is the
fact that the parents do not know how to discipline their children. There is no
excuse for this ignorance, because we have a Bible full of instructions for
parents.
In past generations, the
family sat together in one row. Today, it is said that the separation is
justified because children cannot understand the messages and they should be in
meetings, where they can be taught according to age. That is a demonstration of
a carnal mentality common among Christians. They ignore the special moving of
the Holy Spirit in the assembling of the church, to which children, just as the
adults, are sensitive; it could be that they are even more sensitive than
adults. I have seen that to be true and besides, they understand much more of
the teaching than we give them credit for. However, if God doesn´t move in the
meetings, I relinquish my argument. The children do not have to be in such
services… neither should the adults be there.
Friend, it is the work of the
parent to teach their sons and daughters the things of God in the home. I will
soon prepare two more articles, related to this theme and in one of them,
Raquel and Dan will tell of our family times that took place every day in our
house. We prayed together for all the needs. We prayed for anyone who was sick
in the home and everyone observed how God healed. We prayed when there was a
financial need and all the children could see God´s answer and how he supplied.
The testimonies are many, but I want to be brief in these articles and brevity
causes me to be selective and concise in writing them.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Recommended Books
Post a Comment