Effectual Prayers

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Children in Church


Too often we go to church and leave our children at home. or send them up stairs to the nursery. However I think as our children become old enough to understand reason we should have them at our sides hearing the full world of God. Children church has it place but after a while our children just like us must be weaned off milk.
But I’m sure you have reason why you don’t require your children to hear the word of God so if I can I will try to address just a few of the more common excuses. 

1.My child would not understand what the preacher was saying.
If this is your excuse I can almost bet you are one of the same
people that allow their children to watch PG13, R, or MA rated movies on TV completely unattended. Yet, you will argue that the world of God is entirely too mature for your small children to understand. I don’t think there is anyone that would deny that TV has an influence on the behaviors of our children. On a more positive note I can promise you that hearing the Word of God in its fullness will have an influence on our children as well. The question you must ask yourself is which influence do you more desire for your children.

Don’t worry about your children not understanding the deeper meaning of the world of God. Just as you have no idea what they have come to understand about sex, drugs, alcohol and violence from watching TV. I promise you have no idea what will come to understand by listening to the Man of God preach the full counsel of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. My children are too fidgety and they don’t behave in Church
Is this really an excuse? We expect our children to behave in school, to sit still and listen to what is being taught. When our children are disruptive in school we discipline them. This is because we alike the rest of the world see education as an important part of the growth of our children. If our 6 year old says to us I think I don’t ever want to go to school again no one of us will say to them “that is your decision to make”

Yet we fail to discipline our children when they misbehave in church. We don’t even see the knowledge of Christ as important to them, and 80 % of profession Christians will say they think their child should make the decision to go to church or to accept Jesus Christ as their savior or to which religion they will practice for themselves.

However, this is not a reflection of the child; it is a testimony of the lack of faith of the parent. If you do not believe your faith enough to want to direct your child to Christ, it is foolish to believe that your child will want to give up the things of this world to seek after Christ. Let face it if your child does not understand or believe in God it’s because you really don’t. 1 Peter 2:2

Here is my thought on this, call your preteen child from the nursery, and set him next to you, wake him up if he falls asleep, take his toys and coloring books and have him sit still and listen to the word of God. Then when you get home, talk about what he learned in church that day. It will reinforce his knowledge, and build an bond between the two of you.

D. L. Moody says;
"It is a masterpiece of the devil to make us believe that children cannot understand religion. Would Christ have made a child the standard of faith if He had known that it was not capable of understanding His words?"

T.Charves FireSpeaks
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Monday, February 27, 2012

Created Unto Good Works


For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them
Ephesians 2:10

Prayers in Pursuit of God
Part 11 of a
11
If the only reason we desire to get closer to God is to keep Him for ourselves, then we are not worthy of this closeness. To think that God called us to Himself so that we could just be in His presence is foolish. When God calls us to Himself it is never for our own sake but to accomplish His purposes. Therefore we can say just as God called Jonah to His purpose for Nineveh and Moses to His purpose for Israel, He has called you and me to accomplish His purposes as well.
When considering Ephesians 2:10 it is important to understand that the good works of the above passage are the requirement of God; however they are marked different from the good works that man seeks to accomplish which are as Isaiah 64:6 states seen as “filthy rags” in the eyes of God.
The Apostle Paul is saying that those that have accepted the salvation which is in Christ Jesus are created new creature to do the work of Christ Jesus and to mindfully, and consciously strive to maintain a standard of works and behaviors that glorifies God.
This is in complete contradiction to the awful teaching that suggest that God's will for us is to happy, feel good, live in large homes, and worship is fancy temples. I find this hard to believe that the suffering of Christ was for the happiness of mankind. It just don’t explain the nearly 1 million children that died of starvation in Africa a few years back, nor does it explain the nearly 210 thousand Christian killed across the world every year just because they call the Name of Jesus. If prosperity was God’s will for the Christian then how do we explain these things? Is God a respecter of men?
We simply can’t explain this, and because we can’t, we must say that God’s will for mankind has nothing to do with man's happiness. God will for mankind is for the advancement of His Kingdom and we His workmanship are created to His good works. This is called our ministry, which slightly different for each one of us, yet maintains the same purpose toward God. On to this we pray that we may stay strong mindfully, and consciously striving to maintain a standard of works and behavior does not seek the accolades and praises of man, but the seeks instead to glorify God  Soli Deo Gloria

Let us pray;
Most gracious and loving Father, The Scripture tells me that everything that touches the Altar is made holy. I ask dear father that You might set my body, my soul and my mind upon the Altar, as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto You.
Strengthen me that I may not conform to the things of this world. Transform my mind according to Your perfect will. Create in me a new heart of flesh and strengthen Your Spirit in me.

Have mercy on me Father, according to Your unfailing love and great compassion, and wash away all the sins which I have committed against You. Do not leave me to my own ways, but guide me with the wisdom and power and authority given me by Christ Jesus.
Search my heart Heavenly Father, and burn away the tin and dross of my offensive ways, so that I may be purified and refined like gold for Your Glory. Give me Your wisdom that I may see the needs of the people, and authority and power that through You their needs may be met.
Whether it be in the church or in the market place let the ministry You have ordained for me be fruitful according to Your perfect will. In Jesus’ Name I pray Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

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