They need us desperately this year. They need to see us chasing and slaying our
giants, then they will have the courage to do the same. Who are they? The
children of our communities. If they do
not see us conquering the evil in our own lives, who will teach them? Left alone, the children of our communities
will be taught by the world. We have
more fatherless children in our country than I can ever remember.
How does God feel about the fatherless? God is a helper of
the fatherless. (Psalm 10:14) David calls Him a father of the fatherless.
(Psalm 68:5) In James 1:27, pure religion before God, is to care for the needs
of orphans and widows in their trouble… (The Everlasting Gospel Translation)
Have you visited an elementary school lately? It will break your heart as you learn some of
the conditions, physical and emotional, these young children deal with. I was a mentor a few years ago of 4th
and 5th -grade boys. Most had
one parent in prison or the county jail.
Some did not know where their fathers were even living.
When these children see the parents of some of their
classmates coming to school and participating in their children’s activities,
their little hearts are wounded. This
wound can be carried for the rest of their lives, and possibly have outward
manifestations. What about at Christmas?
A time of the year when families get to gather sharing love and making
memories, what childhood memories are they making?
Baby Jesus in a manger does not mean much to them. Singing joy to the world in their present
environment is not real to them. They
are just trying to make it through the day and especially night. After school,
some do not have anything to eat until the next day at school. I know this
because my daughter used to be a teacher.
What is it in this high tech world giving them hope? As
these children move into adolescence and young adulthood, the only hope many
have is to get the next fix or high. They succumb to a few minutes of lustful
pleasures, hoping to erase their deep feelings of failure and desperation. You know and I know, when one of these do try
to climb that mountain of hopelessness,
their peers will make fun of them and try to defeat their efforts. Why would
they do this? Because they are afraid to
attempt the same thing, fearing defeat would only make it worse. So, any hope is extinguished by fear and
ignorance. Ignorance of having a life
plan that gives hope and ignorance of finding the right people willing to help
them.
I am not a psychologist, but I believe the saggy pants, body
piercing, tattoos, weird hair, profanity- laced
language, etc. are outside the cup dressings
mimicking some popular singer, athlete, movie star or someone else they view as
popular and successful. What does this
do for them? They identify with the success of others, hoping they can identify
with their peers. Bottom line. They,
like you and I, want to be accepted. Do
we not wear designer clothes, drive nice cars and live in large houses wanting the same?
They like we, have been lured into identifying with some
form of societal identification. Have
you ever heard the phrase, “Dress for success”?
We have let the world describe for them and us what success and failure
look like. We have forgotten and some
have never heard these words that give hope to everyone, “Do not look at his
appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for
the man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”. (1
Samuel 16:7, NKJV) Christ warned the Pharisees about looking acceptable on the
outside with these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and
dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence”. “Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of
the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matthew
23:25-26. NKJV)
All of us need to know and remember our hearts were created
in the image of God. I want to emphasize
“all of us” because no matter what I
think of your appearance, God knows the thinking of your heart and this is how
you and I will be judged. (Matthew 15:8, 19)
The first step in getting our country back is carrying the
gospel to the young people of our communities.
They need to know God’s awesome love for them and the place Christ has
prepared for those who love and obey Him.
I have always heard we are one generation from apostasy. Looking at the way God, His Son, and His word
are viewed in this country today, I would
say we are experiencing that generation today. Should that concern you if you
want your grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be Christians?
We must not take the apathetic
attitude of Hezekiah, the king of Judah.
We read in 2 King’s 20:16-19 that Isaiah, the prophet, went to Hezekiah
and told him the days were coming when all that was in his house would be
carried to Babylon. He said nothing would be left and they would take
some of his sons, who would descend from him, and make eunuchs of them in the
palace of the king of Babylon. Here is
Hezekiah’s response. “Will there not be
peace and truth at least in my days?”
Did he say what I think he said? “At
least, it won’t happen in my day.” He didn’t seem to be concerned about
the welfare of his grandsons.
We must not only be concerned for the lives of our
grandchildren’s souls, but also for the souls of others their age. Why? I want
my grandchildren to have an unwavering faith and I also want their peers to
have the same. I want to live a life
pleasing to God, so those around me will also want to prepare their hearts to
seek God and His ways. Our hearts
must be prepared to seek God. When our hearts are not prepared to seek God, we
will do evil. In 2 Chronicles 12:14,
God’s word says of Rehoboam the king, ”And he did evil, because he did not prepare his heart to seek God.”
If we do not show the children of our land how to seek God
in their hearts, they will seek evil.
Those who do seek God can only do
so privately or in a church building. It
is forbidden in public places and belittled in our higher institutions of
learning. From the world, without God, we can only receive the
works of the flesh and from God, we can
receive the fruit of the Spirit. Please
go and read Galatians 5:16-25. The
children of our communities are being influenced by the works of the
flesh. As Christians, we must introduce them to the fruit of the Spirit. First, they must see this fruit in us and
secondly, we must teach them how to obtain it. Are the
works of the flesh evident in our land today?
One of the giants I mention in my book, “The Heart Behind
the Stone: Develop a Giant Slaying Heart”, has challenged us for too long. Christians have done as David’s three
brothers and the armies of Israel when Goliath challenged them. They ran
trembling, hiding behind rocks. With their fear, they were destined to be
defeated and serve the Philistines as Goliath suggested. When Madelyn Ohara challenged God’s people,
they ran and hid in their living rooms and church buildings. They turned the
fight amongst each other over their differences and did not realize how
powerful they could all be by, together, obeying the simple truth God had
presented them in His word. The theory of evolution was gradually
introduced to the classroom and the Bible was gradually removed. Teaching evolutionary thought to our children
over the years, in our public school systems, has grown to become a giant. If
that giant was given strength by one woman, could not one person, as David,
take that giant down? Or do we care enough to get involved? (To be continued)
Please send me your comments on this to rhepler52@gmail.com . Please share on Facebook with your friends.
You can preview and purchase my books: The Heart Behind the Stone: Develop a Giant Slaying Heart, and 123 Tips: For My Grandchildren and Yours, by going to www.amazon.com .
What goal did Christ have for His disciples, that is the same goal for Christians today? (Matthew 28:18-20) What prayer did He pray for us, when He was on this earth? (John 17:20-23) What would our country look like in 50 years, if these were our goals for 2016?
Thanks for reading.
Rick
