Going to see friends brings conviction

[dadof4]

(copied from my face-book page)

You may think from the title of this that this is a note about police, jail, and other such things - it is not. We went to New Hope Baptist Church on Sunday morning in order to see some friends of ours. As things would have it, we only got to see them for just a few minutes. The Lord brought us there for a different reason. Pastor Douglas' message about children convicted me - REALLY convicted me. There were a few points in his message, but I did not write them down. Instead, I wrote down some of the phrases he used in his message and asked myself some questions. I would love to share this with you all in hopes that you will pray for me to be the right kind of parent to my children and to help me be accountable for continuing with this.

The verses used in Pastor Douglas' message were:

Mark 10:14 But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

Matthew 18:1-6 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.
6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Matthew 19:13-15 Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

Here are the questions I wrote down:

1. The Lord is interested in little children - am I?
2. The Lord was displeased when the disciples kept the children from Him - is He displeased with me?
3. Have I given my kids to the Lord?
4. Have I brought my kids to the Lord?
5. What am I devoted to - myself or my kids and family?
6. Do my kids only hear about Jesus from their Sunday School teacher or from me, too?
7. Is it important to me to teach my kids about Jesus?
8. Am I an example to my kids in OBeying the Lord?
9. Am I pushing my kids away from the Lord?
10. Am I keeping my kids from the Bible?
11. Why is my child being rebellious - is it my example?
12. Is it a "big deal" when my kids OBey?

Will you all help me keep this decision to be the right kind of parent fresh every day?

[JerryNumbers]

Trent, Yes, that is something all parents really need to take to heart.

Someone brought up this verse on OB not long back on another topic. How many of us parents actually do this?


"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7

From not OBeying and doing as this verse tells us I feel sure that many parents have lost their children to the world and the old devil. And after losing them they're thinking, "What did I do wrong?"