Demonic Influences

[Anon]

I just typed a long post and somehow it got deleted.  Grr.

 

Anyway, to sum up....my 14 year old son is the only kid in his IFB school class that is NOT allowed to watch "Lord of the Rings".   It is a PG-13 movie and if you look up the IMDB parental content on there, it is full of grotesque battle scenes and demonic characters.  I do not want demonic influence in our home!  Already we have been experiencing demonic attacks lately and we have severely cut back on tv, video games, got rid of an iPod, and restricted all online access to our kids.

 

I struggle to understand why we feel so attacked with our kids lately, and yet we are still stricter with our kids than any other parent in the IFB school.    My husband reminds me that they likely have attacks too but we just don't know about it.  But man, I dunno....

 

We read the IMDB descriptions to our son so he would understand why we say "no" to the movie, and he does, but that doesn't make it any easier for him to face the kids who tease him about "having no childhood" because he cannot watch such movies.

 

We began homeschooling our youngest this year due to bad experiences he had in school and thus got behind academically....I'm tempted to seriously think about homeschooling all of them.  Kind of praying God leads us away to a new area so it would be a good cutoff for school and start to full homeschooling.  I never thought I would be a homeschooling mom and really do not love it, but I am starting to see the value of it in our wicked society (including wicked church kids).

[Jim_Alaska]

You are on the right track lady. Stick with your convictions. Demonic influence starts out with the small things and it only gets worse as we give in to that influence.

 

I only have a sixth grade education and was really doubtful that I could handle homeschooling our daughter those many years ago. But to my surprie we made it through and she is now a forty year old well grounded married woman with her own children. It turned out that my fear of home schooling was unfounded. PrOBaly brought about because when I was in school I hated it. But having to home school my daughter turned out to be a blessing for both of us.

[HappyChristian]

It is so very hard when parents have standards - especially when those standards are biblical! - that are mocked by kids in a school where their children attend...it does affect the child(ren), that's for sure!  You wouldn't think it would be that way in a Christian school, but, sadly, it oftimes is.

 

All types of schooling have their pros and cons.  But I can honestly say (after being a student in both public and Christian school and after teaching in several Christian schools and then homeschooling and having our son in a Christian school) that I believe homeschooling is the best way to go...especially nowadays.

 

One thing to remember about these attacks:  you are trying to rear your children to love and serve the Lord.  Who doesn't want them to be godly young men? You got it - the devil. There is a spiritual war going on, and your sons are a prize in that war...as are you and your hubby, who could succumb to discouragement or to not wanting their children to be so very much different (as have so many, many...).  

 

I hate to hear this is happening to you, my friend.  But keep on doing what you know is right to do - trusting totally in our merciful Father in Heaven.  God will bless - even if it doesn't seem like it at times. God is still on the throne and He is working.

[Anon]

We have already had to learn hard lessons about electronic devices.  Our oldest son found things we didn't know he knew about online.  It went on for quite awhile and messed with his mind.  That combined with something he learned from a "church kid" had us put him in counseling for a few sessions.  Plus, he got into bad music.   I was sooooo upset with myself.   Our second son has prOBlems with fear...he played a lot of video games on his iPod...games everyone plays and seem harmless...but evidently, they're not.   Then, after some attacks on our kids (bad thoughts from the devil, I guess) we decided to nix almost all electronic stuff/tv except with special permission, and tightly controlled.

 

Even with those mistakes, we were still stricter than most parents.  Now with the new changes, we are ridiculously strict.   I feel sorry for my kids.  :-(  Satan has such an incredible stronghold on this generation.  It is SO incredibly scary.

 

I don't know if we could manage pulling them all out of school in our present location but other things are going on and we are kind of praying God leads us somewhere else by next year.  But so far, He has been silent on this prayer.   I would desperately like God to allow us to move a little closer (meaning within a couple hours) of my family out west, because they have strong Christian influence and our kids have had very little family in their lives thus far.  I realize in the "ministry" you are supposed to not care about family.....but most people around here have family and my kids miss that....and my family would be good for my kids, I think.   My youngest is 7 and doesn't even know who is grandpa is.  He barely knows who his aunt, uncle, and cousins are.  It's so sad.  The prayer of my heart is that God would move us to visiting distance.  :-(

[John81]

The devil is very active in attacking children of Christian homes. I had actually thought about posting a thread on this topic as there have been so many children coming under attack in the area we live in. It seemed for a long time the devil was focusing upon trying to destroy marriages, and he's still active there, but now it seems he's giving a lot of focus upon attacking the children.

 

With the pervasiveness of electronic devices and instant access to movies, music and internet, and the fact most children (even at very young ages) have access to these, there is such a huge door open to the demonic. Add this to the fact so many Christian parents seem to be unaware, unconcerned or outright complicit in this demonic assault, and our children are at a great disadvantage.

 

Our children need constant prayer, instruction, monitoring (even though that's not PC) and to have strict rules in many areas (also not PC).

 

Most parents today, even Christian parents, have a warped, modernistic idea of what childhood is supposed to be. They see it as the modern secular world; childhood as something to perpetuate into adulthood, all about play, experimenting (usually with sin), and avoidance of responsibility and anything serious, and many believe it's certainly not right to expect or try to train children to actually follow Christ.

 

Biblically, and traditionally, childhood is/was to be a time of growth and training in becoming an adult and living right. Today many view such as unreasonable and even cruel.

 

May the Lord protect our children and give us wisdom on training them and provide the open doors and means to do so in accord with His will.

[OLD fashioned preacher]

In reference to the schooling: Most Christian schools place operating capital above ministry. Many will allow Christian "atmosphere" to be usurped by Christian "presence". There are many factors (and vastly more numerous excuses) involved in this happening. Way too many "Christian" homes are secular groups of people attending "godly activities", many churches are people who want the Lord to be pleased with their staying as close to the world as they can get by with while staying just barely on the side of "technically not wicked", and Christian educational facilities (school, institute, college) that want to be as "appealing" as possible for recruitment purposes.

 

Re: Relocation -- We'd welcome you here and you'd prOBably find us different. We're prOBably too far West or too far East or too small (not a reflection on you, it's a common view).

 

Long story short -- been praying concerning yawls situation and will continue to do so.

 

btw, I told my wife about the "Christian" kids allowed to watch LOTR and she was aghast (though we have never seen the movies, she had the trilogy as a teen. When we were lost, she was a Tolkien fan and I was an Asimov fan. Praise God for a grace that delivers and changes).

[Donald]

Hello Kitagrl

Let me add my voice to all the others, who are encouraging you and your husband to keep up the good fight. Your family's closer walk with the Lord, is worth it.
 

[Anon]

Old fashioned, where are you located?  You can PM me if you want.

[EKSmith]

Thank you for sharing these troubles with us , I'm in prayer for you and your family

 

Loving you with the love of Jesus from my heart

 

God bless 

[OLD fashioned preacher]

Old fashioned, where are you located?  You can PM me if you want.

Some say we are in the middle of nowhere buuuuuttt at only 190 miles from the center of the contiguous U.S. (lower 48), 460 miles from the center of the entire U.S. and 750 miles from the geographic center of the whole North American continent I say we are in the middle of EVERYWHERE!!
 

More specific coordinates coming via PM.  You're only(????) 1530 (+/-) miles away by car. I have a daughter that distance in Jacksonville, Fl and used to drive it straight through in 24-25 hours. Too old to make it without a relief driver for 1-3 hours now.

[paid4]

My wife has the same convictions. The struggle I have is that when my kids go out into the world without mom and dad then what will they be? I am not trying to influence you either way as I struggle with this too. I try to look long term. By that I mean I want my children to be equipped to be missionaries or preachers. I feel like if I pull them out to be homeschooled that I am putting them in a bubble. The ideal situation, in my mind, is that my children learn to bare the burdens of persecution and make the right decision no matter what surrounds them.

Maybe I am wrong but I don't want my boys to be unequipped to handle the real world, not from an eduication standpoint but a spiritual one.

Too many adults and children today don't know how to accept persecution for the cause of Christ. It has made our churches soft and self centered today. If anything I really should pull my kids out of school and have them in the Bible everyday, all day and spend every hour possible proclaiming the gospel. That's all that matters anyway.

 

Ecclesiastes 1:14

 

P.S. the movie doesn't matter. PG-13 this week. Next week it will be R movies. When they leave home it will be pornography. Teach them early to honor God and do what is right no matter what surrounds them.

 

Go to goodpreachin.com and look for Larry Brown. He only has one sermon listed and it's called "Amnon had a friend"

It's about choosing your friends and the concequences of it. Sit down with your kids and listen to it with them. I promise it's really good.

[paid4]

Here is the link

 

http://www.goodpreachin.com/

 

Lots of old time preaching. Danny Castle is pretty good too. I have not listened to many of the others yet.

[Anon]

I have heard that sermon from Larry Brown several times!  :-)   I do get your point though, and so far that has been our thoughts, which is why we only homeschool one child, and that is for education purposes....not spiritual.

[2bLikeJesus]

 

More specific coordinates coming via PM.  You're only(????) 1530 (+/-) miles away by car. I have a daughter that distance in Jacksonville, Fl and used to drive it straight through in 24-25 hours. Too old to make it without a relief driver for 1-3 hours now.

 

Also known as "Tornado Alley".  

[OLD fashioned preacher]

Also known as "Tornado Alley".  

That's funny ---- Florida gets more tornadoes than us (not as big), Indiana and Oklahoma get more than us, the other end of the state (400 miles away) get more than us. Since 1951 we have had 4 within one mile or less or town --- 0 deaths, 0 injuries in 63 years. I saw 3 direct hurricane hits (Erin, Opal, Ivan) in 18 years in Fl with a tornado from Ivan (it spawned 200+ of them) taking out our home.