Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Both Jews and Christians celebrate their "festivals of light" during the darkest period of the year. Sunrises are really late and sunsets occur in the late afternoon already.
Light was created during the creation story when God spoke light into being to expel the drakness (Genesis 1:1 - 5). A parallel can be found in the Gospel of John chapter 1 where the Messiah is referred to as the light of the world.
The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah - literally dedication - is the remembrance of the rededication of the Temple after the Jewish priestly family revolted against the Hellenistic Seleucid occupation. They could not tolerate the continued oppression and persecution of the Seleucids and ultimately liberated Jerusalem and the Temple (in 164 BCE).
Jewish tradition tells of a miracle that occurred when, during the rededication of the temple, a small jar of olive oil was found to rekindle the Menorah in the Temple. The jar only contained enough oil to burn for one day but the Menorah miraculously burned for eight days until more oil could be produced.
The Jews celebrate this festival by lighting an increasing number of candles each day of the festival until all eight candles are lit. This year Hanukkah will be celebrated from the evening of December 6 until December 14. This festival celebrates the victory of light over darkness!
We often feel that we cannot do much as individuals in this world of darkness, but this story teaches us that it is important to let our light shine - whenever the opportunity presents itself - and if we all do this we will be amazed how we can affect the world around us.
Hanukkah is a festival with the focus on children and we would like to assist many children in Israel, that live in poverty and can only dream of all the joys of this festival, to share in the joy and celebration.
Israel is overreacting to this?? Pardon me? I'm sorry that you have to see this, but if you think that these Israeli civilian men, women, children, and babies deserve this type of brutality just because they are Jewish, you seriously need to re-evaluate your opinions and your thought processes.
What kind of monster does this to people who are out playing or shopping? Worse yet, what kind of barbaric demon of a Palestinian President exhorts and incites his people to commit this sort of atrocity? Don't believe for a minute that this is nothing more than mischievous children just having a bit of fun.
This is systematic, medieval, bloodthirsty barbarism at its best. Those who do this and even more so those who promote and incite them to do it are nothing other than a blight upon humanity and a plague upon this planet.
Five Things You Need to Pray Over Your Child Every Day by Neil Kennedy
The Identity Network
Let's face it, the culture we're living in is becoming increasingly more difficult for families of faith. As society becomes more and more secular, how do parents raise their children to not only survive, but to thrive in it? Is it possible to empower our children to stand up and even stand out in their faith when there is hostility toward them? Yes, I believe that you can. To do so, they need to have what I call "faith to follow." Faith comes by hearing - simply meaning that when your children hear you speaking, even praying over them, they will be emboldened to follow the faith.
My friend, George Sawyer, was so passionate about children being empowered to thrive while living in a secular culture that he wrote a book entitled, The Daniel Prayer for Parents. George wrote the prayer based upon the young man, Daniel, who was living as a captive in another culture at the time. Daniel not only survived, but he thrived in Babylon.
I believe that my children are healthy. They flourish in their diet and physical ability. They are not harmed, assaulted, wounded, nor threatened by terror.
My child is quick to understand. They show an aptitude for learning. They comprehend and retain knowledge. They have discernment and wisdom to know the outcome of decisions.
I know that my children are resolute. They are not compromised by this culture but stand courageously in their convictions of faith. They are not influenced to change who they are, but they influence change in this world.
Favor opens doors and ushers my child into greatness. I believe that their teachers, leaders, coaches, and friends are favorably disposed toward them.
I also believe that there are none equal to my children. They are remarkable in their demeanor and disposition. They stand out in the crowd. They excel in their education and experience.
Be Proactive and Speak Encouragement
This prayer is based upon the attributes that were found in Daniel's life while he lived in Babylon. You may know that Daniel certainly faced challenges - slander, persecution for his faith, jealousy, false accusation, imprisonment, and condemned to death by being thrown into a den of lions. Yet his life is a testimony of how a young person can not only survive but thrive in a hostile culture.
As much as we would like to have our children live in a safe and perfect world that's simply not the case. Our children will face challenges. They may confront injustice and bigotry of all sorts. Their schools may be a hostile environment for their faith. However, I believe that we can be proactive and speak words of encouragement so that they can face life with courage and conviction.
The enemy is about to hear from our children and grandchildren beginning this season. Watch and expect the passion for Christ to run wild like a raging fire inside of them.
The Lord has allowed them to be placed in strategic locations in the earth and even in some unusual places where we think they shouldn’t be. In prisons, homeless on the streets, or wherever they are being held in Satan’s grip.
They have now been divinely positioned to become a firebrand in God’s hand to ignite and explode like dynamite inside the camp of the enemy! This is why the enemy forever has fought against marriages. He feared concerning the Godly seed that was about to come upon the earth to do him in. And here they come!
“Your descendants will defeat their enemies.” Genesis 22:17 ( Message Bible )
Have you ever wondered why, after raising your children in the ways of God, they choose to walk away from Him and go their own way?
The heaviest burden for a parent to carry is for his or her own bloodline - his or her children and grandchildren and their eternal destiny. Children are a heritage from the Lord and the greatest weight on a parent's heart.
I have met thousands of parents whose children were raised in a local church but today are spiritually AWOL. Why?
Root Causes
Here are three often-undetected root causes why your family members may avoid church. There are social reasons. Some feel uncomfortable meeting new people, are not sure how to dress and feel awkward when asked to hold the hand of the stranger next to them. There are also neurological reasons. People suffer from a variety of disorders that may cause them to feel uncomfortable in a service. Some neurological disorders like Autism cause difficulty in sitting and are disturbed by loud music or noise. Some have economic reasons for not attending because they believe the church is always asking for money.
But the ultimate reason for many avoiding a Christian gathering is spiritual. First, according to John 12:40, the adversary has blinded the eyes and hardened the hearts of some, preventing them from receiving knowledge and being converted. Another reason is simply unbelief. It is impossible to receive any spiritual or, for that matter, physical and financial blessing or breakthrough if a person abides in unbelief. Their wrong thinking prevents it.
Wrong thinking creates what we call strongholds. The word stronghold was used by the Greeks when speaking of a castle or a military fortification that was built to prevent access. In Paul's writings strongholds are mental blocks of thinking that prevented spiritual breakthroughs.
The adversary will use a person's wrong thinking to build up a mental stronghold, hindering them from going to the very place where their mental and spiritual chains can be broken. Believers must also deal with wrong thinking and never allow human reasoning to exalt itself above the knowledge of God, but to pull down mental strongholds (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
Praying
When parents have asked me how they should pray for their prodigal son, daughter, or at times grandparents are concerned about their wayward grandchildren, I share how I pray for my own children. The first thing I do is thank God for giving me two wonderful children - a boy and a girl. I then declare that anyone who carries my DNA or my name (Stone) that is linked to my family will all be in the kingdom of God and not one will be missing. I ask God to protect them from harm, danger, and any disabling accident, and I assign a generational angel to be with them.
At times when I have seen someone in my bloodline struggle and knew a demonic spirit was attacking them, my prayer became aggressive and a rebuking anointing began flowing through me as I rebuked the powers of the adversary, demanding them to "get their hands off" that person and for God to bring relief and restoration. It is also important to discover if there is a "root source" to their resistance to God such as a hurt, an offense, a misunderstanding that should be dealt with.
Parents should also pray in advance for the friends their children have, beginning at an early age, as many of their choices as teenagers will emerge out of peer pressure from those surrounding them.
At times it takes very intense and consistent intercession to initiate a life-changing breakthrough in family members. Often when a parent or any believer engages in intense intercessory prayer coupled with a prayer burden, the seeker will receive an assurance before they see the actual breakthrough. The Greek word for assurance in the New Testament means a complete and peaceful confidence in a matter (1 Thess. 1:5; Heb. 6:11, 10:22). Once this inner assurance is received, it releases a calming effect that settles your mind or spirit, as God's still, small voice prompts your perception that everything will be all right and you can move from asking God to thanking Him in advance (see Isaiah 32:17).
When Faith and Assurance Collide
When I was a teenage minister, I canned this feeling of assurance, "I know in my knower!" For example, there have been times I have prayed for individuals whose situations were so bleak that it required a supernatural intervention, or what we term a miracle to bring them back from the brink of death or destruction. However, when prayer was offered under the anointing of the Spirit, a peaceful calm erased the doubts and confusion. We left the hospital knowing that everything will be well.
Never cease to pray for your lost family members and begin thanking God when you sense an assurance. Remember, the peace of assurance will precede the actual breakthrough, often by days, weeks, and months. The best way to disrobe the assurance is in the words of Paul, when he wrote, "For we which have believed do enter into rest" (Hebrews 4:3, KJV). When faith and assurance collide, you will be at rest, even in the midst of the most severe storm ... for even Christ could sleep through a storm knowing He was going over to the other side (Luke 8:22-25). God's assurance that He is and will be moving on your behalf will bring a mental, physical, and spiritual rest to you.
On Jan. 3, 2015 in Charlotte, NC, our mother Lila Martin Parker celebrated her 80th birthday. All eight of her children were able to come and join in the celebration. As many as the spouses, grandkids and great grandkids who could also joined us.
We love our Mom!
Steve Martin
Love For His People, Inc.
Mom and her three sons (Rob, Steve, Tom)
Mom and five daughters (Colleen, Mary, Janet, Mom, Lynn, Sue)
Mom and all who could come to her 80th birthday party
Billy Graham's 1955 Message Was More Prophetic Than We Knew
In this message from August 1955, Billy Graham describes problems that seem hauntingly similar to those of today. And the answer to every one of those problems is still the same—Jesus Christ. (BillyGraham.org)
In this message from August 1955, Billy Graham describes problems that seem hauntingly similar to those of today. And the answer to every one of those problems is still the same—Jesus Christ.
Many Christian parents are becoming fearful that they cannot properly train their children in this lawless and wicked age. We have received scores of letters in our office asking, "What is the answer? What can I do with my son? My daughter?"
We are beginning to reap what has been sown for the past generation. We have taught the philosophy of the devil, who says, "Do as you please." Behaviorism has been the moral philosophy of much of our education in the past few years. Psychiatrists have told parents to let their children do as they please, lest in restraining them they may warp the children's personalities.
We have taken God out of our educational systems and thought we could get away with it. We have sown the wind, and we are now reaping the whirlwind. We have laughed at God, religion and the Bible.
Many of our educational leaders sneer at the old-fashioned idea of God and a moral code. Movies feature sex, sin, crime and alcohol. Teenagers see these things portrayed alluringly on the screen and decide to go and try them. Newspapers have played up crime and sex until they seem glamorous to our young people.
Instead of publicizing the good and constructive things that teenagers do, we have played up the sensational lawbreaker. We have taught our young people that morals are relative and not absolute.
At the heart of the problem is the failure of parents in the home. Evangelist Billy Sunday once said, "If you want to lick the devil, hit him over the head with a cradle." Parents today are not interested, apparently, in defeating the devil in the home. There seems to be little parental responsibility for discipline. Children are allowed to go wild.
One parent said, "I pay for my boy's clothes, I feed him. I give him an allowance; what more do you expect of me?" Many parents do not realize that they are responsible for their children's mental and spiritual growth and character building, as well as for feeding and clothing them. If parents fail, God is going to hold them responsible.
I want to give a few suggestions to Christian parents. First, take time with your children. Your children not only require a great deal of your time, but they long and hunger for it. Perhaps they do not express it, but the hunger and longing are there just the same. Love them; spend hours with them. Cut out some of your so-called "important social engagements" and make your home the center of your social life. God will honor you, and your children will grow up to call you blessed (see Proverbs 31:28).
Second, give your children ideals for living. Teach them moral and spiritual principles of life. Show them that only the morally and spiritually right attain genuine satisfaction in life.
Third, set your children a good example. A well-known story illustrates this point. It was the usual custom for a lawyer who walked to his office every morning to stop at the corner tavern for a drink. One morning when the snow had fallen, he heard a sound behind him. Turning, he saw his 7-year-old son stepping as far as he could in his father's tracks in the new-fallen snow.
The father turned around and said, "Son, what are you doing?" The son replied, "I'm stepping in your tracks." The father sent his son back home, but that morning he couldn't go to the tavern; all he could think of was a boy stepping in his father's tracks.
When he was studying for his law case that day the boy's words kept returning, "I'm stepping in your tracks." About noon the father got down on his knees and accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior and said, "From now on I want my son to step in the tracks of a Christian father."
Fourth, plan activities for your children. Plan things together as a family. Make the home so interesting and delightful that your children will want to stay home; then they will never miss the things that so many young people are engaged in for thrills.
Fifth, discipline your children. The devil's philosophy is: "Do as you please." Children are going to be in society what they are in the home. The Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, teaches that parents ought to lovingly discipline their children.
Ephesians 6:4 says, "You, fathers ... bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." In Proverbs 13:24 the Bible says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly." And in Proverbs 19:18, "Chasten your son while there is hope, and do not set your heart on his destruction."
If you fail to discipline your children, you are breaking the laws, commandments and statutes of God. You are guilty not only of injuring the moral, spiritual and physical lives of your children, but of sinning against God. The Bible says that if you fail to discipline your children, you actually hate them.
The best way to influence your children is to set an example before them. Remember, the majority of children acquire the characteristics and habits of their parents.
The Bible says, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Now, some parents carry discipline too far, continually harassing their children. The Bible also says, "Do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged" (Colossians 3:21). Parents should never give unreasonable commands. Nor should they ever give a command that they do not mean to be carried out.
Sixth, teach your children to know God, and bring them up in the church. Very seldom do parents have trouble with children when the Bible is read regularly in the home, grace is said at the table and family prayers take place daily. Most trouble with teenagers comes from children reared in homes where prayer is neglected, the Bible is never opened and church attendance is spasmodic. Christ gives the moral stability, understanding, wisdom and patience needed to rear children.
Many parents are not Christians. They have never received Christ as their Lord and Savior. Church attendance, if any, has been no more than a duty and a ritual. Their children have seen the insincerity in the lives of their parents. They have watched their parents go to church on a Sunday and live like the devil during the week. So the children have rebelled against religion as a whole; they have turned away from moral restraint. Many parents are only reaping what they have sown.
Christ is the answer to teenage delinquency. Christ in the home, in the lives of the parents, is the only permanent solution to the menacing teenage social problems in America.
If you are a parent, Christ can help you to rear your children in the fear and nurture and admonition of the Lord. If I were not a Christian, I would despair of my children in the moral climate in which we have to rear them.
Get the Scripture and its principles ingrained into their souls—"precept upon precept; line upon line;" teach them "here a little, and there a little" from the Word of God (Isaiah 28:13). Get them into the habit of going to church every Sunday, of praying daily and of saying grace at the table.
That will solve 90 percent of the problems you have with your children.
If you are a young person seeking thrills, happiness and joy in some of these questionable avenues of pleasure, I beg you to come to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ can give you the greatest happiness, the greatest adventure and the greatest thrills that you have ever known.
If you will take Jesus Christ into your heart, He will put a spring in your step, joy in your soul and a thrill in your heart. Come to Christ! Jesus Christ is the one who can be joy and happiness and peace to all of you young people. I beg of you to surrender your life to Christ.
But there are many of you who will say, "I would like to give my life to Christ, but I cannot live the Christian life. I have tried before but have failed." Ah, yes, but when you receive Christ, He comes into your heart. He gives you supernatural power to live the Christian life.
This may be a surprising statement from a bleary-eyed, number-crunching economist, but the best anti-poverty program in America may not be tax cuts or debt reduction or regulatory relief, but rather that old-fashioned institution called marriage.
It turns out that poverty rates are very low among intact families and prevalent among homes without a father. Children who grow up in single-parent households are much more likely to face economic trouble as adults.
Those who cheer divorce as a form of women's liberation, or who say that stigmatizing out-of-wedlock births is just right-wing sermonizing, just don't get this intertwined connection between two-parent households and economic success. Socio-cultural factors like the decline of marriage are leading causes of the wealth gap and the stubborn poverty trap in many low income neighborhoods.
This isn't to say that kids who grow up in broken homes can't succeed - millions heroically do. It doesn't mean that every marriage was meant to be - many times divorce is the only option. But what is irrefutable is that marriage with a devoted husband and wife in the home is a far better social program than food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, or even all of them combined.
This conclusion is made clear by a new eye-opening and sometimes depressing report called the Index of Culture and Opportunity by my colleagues at the Heritage Foundation. It's conclusion: "We have to reshape our culture before we can ever hope to make a big dent in the number of poor households."
Some of the cultural indicators are going in a positive direction; others have taken a decidely negative course.
First, the good news: violent crime is down. So is the number of abortions.
But in other ways we are ripping our families and our society apart. Consider these statistics on family breakup.
"From 2001 to 2011, the marriage rate dropped by 10.3 marriages per 1,000 unmarried women, or 22.8 percent. Since the 1960s, it has fallen by about 50 percent."
According to one of the report's scholars, W. Bradford Wilcox, "only about half of the nation's adults are currently married, and about half of the nation's children will spend some time outside an intact, married home."
This is a form of child abuse. And those numbers are much higher in low income communities. In some cities like Detroit and Newark two of every three children are born out of wedlock. Name a government program that can take the place of a father.
This troubling trend appears to be a road block to the American Dream. One study by Harvard economist Raj Chetty and his colleagues, finds that when it comes to what is preveninng the economic upward mobility of poor children, "the strongest and most robust predictor is the fraction of children with single parents."
It's also true and often overlooked that family breakup creates a statistical illusion that we are making less economic progress than we actually are. For example, if a married couple earns $80,000, but then ends up in divorce, there are now two households earning $40,000. So it appears the economy is slipping and average household income is falling. But in fact what has slipped is the culture.
Meanwhile, birth rates are falling and falling. In only two of the last 40 years have birth rates exceeded replacement level fertility of 2.1 kids per couple.
Who will take care of and finance the retirement of the near 80 milllion baby boomers? Thank goodness for immigration. The population bomb that was once famously worried about by scholars like Paul Ehrlish has become a population fizzle.
Most economists agree that the sharp decline in the share of Americans between ages 18 to 64 that are working is a major economic hindrance. This isn't just happening by chance but rather as a result of policy and cultural changes.
Welfare households, the report finds, are much more likely to have no one working at all and so the assistance becomes a substitute for work. The value of work is denigrated in our modern society and welfare has been elevated. Millions of jobs are there for the taking if the unemployed and underemployed go out and obtain useful skills.
But our culture too often frowns upon Americans doing what are regarded as grimy, blue collar jobs - even though they can pay $60,000 to $100,000 a year. This may explain why it is so hard to get a plumber or carpenter or any kind of handyman these days.
We also seem to disparage the idea of young people, especially teens, working. We parents spoil our kids - and I'm no less guilty than others - with leisure and money. And many millennials have to come to think that to pull them away from the television or computer or Gameboy screen is an offense that is reportable to child protective services.
But this new report reminds us of the obvious: that there is dignity, character building, and self-sufficiency in all forms of labor.
One of my favorite scenes in a recent movie is in Cinderella Man, when during the depths of the Great Depression, James Bradock, played by Russell Crowe, is forced as a last resort to take a welfare payment from the government to feed his family. His sense of shame is clearly evident. Then, when he wins some prize fights and gets back on his feet, he goes back to the welfare office and returns all the taxpayer money he took in his hour of need.
Who does that today? It is now the opposite. The Obama administration runs television and radio ads assuring welfare recipients they should feel no shame whatsoever in taking a hand out and even tells them that the more they live off the expense of someone else (taxpayers), the better it is for the economy. Liberals are trying to bend the culture in a subversive direction and given that last year we had 47 million on food stamps, the Left is succeeding.
We economists bury ourselves in the data and the formulas to try to devise policy recommendations to make the economy grow faster and raise the living standards of workers and families. It's humbling to realize how much of our nation's economic success is based on a culture of virtue. Do the right thing, as Spike Lee would put it.
To save our economy from a path of decline we need to start with a personal and national commitment to sturdy families, strong parents, and a reemergence of the Protestant work ethic. That shouldn't be so hard.
is chief economist at the Heritage Foundation and an economics contributor to CBN.
"Isis Will Have a Crisis" And "Ebola, Who Are You?"
Kim Clement, Camarillo, CA
Prophesied at the Miami, FL CAP Conference on October 11th, 2014:
The Spirit of the Lord says, "I have opened the door this weekend that no man shall shut. The door is open and that which has never happened before shall begin to happen," says the Lord. "Your children, your grandchildren are the prophets and apostles that I am raising up to destroy the works of the enemy," says the Lord. (Photo via Geograph)
"Do you hear the trumpet? It is sounding the note for many of the Latino countries, but this is not for one people because you have gathered here to make a declaration.
I shall move throughout the earth and even in the Middle East and I will bring them again to this place and they shall say, 'The Lord has opened the door to every nation in the world, in the earth.'"
The Spirit of the Living God says to each one of you watching all over the world, "Your enemy has looked at you and he has sneered and laughed at you. He said, 'Not this generation.' He said, 'Not these people. They will never take back what I have stolen for two generations.'" But the Spirit of the Lord says, "I can hear the sound of a people that want to possess and take back what is theirs!"
Isis Will Have a Crisis!
God spoke about the purification that would take place in the springs and in the water. But now suddenly He tells me this, "This is fall, autumn, that is upon you. Many are falling at this moment." But the Spirit of God says, "In the winter of this year, a veil will be rent and I will take those who have terrorized My people. I will expose them. I will destroy many of them and one of those terrorists shall have a Damascus road experience.
"ISIS will have a crisis! ISIS will have a crisis! ISIS will have a crisis! ISIS will have a crisis! Pray! Pray! Pray! Pray for your brothers, pray for their release. ISIS you have a crisis!"
God says, "ISIS will have a crisis because there shall be a Damascus road experience at the very top. If I could do it with Saul of Tarsus, can I not do it with ISIS? Who are they? Who are they?" God says, "My name is Yeshua, My name is Jesus, and I am capable of doing it and I will do it again and again and again and again and again and again," says the Lord!
Prophesied on October 18th, 2014 - From The Den:
Ebola, Who Are You?...
The Spirit of God says, "There is a fire that they have sent from the forces of darkness to burn with fever, to burn with fever upon little ones and the elderly. There is a fire that has been sent to burn with fever, to burn with fever, men and women throughout the nations. Ebola, who are you that you would threaten the existence of faith within My nation?
"This shall not be a plague that you will deal with. There will be some," but God says, "as I told you about the bird flu, that something flew away, and so it shall be with this plague." But God says, "It shall go to other places. For they have said, 'America deserves a plague,'" but the Spirit of God says, "The plague shall go to other nations.But I will bring the peace in the hearts of the people for there is a fire that is also being sent from Heaven above. This fire shall consume." (Photo by Jennifer Page"Consuming Fire" via elijahshopper.com)
"As I said, through the fall, through autumn, there is yet that which must happen and it is about to unfold through this last portion of October and the first few days of November. I will bring to light that which has been hidden in darkness," says the Lord.
Prophesied on October 21st, 2014 - From the Garden:
Fires Spreading – Pray
In my garden during prayer now, I caught a glimpse of fires spreading in Africa. I am burdened for Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda. Those regions are under the watchful eye of God. Pray for them. SUDAN – a mischief that God is displeased with. CHINA on the move. Then I saw a fire between the colors blue and white. Pray for children in these regions.
Kim Clement: The life of Kim Clement is an expression that has defined "the prophet" for the modern era. This has made his journey unique; a journey that has taken his inspired message to schools and colleges, churches and synagogues, alleyways and prison cells. Kim's prophetic gift is a magnet that has drawn a broad audience, as he has whispered to kings and inspired prisoners; his path through life continues to be an exciting adventure. His diverse and extemporaneous perspective has gained him notoriety that transcends culture, race and religion, placing him onto a world platform.
He has performed at the Rose Bowl Stadium in California, Times Square in New York City, Mt. Carmel in Israel, and even the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Have you made any of these mistakes with your child? What are you doing to change your behavior as a parent? (iStock photo)
I'm sure you heard about the 4-year-old girl in Delaware who gave tiny packets of cocaine to her daycare classmates—because she thought it was candy. Her mother, who was arrested earlier this month, said she gave her daughter the wrong backpack and couldn't tell police how 249 packets of cocaine ended up in her possession.
Every week I hear similar stories of children suffering because their parents used horrible judgment. Like the Ebola virus, bad parenting seems to be spreading—and the church is not immune. We had better get busy teaching Christian parents how to raise their kids the old-fashioned way, because recent trends are scary.
I made a list of some of the most disturbing trends in modern parenting. I am sure you can add a few more:
1. Whacky names. We joke about the ridiculous names some film and music stars give their kids: Pilot Inspektor, Denim, Camera, Blanket or Diva Thin Muffin. Yet the common people come up with even stranger names for their babies: Facebook, Hashtag, Aquafresh, Cheese, Chlamydia, Random and—get this—Felony. Do these parents want their kids to be bullied? I'm all for creativity, but if you name your child after a dairy product, social media or a sexually transmitted disease you are setting them up for abuse.
2. Allowing kids to "explore" their gender. Our culture today has gone insane when it comes to gender rules. In some schools, teachers are urged not to "impose" gender on boys or girls but to let them "decide" which gender they are, regardless of reality. And there are parents who insist that their fourth-grade boy be allowed to go in the girls' restroom because he "feels" he is a girl. Am I the only person who believes that the "psychologists" responsible for this trend need therapy themselves?
3. Sexualizing children. Back in my day kids really didn't think about sex until hormones started kicking in at age 13. When I was 9, I was playing with Lincoln Logs, watching Johnny Quest cartoons and learning how to tie square knots. Today, experts say children show sexual interest and engage in sexual behavior earlier than ever. Much of this is fueled by pornography, but television, music videos (think Miley Cyrus' influence on tween girls) and even toys are also to blame. The popular Bratz dolls feature young girls dressed in fishnet hose and miniskirts and wearing heavy makeup. And why did Victoria's Secret produce underwear last year featuring the words "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink"—and then market them to pre-teen girls? Parents who expose their kids to sexually charged media or clothing simply invite trouble. Learn to put guardrails around the media your child is exposed to.
4. Showcasing kids. At the risk of offending church moms who put their daughters in pageants: Please stop it. We all know there's only one reason a mother would force her three-year-old daughter to wear mascara and tons of hair spray to compete with other toddlers in a beauty contest: It's all about the mothers. The girls are the victims. It has already been proven that girls who are subjected to these expensive pageants suffer from eating disorders and other self-image issues. Forcing your child to live out your fantasies is cruel. (FACT: Did you know that some American families spend more than $75,000 a year on child pageants, and that the entry fees are often priced higher than the awards given?)
5. Not showing affection. I can't tell you how many times I've asked a group of grown men how many of them had fathers who hugged them during their childhood. Often not one hand goes up. The concept of a loving dad who wrestles with his kids or bounces them on his knee has become a fairy tale to many people—and the lack of affection shows up later in insecurity, depression and a host of other psychological problems. Doctors have proven that human beings need seven expressions of meaningful touch every day. Depriving kids of wholesome affection is as serious as withholding food and water.
6. Abandoning your kids. One-third of all children growing up in America today don't have a father in the home. And the U.S. Census shows that this number continues to climb. Children who grow up in single-parent families face higher risk of poverty, and many end up delinquent, addicted to drugs or alcohol or in jail. This crisis represents a huge mission field for churches today, but we can't fight the abandonment epidemic unless we can convince more parents to consider the kids before they break up a family.
7. Giving your kids everything they want. Author Elizabeth Kolbert wrote in The New Yorker two years ago that American kids are "the most indulged young people in the history of the world." The word discipline has become a dirty word in our lexicon. Children today have all the toys and expensive gadgets they want, but they are not expected to share in household chores and don't even want to tie their own shoes or take out the garbage. It's no wonder some 30-year-old men end up living with their parents and playing video games all day: They never learned adult responsibility, so they are stuck in perpetual adolescence.
Ps. 127:3 says: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord." I'm afraid we've squandered the privilege of raising them. What we need today is a massive movement to reclaim biblical principles of protective love and strong discipline—along with a huge dose of common sense.
J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter atleegrady. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org. His new book, The Truth Sets Women Free, was released this month from Charisma House.
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Hanukkah - Light Drives Out Darkness
Let's face it, the culture we're living in is becoming increasingly more difficult for families of faith. As society becomes more and more secular, how do parents raise their children to not only survive, but to thrive in it? Is it possible to empower our children to stand up and even stand out in their faith when there is hostility toward them? Yes, I believe that you can. To do so, they need to have what I call "faith to follow." Faith comes by hearing - simply meaning that when your children hear you speaking, even praying over them, they will be emboldened to follow the faith.
Have you ever wondered why, after raising your children in the ways of God, they choose to walk away from Him and go their own way?
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The Spirit of the Lord says, "I have opened the door this weekend that no man shall shut. The door is open and that which has never happened before shall begin to happen," says the Lord. "Your children, your grandchildren are the prophets and apostles that I am raising up to destroy the works of the enemy," says the Lord.
