2002-12-05
Good Morning Treasured Readers,
As I mentioned in yesterday’s message, the Holy Spirit leads me to go on writing about the breakdown of the family unit at which Satan has been so successful. The ideal family as found in the Scriptures was discussed then. Today, we will consider the effects on society of mankind’s not living up to that ideal set by God.
When Christ described Jerusalem in MT 5: 14-16, He gave us a picture of what our lives should be. “You are like a light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead, he puts it on a lampstand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Those beautiful words evoke a picture in our minds that Satan is working hard to extinguish. Right now in North America, Satan has been gaining ground at a frightening pace. Someone once asked me why the “chupah” or canopy used in a Jewish wedding is open the way it is. Anyone attending that wedding would hear the rabbi explain that God means for the young couple to establish a home where He is at the center of all, and the canopy is open so that all the world will see this and want such a happy, God-centered life for themselves. DT 11: 18-21 is not to be taken lightly. “Remember these commands and cherish them. Tie them on your arms and wear them on your foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working. Write them on the door posts of your houses and on your gates. Then you and your children will live a long time in the land that the Lord your God promised to give to your ancestors. You will live there as long as there is a sky above the earth.” What we do in our homes multiplied by the number of homes raised with God at the center can make a huge impact on society as a whole. When we see society going in the direction it is today, then we should find sufficient motivation to spread the Good News of our salvation and the blessings of a life “in Christ.”
Many people try to rely on the church or on schools to take the responsibility for the spiritual and moral upbringing of their children. These parents are too busy with their jobs, don’t make child rearing a priority in their lives, abuse, or neglect their children. While the church can be a resource, it can’t replace responsible parenting. The family is the backbone of our society, so when Satan is allowed to break it down and destroy it, our society falls with it. That’s tough talk, but it’s the truth! When we establish a family as God teaches, Satan’s plan is frustrated. Paul, inspired by God, addressed himself to the issue of a marriage between a believer and a non-believer. It’s a fact that such marriages are common. 1 COR 7: 14 reveals God’s perspective on them. “For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.” God’s agenda is that the unbelieving spouse will see how wonderful a life of faith is by the example of the believing one that he or she too will come to faith. In that case, they would raise their children to take their places in the Kingdom of God.
What interferes with that is selfishness, poorly conceived marriages, and rejection of God as a Partner in the marriage. Recently, there were a couple of serious bouts of litigation against the Boy Scouts of America which Chuck Colson, the moderator of his radio program “Breakpoint,” discussed. An atheist sued the Boy Scouts in an effort to get mention of God out of that program. In another case, this organization was sued because it refuses to hire practicing homosexuals as troop leaders. It is a blessing that the Supreme Court ruled that as a private organization, the Boy Scouts have the right to set their own guidelines, and an individual who doesn’t agree with them has the right not to join. The atheist commented after the ruling that his views stemmed from teaching about evolution that he received in the public schools. As for the case regarding the Scouts allowing homosexuals to become leaders, Chuck Colson reminds us of the pedophilia that resulted from homosexual priests in the Catholic church. Atheism and homosexuality are only two of Satan’s tools to which God speaks directly in the Scriptures [EX 20: 1-5; LV 18: 22; RO 1: 26-27]. The Lord has made His will clear. Because we live in the society we do, it is even more imperative that we spend daily time in the Scriptures, seek God out for advice in prayer with a willingness to listen for His wisdom, and take the time to evaluate how our lives at home with our families are against the ideal God gives us in His word.
PRAYER: O Lord, as parents and grandparents, You have given us the responsibility to raise children who will joyfully be a part of Your Kingdom. If You have called us to the single life, that too is to reveal Your glory. We have been given as a result of our salvation the privilege of Your presence, guidance, encouragement, correction, protection, provision, and all the blessings You give us every day. With those things comes a balancing responsibility to be obedient, faithful, trusting, diligent, and loyal to You and Your teaching. We also carry the responsibility of joining You in Your work of spreading the message of salvation and peace and helping to bring others to where the Holy Spirit will bring them to saving faith. Your plan for our marriages and the rearing of our families is magnificent. No better plan for them exists anywhere. We must be ever vigilant of Satan’s efforts and alert to our need to respond to them using the power You gave us when we were saved. Not one drop of the blood that Christ shed for us on the cross should be wasted with pandering to fleshly desires and ungodly human agendas. In the grand scheme of things, our time is short before that Day will come when we hear the last trumpet calling us to a meeting in the air [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. You urge us to get our spiritual houses in order, and we dedicate ourselves to responding with obedience to that command. We acknowledge our faith in You today with the words of PS 22: 27-31, “All nations will remember the Lord. From every part of the world they will turn to Him; all races will worship Him. The Lord is King and He rules the nations. All proud men will bow down to Him; all mortal men will bow down before Him. Future generations will serve Him; men will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. People not yet born will be told: ‘The Lord saved His people.’” You are our supreme and sovereign Abba, and with great reverence we say, “we love You Father!” Today in humility, we confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, obedience, trust, thanks, and utmost praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
I am led to discuss the issue of divorce, a weapon Satan likes to use often in our society, in tomorrow’s message. God calls us to consider it’s effect on children, the mechanism by which it happens, and what it is doing to our society as a whole. It is not accidental that God, through Paul, gives us this advice in RO 12: 15-16, “Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.” If we become acquainted with Christ’s life as it is revealed in the Gospels, we see Him doing all these things. He wept with Mary when she mourned for her brother, Lazarus, in JN 11: 35, even though He knew He would raise Lazarus. He spoke of the master feeling joy for his servant who had managed small amounts of money well in MT 25: 21 in His Parable of the Three Servants. The master was a picture of Himself, and this servant is a picture of a believer who is obedient and faithful. We know that Christ washed the feet of His apostles, always the humble Servant [JN 13: 5]. His concern for everyone is shown when He healed the centurion’s servant [MT 8: 13], revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman at the well [JN 4: 26], and helped the Gentile woman who told him, “even the dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their Master’s table” [MT 15: 27-28]. Since Christ is the second personality of God, we learn something about the depth of the love that God has for us through His Son. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn