[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Friday, May 16, 2014

[Paul via Faith-talk]

Hello and good day to you all.  Well, after an absence of several days I'm back with the daily thought articles.  Was away attending a Lions convention in Ocean City MD which I'd be glad to report on to interested individuals privately, as a number of lists and even list mods would say, and do so rightly, that their lists aren't designed for such things.  So, if you'd like to hear what went on, just contact me privately at oilofgladness47 at gmail.com, and I'll be glad to report.  Alternatively, if you're part of the several chat communities to which I belong such as the System Access Mobile Network, VIP Conduit, TAFN or, if the administrators would allow, perhaps a time and location on ICC or Seasons of Refreshing could be made available.

And now for today's article.  It's entitled "Hope Through Jesus" written some years ago by Phyllis Miller and published in a periodical called Vital Christianity.  It was rendered as follows:

Do you think our kids have even a fighting chance to survive the evil influences being thrown at them today? I do.  But the only reason I have hope is because of Jesus Christ and the wisdom and assistance He has promised to give to those who are committed to Him.

You see, we have something new in our home.  He's called a teenager.  Every day, I see him get on the bus with a lump in my throat and a prayer on my lips.  If you have been out of touch with the schools for a few years, you may not understand.

For whether it's a country school or a city school, drugs are on the scene.  Also available:  obscene magazines, textbooks representing weird theologies about God, and a smattering of teachers whose personal, warped philosophies of life overflow into the classrooms.

Turning our heads and pretending these things don't exist may bring temporary relief.  Going around wringing our collective hands over a world literally going to "pot" not only is futile, but destructive to our spiritual growth.  (Jesus said to cast all our cares upon Him!)

We are not pinning our hope and our children's future on the chance that the drug problem will be erased, or that politicians will at last come clean, and pornography will indeed vanish from our drugstores.  It's faith in Christ that gives us hope in the midst of what sometimes seems overwhelming odds.  Faith that He will dispense wisdom and guidance if we are living close enough to Him to receive the bountiful supply He has promised.  Faith that He will take our sincere efforts to provide the right kind of home and turn them into His glory.

This is where the challenge comes for us as parents.  For a Christian home is much more than two Christian parents providing food and shelter for kids with the heartfelt desire that someway they'll turn out all right.

With us lies the challenge of making our homes a place of refuge, a retreat from a world gone out of order.  If our kids are going to know the reality of a personal walk with Christ, they must see in our home a place where Christianity works and is regularly practiced and making a difference.

Even though we have committed our kids to God's care, we are discovering much is required of us.  There is a price to be paid.  It begins with a commitment of both father and mother to live honestly before God and their children, admitting their shortcomings and failures to each other.  This is a humbling experience.  But it is the attitude of "having all the answers" that alienates and blocks communication with our kids from the word "go."

Something happens inside of kids when they see that Mom and Dad are dependent on a higher power for wisdom and guidance.  They receive hope from parents who are willing to admit to personal shortcomings and insufficiency.  The possibility for a better relationship is opened by parents who concede the struggle to be a joint effort, instead of one where the adults have arrived and are now dispensing wise proverbs for each situation ("When I was your age...").

And when difficulties come, whether it be a minor, temporary break in communication, or a blow-up of major proportions, it's this same faith in Christ, which enables us to keep loving and loving, and offering restoration to that precious son or daughter.

And it's Christ who enables the marvelous experience of reconciliation to take place without letting hurts run their normal selfish course.

Yes, our kids do have a fighting chance.  But it's not because of anything the world is currently offering.  Hope lies in the reality of what Christ will do through yielded parents, willing to be His channels in reaching kids with His constant forgiveness and love.

And there you have Phyllis's article which, though written many years ago, is still true today.  I hope that it was a blessing to you parents or even to those of us who aren't parents or even to singles reading this.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be yet another Daily Thought article for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul