Someone has said that “a baby’s birth is proof that God has not given up on us yet.” As new babies and small children fill our building every Sunday, and I rejoice in every one of them. I am grateful to God who has blessed this church with so many children. And, I am also filled with the burden of doing what I can to encourage the parents and everyone else that comes into contact with these precious souls to realize their awesome responsibility God has entrusted to us.

In Deuteronomy 4 and 6 and again in Ephesians 6:1-4 God has made it clear that the responsibility of rearing children in his laws and ways are placed upon the backs of the fathers. It is an awesome responsibility, especially in light of the fact that Satan is doing the very best he can to lead our children away from God. Every day in America, the battles are joined, and the war between right and wrong is heating up. We do all we can to protect our children, just to send them off to high schools and colleges where their faith is viciously attacked. Statistics say we lose up to 60% of our young people when they leave home. What can we do about it?

1. Parents first, and then every member of the church, must realize that they have an influence on every child, and must make sure that their influence is for good, not for evil. While it is vital for us to teach our children right and wrong, and the difference between good and evil, at the same time we MUST LIVE what we preach. Children, and especially teens, see through hypocrisy so quickly, and if we say one thing and do another, we are preaching loudly that we do not really believe what we say we do.

2.We must realize that if our children go to a secular or state college or public high school, their faith will be attacked. Hence, we must give them the ammunition to help them in their battles against Satan. Brethren, the world will not teach our children the facts of creation, and why God created the heavens and the earth. The world will attack the Bible in every way it can, from the account of creation to the account of the worldwide flood of Noah, to all of the miracles of the Bible, including the resurrection of Jesus. That is why as parents we must arm ourselves with all of the information we can get our hands on to help our children to see the truth, and be able to defend the same.

3. Having said that, it then becomes imperative that we make decisions concerning where we send our children to school. I sent my children to public schools, but if I had to do it all again, I would either home school my children or try to find a way to afford to send them to a Christian school that I trusted. Why? Public schools are battling trying to teach our children anything, because many of those parents send their children to school and do not care about what they are taught. Many school teachers have battles just to maintain enough discipline or order to try to teach a subject. And, we don’t know all that our children are being taught by teachers in these schools. Realizing that God will hold parents accountable for what they are taught and how they are reared makes it imperative that we KNOW WHAT ARE CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT, and correct them when they are being led astray. Home schooling allows parents to KNOW what their children are being taught.

We are in a culture war in this country unlike anything that has been seen before. But there is hope because God is still in control. The early Christians faced much of the same kind of culture war, and were able to turn the world upside down because they KNEW that they were doing the will of the Sovereign God of the universe. Early Christians were in a minority, and our Lord said that we would be in a minority (Matthew 7:13-14). Do we have the faith in God to do what is right, no matter the cost? I believe in the very near future it will cost more to be a Christian in America than ever before! Will we stand up to Satan and his ways? Do we have the faith to go on – for us and our children? It will make a difference in eternity!