Still Burdened for our Youth

While at Youth Camp I became overwhelmingly burdened for our children and young people. I heard and saw things that although didn’t surprise me still shocked me. Let me remind you where I was, at a Christian Youth Camp. A few days later God drew my attention to a passage that dealt with warfare and how important it was to have those going to fight to be prepared for battle, able and skillful. At that time God spoke through the Spirit that our young people and children are in the battle of their lives, literally and they are losing because they are not prepared. I don’t even know if they realize they are in a battle, if this is true then they are loosing solely because they are not fighting.

This has constantly been bearing on my soul and I know there are others out there too because you have responded to me either by commenting on the blog or personally. Since the initial burden God has called me to talk to our young girls at church during one of their Wed. evening meetings. I’m not quite sure they get it. I have also been honored, in recent weeks, by God to lead 6 young ladies to Christ. I want each of them to live the victorious and abundant life. What do we do?

What God is showing me:

It begins in the home. Parents if you are a Christian you have been given biblical mandate to train your children in the ways of God. You will stand accountable before God on what you do and don’t teach your children. Are you teaching and training them for the battle they are in or are you hoping that either they will just get it on their own or the church will do it for you? I want sure fire guarantees when it comes to my children and not a wishful, not sure attitude towards their lives. They will not get it on their own. There is also no guarantee they will get it from the church. I have talked to many adults who have grown up in the church and were leaders who clearly don’t get it, probably because they were never taught. We cannot teach others what we don’t know. Parents do you know how to fight in the battle? Teaching warfare is better taught with hands on experience led by those who have been there already. Teach with passion the dangers of losing the battle and the rewards of winning! Parents start fighting yourselves.
Before entering for battle the people of God would always go before God in prayer, worship and sacrifice. You can’t win victories with burdens and weights draped all over you. Through prayer we must continuously seek to be free of sin, scars and fears. Through worship we continuously acknowledge that He is Lord and His ways are worthy of our fighting for. Through sacrifice we give up our lives to be lived according to our wants and whims over to His greater causes. We follow Him into battle and He will fight for us.
Are you doing this (praying, worshiping and sacrificing) on a consistent basis? Are you doing it out of ritual and religion or out of a loving and trusting relationship, if you aren’t start. If you don’t know how, I really do want to show you so that you can truly experience His personal love and attention. There isn’t anything or one that satisfies the deepest needs of the soul like our God. If you are doing this parent or grandparent are you then showing your children? Are you teaching them how God speaks through His Word? Are you allowing them to hear of your personal testimonies of how God is working in your own life? Are you growing in your love for the Word of God and letting them see it? Yes many will catch it but let’s not lose the reward of teaching them.
I have more to share but for now let’s examine our lives, our parenting and our homes. What are you teaching your children directly or indirectly? Are you aware of what they are watching, reading, texting, facebooking, speaking, doing outside your home? Are you aware of the “stuff” out there that is dominating your child’s attention? Do you know the agendas that are directed at your children in the schools and media? Have you heard the recent polls taken of our Christian youth and how they don’t even believe there is a devil, nor in absolute truths and that Jesus is only one of many ways? These are Christian youth that attend church regularly. Could that mind-set be one of ours?
Ok one more thought to go with the above questions. One of the enemy’s strategies would be to surround their target, or prey with the plan of cutting off food and water supply and therefore they would just surrender. Our enemies (we have three, the Devil, the World and our own Flesh) still seek to do the same thing. They want to cut us off from our food and water supply so we just surrender. We can surrender into the enemy’s hands without even realizing it. What is our food and water supply? The Word is our bread from heaven that we must gather daily for true nourishment. Our water is the Living Water of the Holy Spirit that warns and reminds us there is a battle that can and must be won. Do our children know the power they have available or are they surrendering into the hands of the enemies without a clue. Do they know what they are giving up? Have we told them and shown them? The wise kings would stockpile food and water in order to be prepared when an enemy attacked. We must be prepared and lead the way so our children are prepared for battle.

What will be our war cry?