When I was teaching the 6th-8th graders we would talk a lot about life and what the Lord expects of us in this life.
I always told them that there are 3 major decisions in life that you make that will impact the rest of your life. I just want to talk about those things today.
1. First and foremost the most important decision you will make in your life is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Our life cannot be whole or complete without this most important step. It doesn't matter where you come from, what you've done, who your parents are or were, or what is going on in your life, if you don't accept Jesus as your Savior your life will not be complete. Many people try to fill their lives with many things: drugs, alcohol, sex, material things, and the list could go on and on, but they are looking to fill a void with worldly things. That void will only be filled with: #1 Admitting that you are a sinner (Romans 8:28 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God), #2. Asking Christ to forgive us of our sins (1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness), and #3. Asking Christ to come in to your heart and save you and develop a personal relationship with Him (Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
2. I believe the second most important decision that we make in our life is who we marry! I believe that the Lord knows who He has out there for us and I believe we should be teaching our children to pray about and for their future spouse. Marrying the right person is such a joy. Serving the Lord with the ONE with whom He has chosen for you is a blessing. Raising children is hard, I cannot imagine doing that without the right person in your life! Does that mean it's always easy? Nope! Does that mean you won't argue, disagree, and fuss? Nope! But it does mean that we are supposed to forgive and move on and let it go!
I believe we should teach our children to pray and let the Lord show them who they need to be with. I don't believe that it is Biblical for children to "date around." Why do our girls and boys feel like they need to have multiple boyfriends and girlfriends? Every time they do this they are giving away a piece of themselves. Our culture is inundating them with the false teaching that they need to do this and we as Christian parents need to teach them different! Filling their life with multiple relationships could quite possibly go back to the matter of the heart which is salvation. It's OK to ask your children to tell you about when they got saved! They could be trying to fill their hearts with the opposite sex instead of Jesus.
JP loves to share with our children that he began praying for the Lord to send him the one that He had for him when he was around 15 years old. It wasn't long after that that the Lord called my family to the church where JP attended (my dad is a preacher) and he said he knew when I walked in that I was the one the Lord had for him! I wasn't as spiritual as JP and hadn't been praying for my husband, but thankfully the Lord knows what we need and answered JP's prayers, it took a little convincing for me ;) but I came around, and thank the Lord I listened.
Song of Songs 3:4 ...but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go...
3. I believe the third most important decision that you make (for the child of God) is what you will do with the rest of your life.
Our children (especially junior high and high school) need to be praying about what they will do with the rest of their lives. We need grown men and women who are going to serve the Lord in their professions or, if the Lord chooses, to become preachers or missionaries!
Our oldest will be a Junior in high school this year. She is on the cusp of determining what the Lord would have her to do with the rest of her life. I believe that the Lord has gifted her with certain talents and gifts with which He wants her to use. He made her, He knows her heart and He knows that she will be amazing doing a certain task for Him! He doesn't design our children by accident, or us for that matter. Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give us an expected end. The Lord thinks about and has a special plan for us and our children, isn't that a comfort and a blessing?
I'm so glad that He loves our children and gave them to us for a while! It is such a blessing to be a parent!
Thank you Lord!
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