Nurturing Disciples of Christ:

How do I PREPARE my kids to stand guard against those flaming arrows?

By F. D. Adkins

Parenting is hard. I know when I had children, I thought I had a plan as to how I would raise them and teach them. I would be a perfect parent. However, I did not consider the unique personalities that God gives each of us. I did not take into account that my two children would have two entirely different temperaments and that what would work for one child might not work for another.

For example, my two children learn differently. Both of my kids could read pretty well before starting school. When my son was three years old, I purchased this kindergarten learn to read kit that was filled with lessons and books. We started and went through lesson by lesson. I made up games to help him learn sight words, and he learned to read over a period of about a year. So, when my daughter turned three, I pulled out my box of reading lessons and books only to have her want nothing to do with it. Well, I thought, she is still young. I put the box away and tried again in a few months only to receive the same response. Not wanting to push her, I put my box back on the shelf. Then, when my daughter turned four, she went to the shelf and took down the box.

“I am going to learn to read, Mommy.”

Of course, I was rather excited as I began opening lesson one as quickly as I could. Strangely enough, she flew through the lessons and could read every book in the box in two weeks. By the time she started kindergarten, she was reading chapter books.

You see, both of my children are equally intelligent and talented. However, my son has an easy-going, laid-back demeanor. He goes with the flow and does not get worked up easily. I often say I would love to be as relaxed as he is. His personality makes him a great baseball pitcher because he does not get shaken or stressed on the mound. No matter the count, he is calm, cool, and collected. On the other hand, my daughter has an extraordinary drive…if it is something she wants to do. The keywords here are “if it is something she wants to do.” However, if she is determined not to do something…, well, let’s just say that drive can be just as effective.

Now, my two children are both in high school, and I worry daily if I have given them the foundation they need to stay strong in their faith. God entrusted my husband and me with two of His unique masterpieces to guide and teach and care for. My great plan to be a perfect mother did not work out. As hard as I have tried, I have often taken the wrong approach and made many mistakes. However, I have also come to realize, that the only perfect parent is our Heavenly Father. As we embark on what is supposed to be a normal school year with a regular schedule, I know that I need instructions from my perfect Father to teach me how to prepare my kids for all that the devil has to throw at them as they go out into the world each day. So, as I searched the scripture, I created the acronym PREPARE to organize the points that I wanted to remember from my study and the verses that go with those points.

In order to PREPARE my children to stand strong with God in a fallen world, I need to:

Pray with my kids

Respect my children as a unique masterpieces of God

Educate myself and my children about situations the devil could throw at them.

Practice what I preach

Arm my children with the Word of God

Remember that I make mistakes and that I was young once too.

Encourage my children.

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Pray with my kids

• “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Philippians 4:6 KJV
• “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 KJV
• “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 KJV
• “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 KJV
• “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” John 5:14 KJV

A relationship needs communication. If I want my kids to have a close relationship with God, I need to teach them to pray and talk to God. The importance of prayer is emphasized over and over in God’s word: “pray without ceasing… in every thing by prayer…continue in prayer.” Jesus prays to the Father, and in Matthew 6, Jesus gives a model prayer to instruct us on how we should pray. When I pray with my children, they see me pray, and they learn to pray. A family prayer time in the morning is a powerful way to start the day.

Respect them as a gift from God

• “Lo, children are an heritage from the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” Psalm 127:3 KJV
• “And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.” Matthew 18:5 KJV
• “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:2-4 KJV

My children are unique masterpieces that God has entrusted to my husband and me to care for and teach. He created them with their own special talents and gifts. My job as a parent is to guide these children according to God’s word so that my children understand the path they need to take to accomplish God’s purpose for their lives.

Educate myself and my kids

• “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 KJV
• “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 KJV
• “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:11-13 KJV
• “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” Proverbs 22:15 KJV

The devil is always lurking, always looking for a crack to get his foot in the door. As an adult, I have more experience and knowledge about the evils and darkness that exist in this world. However, children can be blindsided if they are not warned about the evils that exist. As a parent, I need to be informed so I can warn my children. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control in the article “E-Cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students,” a survey revealed that twenty percent of high school students report they vape or use e-cigarettes. So, if one in five students admit to vaping in an anonymous questionnaire, could that number really be much higher?

Sadly, when our children go to public school, they will most likely not hear the mention of God, but they probably will encounter many things that go against God and His word. My kids need to know that these things they may see or hear or even be asked to do are wrong, and as God’s children, they need to be a light for Him shining for what is right.

Practice what I preach

• “Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being examples to the flock.” 1 Peter 5:3 KJV
• “In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned….” Titus 2:7-8 KJV

It is important that I show them how to follow God. I cannot tell them one thing and do another. In other words, if a television program is inappropriate for my children, is it not inappropriate for me as well? If I tell them not to use certain words, I should not be using them either. If I tell my children to pray and read their Bible, my children should see me pray and read my Bible.

Arm my kids with the Word of God

• “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by thy way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 KJV
• “All scripture is given by inspiration by God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16 KJV
• “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 KJV
• “We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” Psalm 78:4-7 KJV

Paul tells us in Ephesians to put on the armor of God so that we can stand strong against the devil’s attacks. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, He quoted scripture. The Bible tells us to teach these words to our children, and that if we teach our children in the right way, our children will keep that foundation when they are older. Reading the Bible with my children and helping them memorize scripture is critical in helping them guard against those flaming arrows of the evil one.

Remember I make mistakes and was once young too

• “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8 KJV
• “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 KJV
• “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8 KJV

My children are going to make mistakes just as I make mistakes. They have to learn just as I have learned and am still learning. It is my responsibility to guide them and be there to help them when they mess up whether it be to comfort them from the consequences of a hard lesson or to discipline them when their actions need correction.

Encourage my children

• “But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14 KJV
• “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13 KJV

The words, “…for of such is the kingdom of heaven,” make it clear how important children are to Jesus, and the Bible says that we are supposed to exhort or encourage each other daily. I need to give my children affirmation as they grow in their walk with the Lord.

Let us pray together for our children as they begin this school year. Let us give them the foundation they need to follow Jesus. Let us arm them with the tools they need to stand strong against the devil’s attacks. Let our love for Jesus shine so bright that it lights the path for our children.

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Sources:

“E-cigarette Use Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2020.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6937e1.htm.