A few years ago we adopted a litter of cats to save them from being euthanized. Soon after, my daughter Jennifer who was 13 at the time, franticly phoned me while I was in town on business. As she sobbed my first thought was something had happened to my wife. Then she cried out that one of our kittens had been attacked by a bobcat. We live in an area that has lots of wildlife, and it is not unusual to also be visited by predators such as coyotes, bears, and snakes among other less threatening wild creatures.

I returned home to find that the kitten had expired. Now the litter that we intended to be outdoor pets had suddenly become indoor pets! We needed to be more diligent in protecting them from predators. Our family probably errs on the side of doing too much for our pets. Not unlike taking a dog for a walk, we take our cats outside for fun visits to the great outdoors. We now realize that a predator may be nearby at any moment, so to protect the cats, a family member stays with them while they are outdoors. In fact, just yesterday we had another near attack as a bobcat had stealthily approached one of our cats at a distance of about ten feet. My daughter intercepted the predator and chased it away.

Protecting Children From Predators

How much more do we need to protect our children from predators? The wolves are numerous and they may strike at any time! Your children are born sinners and are open to attacks from the enemy at any moment. The wise shepherd was with His sheep in the valley of the shadow of death, and parents need to follow suit with their children.

Jesus was with His disciples constantly until His disciples were trained. Even then He didn’t send them out alone, He sent these grown men out in twos.  Would He expect anything less with our children?

“After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.” (Luke 10:1-3).

Like Jesus With His Disciples, Be Present

Your physical presence is the best way to protect your children from predators. Keep your lambs with you, and they will have the best protection available.

Jesus kept a watch over His disciples. He was able keep watch by being physically present with them.  During the rare times when He was not physically present, He made sure that other mature believers were present to keep watch.

After you have created a wolf-free environment, you still can’t let down your guard. A wolf can quietly sneak in when you least suspect it. You must watch over your family.

The Wise Shepherd

Shepherds keep a constant watch on their flocks. Luke 2:8 tells us about the diligent shepherd, “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.” In order to protect their sheep from wolves, shepherds had to stay awake at night because under the cover of darkness sheep could easily be snatched away. The shepherd lost sleep in order to keep an eye on the flock. Shepherds avoided distractions and personal gratification because these were obstacles to them keeping watch.

Remove Your Blinders

As we noted, we need to make sure we are not blinded by distractions, personal desires or personal sin. We are to be pure in heart (Matt. 5:8). Are you? Or, are you troubled by some besetting sin? Are you distracted, too busy to keep your eyes on your lambs? You must stay pure, by confessing your sins and resisting temptation, because the safety of your children is at stake. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn. 1:9).

Watch and Deal With Your Child’s Sin

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child….” You also need to be watchful for your child’s sin, and you need to shepherd him to recognize and hate sin and turn away from it. Watchful parents need to lovingly discipline their children and guide them in repentance so they may see God and the enemy more clearly. You must monitor their activities.

Parents, you must literally keep your children in your sight. Like the wise shepherd, make sure you know where they are and what they are doing.

The 23^rd Psalm is about Jesus, our Shepherd. The Psalm tells us that the shepherd “prepared a table in the presence of enemies.” The table was a new pasture. After sheep had grazed in a pasture and had soiled it some time, the shepherd needed to provide a fresh pasture for them. Doing so required thoughtful planning and preparation. He needed to find a suitable place for the sheep to live; one that was safe and allowed them to flourish. He didn’t tolerate even one wolf; he created a wolf-free environment! Like Jesus with His disciples you are a shepherd of your children.

Your Home Environment

You need to take an inventory of your home environment. Do you have possessions in your home that are not God-honoring? Do you have music, videos, books or anything else that would not please the Lord? Now is a good time to clean house of anything that is defiling or spiritually dangerous.

Other Environments

Are there other environments that could have wolves? When my son Ryan was four we were attending a large church and we took him to Sunday school. The building was setup for security purposes in such a way that required parents to drop the children at a checkpoint. Numerous teachers worked in the children’s department. I never felt comfortable with not personally taking my son to his Sunday school class, but I trusted that the church knew what it was doing. One Sunday we learned from Ryan that a strange man identifying himself as his father tried to pick him up. When the teacher, who didn’t know me, attempted to hand Ryan over to this stranger, Ryan emphatically stated, “That’s not my dad!” The teacher didn’t bother to tell us about the incident. We withdrew him from children’s Sunday school, and he began attending Sunday school with us.

Preparing a Table: Planning in Advance

If you can’t safely leave your child with church workers, with who can you entrust them? You need to plan in advance about your child’s living environment; every place that they will go. You need to chase off the wolves, whether it is ungodly entertainment or technology, or teachers, or coaches who are unbelievers. You need to limit time with peers who naturally do what children do. Prov. 22:15 tells us that “foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;” all children are biblically defined as fools. Prov. 13:20 warns us and admonishes us to keep our children with those that are wise: “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

Jesus was constantly with His disciples and they were grown men. “I will fear no evil for You are with me.” Like Jesus, be a protector of your sheep. Eliminate the wolves. Protect them with your physical presence.

A shepherd knows his adversaries well. Wolves are on the attack! He has studied these wily creatures so he can anticipate the possible areas of attack. He understands the nature of wolves; when and how they may try to seize the lambs in his care. He has armed himself with a staff to ferociously beat back or kill an attacking wolf.

Today there are many kinds of predators that would desire to abuse, injure, or devour your children. Do you know who the predators are? Have you studied up on them? Our first book Disciple Like Jesus For Parents provides a  comprehensive treatment on wolves. We grouped wolves into five categories; they attack through philosophy, entertainment, technology, immorality and other predatory means. You must be aware of the nature of wolves that threaten your family. You must arm yourself and fiercely drive them away.

Like a Wise Shepherd, Be on the Alert!

Predators lurk everywhere and seek to reach our children through television, movies, music, books, games, magazines, websites, social networking, bullies, texting, peer pressure . We need to be aware of the danger of child abductions, sexual predators, drugs, hookups, partying, the homosexual agenda, STD’s, teen pregnancy, school violence, shootings, pornography, gangs, satanic rituals, suicide, etc. The dangers are seemingly endless and Satan is working overtime. You need to become experts on the wolves.

Jesus Warned His Disciples, Do You?

Once you become informed and are ready to beat back the wolves that threaten your family, you must prepare your children to beware of them and if necessary fight too. They need to know about the kinds of wolves that threaten them, and how to deal with the attacks.

Jesus warned His disciples about the wolves of the day; the Pharisees, and secular rulers that were false teachers. In Mark 8:15 we read, “Be careful, ‘Jesus warned them.’ Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.” Parents, arm your children with knowledge and tools to ward off the attacks of the enemy!

When my parents were growing up their families left their doors and windows unlocked. The milkman would come in the house and put the milk in the refrigerator. No one was concerned that crimes would occur in their small towns; there was trust that families were safe. These days everyone locks their doors and windows! The effects of the fall on mankind are continuously eroding the moral fiber of society.

• The open doors of busyness, distractions and neglect. Today families are so busy that not only are they missing out on wonderful opportunities to enjoy one another, they are leaving the door open for attacking wolves. Fathers and mothers are so busy with work, extracurricular activities, hobbies, entertainment, and social networking that they don’t recognize attacks on their family from the enemy. Don’t be deceived.
• The open door of your sin. The Bible tells in Rom. 3:23 “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every parent is a sinner. Did you know that your sin harms your spouse and your children? Our sin affects not only us, but others around us. Our sin opens the doors for attacks on our family. If that was not enough, our sins blind our eyes from seeing the attacks coming on our spouse and children! Jesus told us in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” If you have sins that you have not confessed, you can rest assured you are not seeing things as clearly as you should; you have opened the doors for attack, and the damage is considerable.
• The open door of your children’s sin. No matter how small your children may be, they are sinners. Don’t be fooled by those cherub faces. There are hidden horns and fangs in there! Seriously, every child is a sinner and their sins too leave the doors open for attacks from the enemy. Your child is being attacked by the enemy moment by moment. If you ignore your child’s sins, the attacks will escalate through these open doors.
• The open door of abdicating parental responsibility. You are the shepherd of your family; you ultimately make the decisions about how your children will be raised, trained and protected. If you allow these decisions to be made by worldly experts, your child will be discipled by the world. You are the parent. You get to decide what is best for your children. If you abdicate this responsibility then you leave the door open for wolves to consume your family.
• The open doors of debt and possessions. There is nothing inherently wrong with having money or possessions, but we are warned about the love of money. Scripture tell us in 1 Tim. 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” If you are tempted to go into debt to have a good education or nice cars or nice homes, then you could be leaving a door open to the enemy. How? Because your debt will cost you time with your family. Your debt may cause you and your spouse to work rather than spend time with your children. Debt may cause you to work longer. Debt may cause you to take a job that requires travel away from your family. Debt puts you in a position of weakness. Get rid of debt and enjoy freedom.
• The open door of cultural expectations. As you may know, the expectations of our culture are quite different than the expectations of the Lord. The culture expects you to use the “It Takes a Village” approach, while the Lord expects you to be the shepherd of your child. The culture expects you to be busy with your own self-gratifying pursuits, while the Lord expects you to be busy with your children. The culture expects professionals to teach your children, while the Lord expects you to teach the Word of God to them. The culture has no care for ministering to others who need the gospel, while the Lord has great concern for the spread of the gospel. The culture cares little about protecting your child, while the Lord has the utmost care that you protect him.
• The open door of amusements. The amusements available to us today could easily consume our entire lives. Consider some of them: television, movies, music, video games, sports, social networking, hobbies, texting, hanging out with peers, and the list goes on and on. Who profits from amusements other then the companies that sell them? While there is nothing wrong with the occasional amusement we receive as a gift from God, in one sense, amusements don’t help us, nor do they help others who are needy. Amusements help increase the profits of the businesses that produce them. If we allow our family to be consumed by amusements, we are leaving a door open for wolves to fill their minds with their message as opposed to God’s. Moreover, if we are consumed by amusement, we are simply wasting our lives. We might as well be dead.

1 John 2:16 sums up the things that open doors for the enemy to attack our families, “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” If parents and children fall to the temptations that the world has to offer, we will open up doors for attack. Let’s learn from the Shepherd ways to close and lock these doors so we may defend our families.

I began reading Alan Melton and Paul Dean’s book – Disciple like Jesus two weeks ago and every page I found my head shaking yes, yes, yes.

Then I began to pray that God would touch the hearts of others to begin reading this book and get it into the hands of leaders of every church. We must not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ – it is life! It is freedom! It is breath to our bones! It is a love story from beginning to end. We must stop looking for feel good solutions to our problems and look to God who is greater than anything in our life! That means the good and the bad.

Something missing in other parenting books

I’ve read so many parenting books in the last 5 years since coming to Christ. Sure some were good and even helpful. Yet, there always seems to be a hole in each one – and for the first time I think these men did it right. They touch on the real issue and it comes to down to one thing – FOLLOW CHRIST and His every example. NOT one of us can go wrong if we treat our children like Jesus did His disciples.

You see, “God gave His only Son, so that whomever shall believe will not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

We must live like we believe. You believe Jesus is God’s only Son. You believe God raise Him on the 3rd day! You believe His death on the cross paid for all of your sins – past, present and future! You believe that He is the only way to God in heaven. You believe that Jesus is sitting at the right hand of His Father speaking good things about you. You believe He is The Life, The Truth and The Way!

Yet, most of us don’t disciple our children in our own beliefs.

Sure we take them to church each week. Sure they attend Sunday School. Yet, that isn’t enough as far as God is concerned.

We have given our lives over to the world – too busy for real time discipling our children. We have bought into the worlds ideas – our children need to be involved in “x” number of activities to be socialized and prepared for life – more time away from us – more time out of the house, more time driving here and there. I often read blogs and see how busy they are going here and there – the moms are simply losing steam by keeping up with their children’s too full schedules. I ask myself each time, “is it worth it? Why are they so concerned about their children’s happiness?” Sure team sports can be a great tool to build character in a child and prepare them for many things in life – but when do we ask – at what cost? Some facts that inspire our family to keep on His path:

The Losses We are Experiencing

“Independent research groups indicate that 75% to 90% of our young people walk away from the church upon graduating high school. Every MINUTE we lose four youth, every HOUR we lose over 200, every DAY we lose over 5,000 and every year over 2,000,000. Our children are walking out the doors of church never to return.

Think about the enormity of losing two million children to the world every year. Something is definitely wrong. Parents are truly blindsided. Of the Americans who call themselves born again Christians, only about 9% have a biblical worldview. The majority lose their virginity by their second year of college. With more than 50% of Christian marriages ending in divorce, the church’s divorce rate is slightly worse than that of secular society.”

Chapter One starts with this fact: “If we think about the fact that almost 90% of our young people walk away from the church every year, we must consider that part of the problem is a faulty process. In fact, it does not go too far to say that the root cause of our losses is a faulty discipleship process that has been used by most Christian parents for decades.

In the average Christian home the total time spent on biblical training is less than five hours a week. With less than five hours of biblical training a week and more than eighty hours (80) of non-biblical training/influence per week from various sources, the non-biblical influence easily wins out shortly after our children leave home. As a result, our children and future generations are lost to the world.”

A Faulty Discipleship Process

I love what it says on the very next page: “The world training system we have bought into (as designed by Satan) is the opposite of what Jesus Christ did in making disciples. Jesus imparted biblical knowledge and wisdom, but more importantly, He cultivated deep trust from, heart relationships with, and a lifelong commitment to His disciples.”

Jesus said, “For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15

And what comes next you have to read for yourself – sorry but it is worth the time because our children deserve all that Jesus gave us – His life!

I highly recommend you checking out their blog and purchasing a copy of their book!

Back to Sunday school and why it isn’t enough? Because Jesus is the example.

Jesus is the Example to Follow

Jesus spent 3 years one on one with His disciples. He gave all He had to them. Pouring into them everything the Father told Him to. He loved them. He taught them. He feed them. He performed miracles before them. He prayed for them and with them. He gave them wisdom and taught them how to use it. He didn’t want anyone else teaching them the things of His Father. He did it!

I began reading through the gospels again myself to see all that Jesus spoke. I want to know the words He said so well that they become life inside of me. Because in order to disciple our children like Him – I must know what He asked of each of His disciples.

Jesus Had Much to Say

His words are pretty clear and His commands truly not a burden – love each other, as I love you. Serve others before yourself. Listen more than you speak. Speak in love and truth. Always forgive as you have been forgiven. Lay down your life for your brother. Follow Me and deny yourself. Everywhere you go – tell someone about Me. Share the good news. Give hope to others. If you need anything, ask My Father in My name and it will be given to you. Trust Me. Obey Me. Listen to what I say and then do as I ask because I love you.

Now I really shortened all the wisdom Jesus gives to us – but these words ring in my ears daily and they are the message loud and clear through Disciple like Jesus.

Our goal as parents is to help our children know that they know that they know Great is You Lord! That everything the world has to offer is nothing in comparison to the blessings He will give to them without end!

Walking in His amazing grace!

Jill Samter, Forever n Always