2/20/17

It has been longer than I would like between writings, we had a guest speaker last week and I spent my time with him rather than my computer!  It was a great week with another student giving his life to the Lord!  Please keep in mind that salvation, like most things in life, take adjusting to.  2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that we become a new creature, but we are carrying our old nature around with us...these boys who give their lives to Christ have some serious "un-learning" to do.  My encouragement today comes in the form of perseverance.  Dont' give up. My wife and I currently have 2 kids out of college, 3 in college and a slew of kids running around the house still, but what I am finding is that even with the older kids, we are not done!  When our kids leave our protection and accountability it takes them awhile to find new resources.  One of my sons has moved to a different state, seems like my job is done...or maybe not!  He still needs to be encouraged and held accountable.  He is on his own, and he is a man, but he is still a human being who is tempted, and he is still my son.  My discipleship of him needs to be passed on to other men in his local community.  Proverbs 29:15 states "The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."  We have all seen the sad outcome of children left to themselves, but I challenge  you to not stop parenting (really ever to some extent), but more pointedly to not stop discipling your sons until the mantle has been passed on to another man (or men).  We are all tempted and can easily fall out of fellowship with our Savior, but as a parent I encourage you to not let that happen due to a lack of accountability or encouragement on your part.  Be diligent, stay the course, and love your kids!  It takes work. This is not hard work, or too time consuming. Ask them questions. Ask how their prayer life is going; what are they currently reading in God's Word or other 'spiritual type' books (the best is when you both read through the same book together and you can ask them specific questions each week from the reading); what are they tempted with; have they fallen into any sin; how are they spending their money this week; how is their job and relationships at their job; are they attending church; are they involved in the local church in any way; do they have any unconfessed sin in their life....and the list goes on.  If you google "good weekly discipleship questions a whole range of options come up.  Do your job, stay the course, and watch God continue to change you and your son!

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