Growing up as a kid, my favorite part in children’s church was singing “if the devil doesn’t like it, he can sit on a tack, ouch!” I pictured the little red devil I saw in the cartoons with a pitch fork and little horns and a long tail sitting his little red butt (excuse me, we say hiny in our house) down and screaming every time. I believe it is healthy for kids to not have a fear of the devil at all but I do want my kids to know his job is not just to greet cartoon people who take the elevator to Hell.
Proverbs 19:12 says, ” The kings wrath is like the roaring of a lion, but his favor is like the dew on the grass.” The writer is referring to God in his remark of a king, but who else is likened as a lion? 1 Peter 5:8 describes the Devil as walking around like a “roaring lion seeking whom he may desire” . I find it interesting that the enemy today is trying to imitate God of the old covenant. No there is not two different Gods, one of the new testament and one of the old. I am just saying there is no longer wrath from God under the new covenant to his children like the old covenant, because Jesus took the wrath of God on the cross, once and for all. Look at Isaiah 54:9-10 where God promises no more wrath or anger but a covenant of peace to His children(after the famous prophetic word of a savior in the chapter before). The good news says in 1 Thessalonians 5:9 , “For God didn’t appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ”. Of course the devil doesn’t want us or our children knowing that God will never again be angry with us, because his main objective is for God’s children to believe the lie that they are separated from a relationship with God because of sin. Even though Jesus paid for sin by dying on a cross, our children will daily hear two voices . One voice will be of acceptance, the other voice will be of accusation and condemnation.
If the enemy can convince you and your children that God might be mad at you or that you deserve punishment from God, then he has planted a lie in your family that will consciously on unconsciously manifest in sickness, discouragement or depression. This is why God set us free from sin consciousness (Hebrews 9:11-15 ), because our minds subconsciously says that “someone has to pay”. Our bodies will actually attack themselves because of guilt and condemnation and doctors often don’t know what is wrong with the body, but will try to prevent symptoms. You might ask, ” if there is sin, don’t we have to reap what we sow?” Yes in the worlds system, if you rob a bank, you will still go to jail. However God is not the one sending them to jail because punishment from God for robbing that bank is paid for on the cross to those who are saved. You might be thinking, “Well I can’t believe in that kind of radical grace because then every Christian will start doing what ever they want and sinning if that kind of grace is taught”. I tell my kids that no matter what they do in life, I will still love them and I am just loving them as an earthly dad, so it is extremely difficult to fathom how much more God loves them. The Father’s love is unconditional and He took every sin, past and future and placed it on Jesus and the cross. He took it a step further and bore our sickness and disease on his back while being whipped nearly to death. (Isaiah 53) So when you experience His grace and love then you don’t want to sin more but less! Look at Peter after denying Jesus and leaving him to be beaten, whipped and killed. Jesus went and found him and forgave him and Peter went on to live for Jesus and even died for Him. He experienced radical grace!
Romans 8:1 says “there is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus” from the original greek translation and later transcripts added “for those walk in the spirit” but when your children understand that God’s voice is never condemning then they will never believe the voice of the enemy saying they forgot to ask for forgiveness of a sin they did three years ago ( my daughter, who is eight , was reminding me of a sin that was bothering her from three years ago.) When your child understands the Holy Spirit convicts their hearts of the righteousness they have in Jesus, then they will never believe the enemy saying that sin is separating them from God or that He is mad at them. We all as parents need a grace to raise our children to know who God is not, because the enemy has so many children believing God has done things or said things He never said! When Jesus prayed God’s will be done on earth in the famous “Lords prayer”, He asked for God’s will on earth to be just like in Heaven. Have you ever heard a parent say “if God is willing then my child will be healed.” Do you want to know God’s will for your child’s life on earth? Is there sickness in Heaven or is there health? Is there forgiveness in Heaven or is there wrath? Understand God’s will for your children and teach them who God is not!
My mom taught me as a child to begin praying for my kids’ future spouses. She began praying for my spouse as I was growing up as a toddler. The stories my wife tells about growing up in an unsafe environment as a really small child and how the unseen hand of God protected her from harm is not coincidental. My mother described my spouse to God before she ever met her and I ever knew she existed. She prayed for a Godly woman who would be protected as child and would later join with me to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives. Today I bring that same prayer for my three children. I ask the Lord to protect the family environment the future spouses are growing up in, also that they too would fulfill God’s purpose and calling in their lives! Join with me in praying for our children and our grandchildren and specifically for their future spouses!
brandonpollard 