Teach Them diligently

By Leslie Lanier

(Taken from a testimonial of a Cord of 3 client)
As a child, I grew up in an abusive home.  There were five of us kids.   I was scared of the people who were supposed to love me and I couldn’t escape.  I was hopeless believing the life I was living was the way it would always be.  We were often shoved out the door and off to church. The pastor and his wife would pick us up in their huge car every Sunday no matter what; dirty, smelly clothes and all.  They truly loved us for who we were, showing us God’s love no matter what.  One Sunday I was sent to their house for a week, which meant dad and mom were having it out again.  I had no idea where my siblings were staying.  We were not taught to care for each other or anyone else for that matter.  I was amazed to see how the pastor and his wife lived.  There was no drinking, no cussing, no arguing or fighting.  Their house was so clean.  The first night there, I took a shower and put on clean night clothes.  I felt like an angel.  Then the pastor’s wife asked if I wanted my hair brushed and blown dry.  I had never felt so much love in my life until that moment.  At the tender age of 12, I made a choice.  I knew that this was how I wanted to live when I grew up.  I wanted to stay there forever, but like most good things, it came to an end.  This week with the pastor and his wife made an impression on me that would last a lifetime.   I knew then that what I wanted most in life was the love of God.
A family where the husband loves the wife and where the wife reverences her husband, and where the kids are taught to obey with love and discipline is what I was blessed to witness if only for a week.  As I lived in this home, I remember thinking that this is so different from anything I’ve ever known and I would love to grow up one day and have a family like this one.  My vision for life changed.  I only lived with this family for one week, but the love I was shown and the things I was taught in this home gave me a Godly vision and hope for a Godly family someday.  I began thinking of my life, hopeful for the future.

Where there is no vision the people perish

​What is Vision?  It is being able to look beyond what is going on now.  What vision do you have for your home?  Your family?  Your children?  What type of vision are you creating for your children?  Which home in the story above is what your children see?  Do they envision a chaotic, abusive home life for their future one day or do they see themselves living out the plan God has designed in His word for the family? 

Leading my children
It is my prayer that I can have a Biblical worldview as I guide, direct and instruct my family.  We are to warn against the wiles of the devil.  We are to show and train our children to have a Godly vision by shepherding and disciplining them.  Discipline and love are inseparable.  Ephesians 6:1-3 reads, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.  Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.  And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:  but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”  God gives our children the promise of a long life on the earth IF they obey and honour their parents.  “Foolishness is bound in the heart of the child.” Proverbs 22:15. Children thrive when discipline and love are used together.  Just as God chastens those he loves, we will chasten our children when we love them.

                       RAISE THEM UP, DON’T CRUSH THEIR SPIRIT – by Mark Hamby

In Hebrews Chapter 11, Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses are all the examples of faith who saw the promises of God but were able to persevere and not give up.  Scripture records (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and caves of earth.  And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.  God having provided for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”  These were strong men of faith who had a vision that if they persevered in their journey of faith, God’s promises would come true.  They walked out their vision in life whether they received the final promises of God or not.  Are you willing to have a Biblical vision for your life with a focus on the promises of God?  Because God’s word says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish:  but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 ​