Consecrated to Christ

Consecrated to Christ – He Said

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. – Proverbs 22:6

Listen to Consecrated to Christ  - He Said

Over two thousand years ago, a father chose the greatest scholar of his age to tutor his young son in liberal arts. The gifted instructor taught the boy in architecture, music, literature, politics, and natural sciences. A few years later, the boy, barely in his twenties, set out to conquer the world. He did. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires known to man, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and remains one of history’s most successful commanders. He died at the age of thrty-two, considered by many, a drunk and a womanizer.

Three centuries after the death of Alexander the Great, another father sent His Son out to conquer the world. He taught His boy to lead through serving, win through losing himself for others, and victory through loving his enemies. He, too, died near the age of thirty-two. Two thousand years later His army marches on.

Our role as parents is to observe our children with the eyes of objectivity, study their uniqueness, and guide them in the ways they will go when left in the center of God’s will. The Hebrew word “hanakh” means “to dedicate” or “to consecrate.” Once Christ dedicated His life to following the will of his Father, He could do nothing other than become our Lord and Savior.

If you find any measure of comfort and peace in Christ, know this: Sometime, somewhere, long before you became aware there was a God, an individual dedicated your life to God through prayer.

May we do the same each day for our children.

Teach Your Children

Prodigal? ME? – She Said

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

“We’re all prodigals, aren’t we?”

The Sunday morning message blared from the television. I dropped a tissue into the trash. My head throbbed and my body ached from the flu and I wasn’t sure I could listen to this hell-fire and damnation preacher scream at me. Chills crawled up my arms as the country pastor slammed his hand on the pulpit. “It’s true. We are all prodigals.”

I covered my head with the pillow, wishing I could will the remote into my hand. I’m not a prodigal. Not by any means. I pray every day and try to be the person God wants me to be; honest, truthful, loving. No. I’m not a prodigal.

There might have been a time I wandered but never very far. Maybe I questioned, but not very hard. Things were…well…status quo. My love for Christ never faltered…it just wasn’t pressing.

I sat straight up in the bed.

“Oh my gosh. I was a prodigal.”

Sometimes our view of God becomes so skewed by the world we wander away, searching for anything that might fill the void in our lives; never seeing the loving God who waits.

I was raised in the church and though my love for Christ never died, I succumbed to the world for a time…searching. At thirty-six I sat teaching a young adult Sunday school class. “How active are you in Christ’s life?” I asked. Then it hit me. Not very, but He was certainly active in mine. I was a prodigal. That was the turning point in my Christian life. I grasped hold of what I’d been taught and crawled home.

Solomon understood we eventually return to what we are taught. It never really leaves us, we just shove it away for a time. His words were not only a warning but an encouragement to parents. Teach them and they will not turn from it. We have sons who, like me for a time, search to fill the void. They’ve been raised beneath the wing of Christ. They’re fine young men and though their love for Christ has not died…they wander. We pray daily they will remember and not turn from the love of Christ but become active in Him again.

Raise them up in the ways of Christ. A time will come when they wander and seek. Eventually what they’ve been taught will resurface. God will work in their prodigal hearts and they will become active in Him. My job? To pray without ceasing.

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Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio’s Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. And now you can catch them on He Said, She Said Radio. at their new time, MONDAY’S at 6 p.m. (Call in number, 646-929-0706 ).

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