by Mike Benson

QUESTION: "I am concerned about raising my two children in today's permissive society. ...What can I do to guide them in the right way?"

ANSWER: I appreciate your question, as well as your concern for your family. The Psalmist wrote, "Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it..." (Psalm 127:1a). With this passage in mind, let me encourage you to study the following:

1. Talk about God's word and will as part of your everyday conversation. We as parents often talk to our children about "everything under the sun," but then fail to discuss the most important subjects. Moses urged, "...These words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:6,7).

2. Avoid the "Don't do as I do, but do as I say" policy. Role models are extremely important to children. Unfortunately, "children are finding life-models on the televisions. The model now chosen and copied is crude, violent and amoral."1 Solomon said, "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). As a parent, your most effective training will come through your own godly example (cf. Ephesians 6:4).

3. Administer corrective discipline, in love, as necessary. The Bible says, "He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly" (Proverbs 13:24). "The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother" (Proverbs 29:15). "Do not withhold correction from a child; for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from Sheol" (Proverbs 23:13,14). Let me be very clear, the Bible in NO WAY condones child abuse, but IT DOES teach physical punishment. "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15).

1/ Gordon MacDonald, "Wear Shoes You Want Filled," The Effective Father, p. 102

by Mitchell Skelton

During the preparations for an evangelistic crusade in Latin America, a very poor, unshaven man came to one of the week-long biblical counseling courses. It was unusual to see a man of this condition attending an in-depth training session. Most often, those with a better education and social standing are the ones who take an active role in this type of intensive preparation. The illiterate man attended every class, but those in leadership did not expect him to do much counseling. Several weeks later, all available counselors were busy when a physician walked in. This shabbily-dressed man greeted the doctor and took him into a room for counseling. Once the director discovered what had happened, he became deeply concerned. When the doctor came out, the director asked if he needed any help. The physician replied, "No, thank you. This fellow has helped me very much." The next day that same doctor showed up with two other colleagues and asked to see the shoeless man. By the end of the week, that illiterate man had led four doctors and their wives to Christ. God needs nothing more than available servants.1

The call to evangelize was given to every Christian, when Jesus said "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel." "Go Ye" means Go Me! There are no excuses for not being evangelistic. Every Christian can evangelize in some way. You can tell someone why and how you came to Christ.

Evangelism by definition is spreading good news to a lost and dying world. Christians should be compelled to evangelize. "Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it" (1 Corinthians 9:16–19). Christians should be compelled by the love God has shown to us (John 3:16). We should be compelled by our love for others.

Evangelism has no room for excuses. If you are a Christian then you know enough to tell someone how to become a Christian. The power of the gospel message is not in the one who delivers but in the message itself. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16).

Unleash the power of the gospel today! Tell someone about Christ.

1 Christian Reader, Sept./Oct. 1991, p. 61.