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Daily Encouragement Net - Encourage one another daily (Hebrews 3:13)
A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope, encouragement and exhortation.


Monday, May 2, 2005

"Godly Parents - An Endangered Species"

"Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

As I left a prayer meeting this morning a bumper sticker sure caught my attention. It stated "Godly parents - An Endangered Species". I can't speak for the situation all over the world but I suspect it's pretty similar to the conditions here in America everywhere. There is a decreasing number that sees a major priority in life to bring their children up in "the training and instruction of the Lord." But our hearts are so encouraged by those who heed this Biblical commission.

We had a wonderful unplanned visit this Saturday. Katie is a young lady who grew up in the church we pastored in north central Pennsylvania. Her family attended our church from the early eighties to 1993 when they moved on about the same time we did. After high school she went to Cedarville College in Ohio and is now a nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She was up in Lancaster for a conference with the ladies in her church and called her former pastor to ask if she could stop by and visit. Of course we said "Yes" and what a blessing!

Katie, along with her older sister and younger brother, are all diligently serving the Lord and are so serious about their commitment. (I had the privilege of conducting her older sister's wedding two years ago.) Their parents, Jack and Chris, raised them in "the training and instruction of the Lord" and we still recall their earnest desire to follow the Lord in obedience in our years of fellowship with them.

Indeed there is an urgent need for godly parents, who will take the responsibility to raise their children according to Biblical standards.  It requires sacrifice and perseverance and at times it seems no fruit comes from our labor.  But hold onto God's Word and this reassuring promise through the apostle Paul "that our labor in the Lord is not in vain" (II Corinthians 15:58).


Be encouraged today,


Stephen C. Weber

Note from Brooksyne:  I recently attended a Moms In Touch meeting where we read Scripture and prayed for an hour for our children and their walk with God.  We also lifted up their school teachers and the administration.  Katie's mother for many years belonged to a Moms In Touch group while her children attended the public schools.  That weekly commitment to praying for her children, along with the other ministries she and her husband provided for their children, served as a solid spiritual foundation on which they build their lives today - in their Christian walk, in their work relationships and in their family relationships.  Katie was so involved in various children and later youth activities in our church such as Sunday School, Missionettes, youth group, youth missions trips and Bible Quiz. Katie shared with us that she is very mindful that her blessings today that are a direct result of her Christian heritage and the foundation of provided by her godly parents and church.


Katie and Brooksyne
Katie with Brooksyne this Saturday.

Katie and Ester
Katie with Ester about 15 years ago.

Long-time friends
Katie's parents, Jack and Chris, with us and Mike and Kathy Matangelo
visiting in North Carolina this last summer.
(Katie's parents now live in southern Virginia.)

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Your comments are always welcome! If you are the original recipient (a member of the mailing list) merely reply to this email. If not or you would prefer to use a webform please visit the comments page. I sure appreciate the input and read each comment and am so often encouraged.  However due to the volume of email I receive I am not necessarily able to reply personally to each one. I regret this since often readers will share a particular need or have a specific question. I certainly do pray when I receive a prayer request and often my wife Brooksyne joins me.

Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission; and the King James Version.
 
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."

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