Text: Psalm l27:3-5; l44:ll-l2; Mattew l9:20; Proverbs 22:6
"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." (Psalm l27:3-5). The task of rearing godly children has been given to godly men and women. God spoke of Abraham that "I know that he would instruct his children after him to follow the way of the Lord." Training children to follow the way of the Lord is a great delight of the Lord. The scripture says "Train up a child in a way he should go, and when he is old; he will not depart from it" (Genesis l8:l7-l9.
Training children as a single parent is an onerous and herculean task. However the grace of God is sufficient for you. There is a great possibility of raising amazing children as a single parent, but no man can do it alone, hence the need for you to partner with the almighty God. This will assist you to lead the kids to a thriving adulthood. One of the wives of the sons of the prophets, a widow, partnered with the Lord in securing the release of her son and she was not put to shame (II Kings 4:l-7).
God is the perfect parent whose care for single parents and their kids can be relied on. He offers perfect guidance and protection that is timeless and trustworthy.
l. The Challenge of Raising Godly Children Independently in an Insecure World.
Text: Judges l7:l-2; II Timothy l:5; Psalm l44:ll; Acts l6:l-2; I Samuel 8:l-5
The task of raising godly children in a corrupting world is an uneasy task. The arch-enemy of mankind and the family institution has consistently engaged in constant spritual warfare against the family through the various means available at his disposal. (Revelation l2:7-9).
The following are some of the challenges involved in raising godly children by single parents:
i. The present world lies in wickednes. This poses a severe threat against child training in our society. I John 5:l9
ii. The world is under the power of darkness (the devil); the arch-enemy of man and the redeemed. Satan has the manipulating power and he is very deceptive. John 8:44; Revelation l2:9; 20:l0
iii. The corrupting influence of the media. A study which was carried out by University of Rome recently on "negative effect of social media on children" revealed the following namely: Hate speech; Social distrust; Cyber bullying; Lack of interpersonal skill; Emotional implications; Identity theft; Explicit and violent imagery; Online grooming - (This involves using fake accounts to make friendship with children, get their school addresses and other vital information in order to bully and make s3xual contact with their victims). Additional negative effects include, Sleep deprivation; Internet addiction; and Facebook depression.
iv. The constant negative pressure from peer group. Proverbs l:l0
v. Their peculiar desire for a role model and if not watched this can lead to wrong imitation of worldly models.
vi. Their inward natural inclination (of the unregenerate) for sin. This is the natural human downward pull. Psalm 5l:5
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