3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350. For the crust crust combine in a bowl crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan or two pie pans. Set aside. For filling the filling beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined. Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours. Enjoy!
2 cups peaches 1/2 cup sugar (for peaches) 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar (for batter) 3/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350. Place 2 cups peaches in saucepan with 1/2 cup sugar until hot and sugar disolved. In the mean time melt butter in 2 quart baking dish. Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and milk. Don't worry if it's a little runny. Then place the batter over the top of the melted butter (DO NOT STIR) in the baking dish and put in the oven for 5 minutes to firm up. Add the vanilla to the peaches. Then place the peaches in the middles of the baking dish on top of the batter (DO NOT STIR) and place back in the over for 45 minute or until golden grown on top. Best served with whip cream or vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Always use soft words, even when you don’t feel well.
Always display kind actions and joyful attitudes, even if you have been mistreated. Have the right response by quickly forgiving others in your heart even before they ask.
Always be enthusiastic and look for opportunities to praise others' character.
Always deflect praise and be grateful to God and others for the ways they have benefited your life.
Always use manners and be respectful of others and their belongings.
Always do what is right, even when others may not, or when no one is looking.
Thank God for how He made you, for what He has given you and everything He allows you to go through. (Romans 8:28)
Don’t mock or put others down. Develop compassion and pray for others.
Never argue, complain, or blame. Quickly admit when you have done wrong and ask for forgiveness (even if you were only 10% at fault). Don't wait till you’re caught. Be sure your sins will find you out. He who covers his sin will not prosper, but he that confesses and forsakes it shall find mercy.
Have a tough accountability/prayer partner to daily share your heart with and to keep you in line (your parents, spouse). The power of sin is in secrecy.
Be attentive and look for ways to serve others with sincere motives and no thought of self-gain.
Think pure thoughts (Philippians 4:8, Romans 13:14).
Always give a good report of others. Don't gossip! Never tale-bear unless physical harm will come to someone. (Use Matthew 18.)
Never raise a hand to hit.
Never raise a foot to kick.
Never raise an object to throw.
Never raise a voice to yell.
Never raise an eye to scowl.
Use one toy/activity at a time. Share!
Do your best to keep your surroundings neat, clean and organized.
Never let the sun go down on your wrath. (Don’t go to bed angry or guilty)
Amendment J.O.Y. - Put Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.
Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? That God reigns supreme in Heaven is generally conceded; that He does so over this world, is almost universally denied-if not directly, then indirectly. More and more are men in their philosophizing and theorizing relegating God to the background. Take the material realm. Not only is it denied that God created everything by personal and direct action, but few believe that He has any immediate concern in regulating the works of His own hands. Everything is supposed to be ordered according to the (impersonal and abstract) “laws of Nature.” Thus is the Creator banished from His own creation. Therefore we need not be surprised that men, in their degrading conceptions, exclude Him from the realm of human affairs. Throughout Christendom, with an almost negligible exception, the theory is held that man is “a free agent,” and therefore, lord of his fortunes and the determiner of his destiny. That Satan is to be blamed for much of the evil which is in the world is freely affirmed by those who, though having so much to say about “the responsibility of man,” often deny their own responsibility, by attributing to the Devil what, in fact, proceeds from their own evil hearts (Mark 7:21-23).
But who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? Attempt to take a serious and comprehensive view of the world. What a scene of confusion and chaos confronts us on every side! Sin is rampant; lawlessness abounds; evil men and seducers are waxing “worse and worse” (2 Tim. 3:13). Today, everything appears to be out of joint. Thrones are creaking and tottering, ancient dynasties are being overturned, democracies are revolting, civilization is a demonstrated failure; half of Christendom was but recently locked-together in a death grapple; and now that the titanic conflict is over, instead of the world having been made “safe for democracy,” we have discovered that democracy is very unsafe for the world. Unrest, discontent, and lawlessness are rife everywhere, and none can say how soon another great war will be set in motion. Statesmen are perplexed and staggered. Men’s hearts are “failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). Do these things look as though God had full control?
But let us confine our attention to the religious realm. After nineteen centuries of Gospel preaching, Christ is still “despised and rejected of men.” Worse still, He (the Christ of Scripture) is proclaimed and magnified by very few. In the majority of modern pulpits He is dishonored and disowned. Despite frantic efforts to attract the crowds, the majority of the churches are being emptied rather than filled. And what of the great masses of non-church goers? In the light of Scripture we are compelled to believe that the “many” are on the Broad Road that leadeth to destruction, and that only “few” are on the Narrow Way that leadeth unto life. Many are declaring that Christianity is a failure, and despair is settling on many faces. Not a few of the Lord’s own people are bewildered, and their faith is being severely tried. And what of God? Does He see and hear? Is He impotent or indifferent? A number of those who are regarded as leaders of Christian-thought told us that God could not help the coming of the late awful War, and that He was unable to bring about its termination. It was said, and said openly, that conditions were beyond God’s control. Do these things look as though God were ruling the world?
Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? What impression is made upon the minds of those men of the world who, occasionally, attend a Gospel service? What are the conceptions formed by those who hear even those preachers who are counted as “orthodox?” Is it not that a disappointed God is the One whom Christians believe in? From what is heard from the average evangelist today, is not any serious hearer obliged to conclude that he professes to represent a God who is filled with benevolent intentions, yet unable to carry them out; that He is earnestly desirous of blessing men, but that they will not let Him? Then, must not the average hearer draw the inference that the Devil has gained the upper hand, and that God is to be pitied rather than blamed?
But does not everything seem to show that the Devil has far more to do with the affairs of earth than God has? Ah, it all depends upon whether we are walking by faith, or walking by sight. Are your thoughts, my reader, concerning this world and God’s relation to it, based upon what you see? Face this question seriously and honestly. And if you are a Christian you will, most probably, have cause to bow your head with shame and sorrow, and to acknowledge that it is so. Alas, in reality, we walk very little “by faith.” But what does “walking by faith” signify? It means that our thoughts are formed, our actions regulated, our lives molded by the Holy Scriptures, for, “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). It is from the Word of Truth, and that alone, that we can learn what is God’s relation to this world.
Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God or the Devil? What saith the Scriptures? Ere we consider the direct reply to this query, let it be said that the Scriptures predicted just what we now see and hear. The prophecy of Jude is in course of fulfillment. It would lead us too far astray from our present inquiry to fully amplify this assertion, but what we have particularly in mind is a sentence in verse 8-“Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion and speak evil of dignities.” Yes, they “speak evil” of the Supreme Dignity, the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Ours is peculiarly an age of irreverence, and as the consequence, the spirit of lawlessness, which brooks no restraint and which is desirous of casting off everything which interferes with the free course of self-will, is rapidly engulfing the earth like some giant tidal wave. The members of the rising generation are the most flagrant offenders, and in the decay and disappearing of parental authority we have the certain precursor of the abolition of civic authority. Therefore, in view of the growing disrespect for human law and the refusal to “render honor to whom honor is due,” we need not be surprised that the recognition of the majesty, the authority, the Sovereignty of the Almighty law-giver should recede more and more into the background, and the masses have less and less patience with those who insist upon them. And conditions will not improve; instead, the more sure Word of Prophecy makes known to us that they will grow worse and worse. Nor do we expect to be able to stem the tide-it has already risen much too high for that. All we can now hope to do is warn our fellow-saints against the spirit of the age, and thus seek to counteract its baneful influence upon them.
Who is regulating affairs on this earth today-God, or the Devil? What saith the Scriptures? If we believe their plain and positive declarations, no room is left for uncertainty. They affirm, again and again, that God is on the throne of the universe; that the sceptre is in His hands; that He is directing all things “after the counsel of His own will.” They affirm, not only that God created all things, but also that God is ruling and reigning over all the works of His hands. They affirm that God is the “Almighty,” that His will is irreversible, that He is absolute Sovereign in every realm of all His vast dominions. And surely it must be so. Only two alternatives are possible: God must either rule, or be ruled; sway, or be swayed; accomplish His own will, or be thwarted by His creatures. Accepting the fact that He is the “Most High,” the only Potentate and King of kings, vested with perfect wisdom and illimitable power, and the conclusion is irresistible that He must be God in fact as well as in name.
It is in view of what we have briefly referred to above that we say, Present-day conditions call loudly for a new examination and new presentation of God’s omnipotency, God’s sufficiency, God’s Sovereignty. From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, that God still reigns. Faith is now in the crucible, it is being tested by fire, and there is no fixed and sufficient resting-place for the heart and mind but in the Throne of God. What is needed now, as never before, is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God. Drastic diseases call for drastic remedies. People are weary of platitudes and mere generalizations-the call is for something definite and specific. Soothing-syrup may serve for peevish children, but an iron tonic is better suited for adults, and we know of nothing which is more calculated to infuse spiritual vigor into our frames than a scriptural apprehension of the full character of God. It is written, “The people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Dan. 11:32).
Without a doubt a world-crisis is at hand, and everywhere men are alarmed. But God is not! He is never taken by surprise. It is no unexpected emergency which now confronts Him, for He is the One who “worketh all things after the counsel of His own will” (Eph. 1:11). Hence, though the world is panic-stricken, the word to the believer is, “Fear not!” “All things” are subject to His immediate control: “all things” are moving in accord with His eternal purpose, and therefore “all things” are “working together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” It must be so, for “of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things” (Rom. 11:36). Yet how little is this realized today even by the people of God! Many suppose that He is little more than a far-distant Spectator, taking no immediate hand in the affairs of earth. It is true that man is endowed with power, but God is all-powerful. It is true that, speaking generally, the material world is regulated by law, but behind that law is the law-Giver and law-Administrator. Man is but the creature. God is the Creator, and endless ages before man first saw the light “the mighty God” (Isa. 9:6) existed, and ere the world was founded, made His plans; and being infinite in power and man only finite, His purpose and plan cannot be withstood or thwarted by the creatures of His own hands.
We readily acknowledge that life is a profound problem, and that we are surrounded by mystery on every side; but we are not like the beasts of the field-ignorant of their origin, and unconscious of what is before them. No: “We have also a more sure Word of Prophecy,” of which it is said ye do well that ye “take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). And it is to this Word of Prophecy we indeed do well to “take heed,” to that Word which had not its origin in the mind of man but in the Mind of God, for, “the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake moved by the Holy Spirit.” We say again, it is to this “Word” we do well to take heed. As we turn to this Word and are instructed thereout, we discover a fundamental principle which must be applied to every problem: Instead of beginning with man and his world and working back to God, we must begin with God and work down to man-“In the beginning God!” Apply this principle to the present situation. Begin with the world as it is today and try and work back to God, and everything will seem to show that God has no connection with the world at all. But begin with God and work down to the world, and light, much light, is cast on the problem. Because God is holy His anger burns against sin; because God is righteous His judgments fall upon those who rebel against Him; because God is faithful the solemn threatenings of His Word are fulfilled; because God is omnipotent none can successfully resist Him, still less overthrow His counsel; and because God is omniscient no problem can master Him and no difficulty baffle His wisdom. It is just because God is who He is and what He is that we are now beholding on earth what we do-the beginning of His outpoured judgments: in view of His inflexible justice and immaculate holiness we could not expect anything other than what is now spread before our eyes.
But let it be said very emphatically that the heart can only rest upon and enjoy the blessed truth of the absolute Sovereignty of God as faith is in exercise. Faith is ever occupied with God. That is the character of it; that is what differentiates it from intellectual theology. Faith endures "as seeing Him who is invisible" (Heb. 11:27): endures the disappointments, the hardships, and the heartaches of life by recognizing that all comes from the hand of Him who is too wise to err and too loving to be unkind. But so long as we are occupied with any other object than God Himself there will be neither rest for the heart nor peace for the mind. But when we receive all that enters our lives as from His hand, then, no matter what may be our circumstances or surroundings-whether in a hovel, a prison-dungeon, or a martyr’s stake-we shall be enabled to say, “The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places” (Psa. 16:6). But that is the language of faith, not of sight or of sense.
But if instead of bowing to the testimony of Holy Writ, if instead of walking by faith, we follow the evidence of our eyes, and reason therefrom, we shall fall into a quagmire of virtual atheism. Or, if we are regulated by the opinions and views of others, peace will be at an end. Granted that there is much in this world of sin and suffering which appalls and saddens us; granted that there is much in the providential dealings of God which startle and stagger us; that is no reason why we should unite with the unbelieving worldling who says, “If I were God, I would not allow this or tolerate that,” etc. Better far, in the presence of bewildering mystery, to say with one of old, “I was dumb, I opened not my mouth: because Thou didst it” (Psa. 39:9). Scripture tells us that God’s judgments are “unsearchable,” and His ways “past finding out” (Rom. 11:33). It must be so if faith is to be tested, confidence in His wisdom and righteousness strengthened, and submission to His holy will fostered.
Here is the fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is “of the world,” judges everything by worldly standards, views life from the standpoint of time and sense, and weighs everything in the balances of his own carnal making. But the man of faith brings in God, looks at everything from His standpoint, estimates values by spiritual standards, and views life in the light of eternity. Doing this, he receives whatever comes as from the hand of God. Doing this, his heart is calm in the midst of the storm. Doing this, he “rejoices in hope of the glory of God.”
In these opening paragraphs we have indicated the lines of thought followed out in this book. Our first postulate is, that because God is God He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases; that His great concern is the accomplishment of His own pleasure and the promotion of His own glory; that He is the Supreme Being, and therefore Sovereign of the universe. Starting with this postulate we have contemplated the exercise of God’s Sovereignty, first in Creation, second in Governmental Administration over the works of His hands, third in the Salvation of His own elect, fourth in the Reprobation of the wicked, and fifth in Operation upon and within men. Next we have viewed the Sovereignty of God as it relates to the human Will in particular and human Responsibility in general, and have sought to show what is the only becoming attitude for the creature to take in view of the majesty of the Creator. A separate chapter has been set apart for a consideration of some of the difficulties which are involved, and to answering the questions which are likely to be raised in the minds of our readers; while one chapter has been devoted to a more careful yet brief examination of God’s Sovereignty in relation to prayer. Finally, we have sought to show that the Sovereignty of God is a truth revealed to us in Scripture for the comfort of our hearts, the strengthening of our souls, and the blessing of our lives. A due apprehension of God’s Sovereignty promotes the spirit of worship, provides an incentive to practical godliness, and inspires zeal in service. It is deeply humbling to the human heart, but in proportion to the degree that it brings man into the dust before his Maker, to that extent is God glorified.
We are well aware that what we have written is in open opposition to much of the teaching that is current both in religious literature and in the representative pulpits of the land. We freely grant that the postulate of God’s Sovereignty with all its corollaries is at direct variance with the opinions and thoughts of the natural man, but the truth is, we are quite unable to think upon these matters: we are incompetent for forming a proper estimate of God’s character and ways, and it is because of this that God has given us a revelation of His mind, and in that revelation He plainly declares, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8, 9). In view of this Scripture, it is only to be expected that much of the contents of the Bible conflicts with the sentiments of the carnal mind, which is enmity against God. Our appeal then is not to the popular beliefs of the day, nor to the creeds of the churches, but to the Law and Testimony of Jehovah. All that we ask for is an impartial and attentive examination of what we have written, and that made prayerfully in the light of the Lamp of Truth. May the reader heed the Divine admonition to “prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 Thess. 5:21).
Man’s natural state is a state of “total depravity” affected by the Fall, therefore has a total inability on the part of man to gain or contribute to his own salvation because sin extends to the whole of the faculties – the will, the understanding, the affection, etc. . .
Man, by nature, is. .
Dead: Eph 2:1
Bound: 2 Tim 2:25
Blind & Deaf: Eph 4:18
Uninstructable: 1 Cor 2:14
Naturally Sinful:
By Birth: Psa 51:5
By Practice: Gen 6:5
Enslaved to Sin: Rom 6:17
Sinners Cannot:
Understand: 1 Cor 2:14
Hear: John 8:43
See: John 3:3
Come: John 6:44
Be Subject To The Law Of God:
Rom 8:7
“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.” (Job 14:4)
“Can the Ethopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may we also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” (Jer 13:23)
“ . . . . . . . .Rom 3:20-23)
Unconditional Election
By God’s decree, He saves from corruption and damnation those whom He has chosen from the foundation of the world, not for any disposition, faith, or holiness that He foresaw in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ Jesus His Son, passing by all that rest, according to the irreprehensible reason of His own free-will and justice.”
God’s foreknowledge is spoken of in a connection with a people and not in a connection with any action which people perform.
Rom 8:29-30
Rom 9:11-16
We are not chosen because we perform such a holy work as “accepting” Christ but we are chosen so that we might be able to “accept” Him.
Eph 1:4-5
Eph 15:16
Rom 11:7
Election is not on account of our believing, but our believing is on account of being elected- “ordainted to eternal life.”
Acts 13:48
John 15:16
John 10:25-27
Where did we get the faith to excerise?
Eph 2:8
Tit 3:3-5
“ . . . . . .Rom 9:11-16
Limited Atonement
A full, perfect and satisfactory “atonement” was still required for the sins of the elect, so that God might be, not only a Saviour, but a just God, and a Saviour. Christ bore punishment and procured salvation.
Whose punishment did He bear, and whose salvation did He procure?
All men
No one in particular
A certain number
“I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen.” (John 13:18)
“Jesus Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people.” (Tit 2:14
“For this is my blood of the new testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt 26:28)
“. . . thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21)
“ . . . . . .Rom 4:25-5:1-9
Irresistible Grace
For a work of salvation to be wrought, the outward call must be accompanied by the inward call of God’s Holy Spirit, for He it is who “convinces of sin, and righteousness, and judgment.” Thtat call is the manifestation of God’s irresistible grace.
John 6:37 – All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 6:44 – No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him.
John 6:45 – Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me.
Rom 8:14 – For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Gal 1:15 – But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace.
1 Pet 2:9 – But ye are a chosen generation . . . a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Pet 5:10 – But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.
“. . . .. Rom 5:15-21
Perseverance of the Saints
The believers hallmark is in that of belonging to Christ; that he is persevering in the things of Christ; that he is ‘giving all diligence to make his calling and election sure.’
Phil 1:6 – He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
1 Thess 1:-34 – Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.
Rom 8:1 – There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Having ordained to save, died to save, and called to salvation those who would never save themselves, He will also preserve those saved ones unto eternal life to the glory of His Name.
Pro 2:8 – He preserveth the way of his saints.
John 6;39 – All which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 10:28 – I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
Psa 31:23 – O love the Lord, all ye his saints; for the Lord preserveth the faithful.
Psa 37:28 – For the Lord forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever.
It's roots are inward but it's fruit is outward. It is our best friend or our worst enemy. It is more honest and more consistent than our words. It is an outward look based on past experiences. It is a thing that draws people to us or repels them. It is never content until it is expressed. It is the librarian of our past, It is the speaker of our present, It is the prophet of our future. What is it it? It's our attitude!
Attitude is a persons prevailing tendency to respond favorable or unfavorable to an object, a person, group, or event. It is how we think or feel.
I’m sure that all of us, as believing "home training" families, have all been asked the question many times, "What about socialization???" Many of our well meaning relations have brought up this subject numerous times and have needed to be reassured with a satisfactory answer for the sake of our beloved children. We have come to the conclusion that the only answer you can give to this question is that socialization is not a term that Christians should even consider or worry about!!!
First, what exactly is socialization?
The dictionary definition of socialize is this: 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To fit with others; make sociable in attitude or manners. 3. To convert or adapt to the needs of society.
Davis Dictionary of the Bible states that "the word world is frequently used for the inhabitants of the world." In other words, "world", as used in the Bible, is in regards to society.
Socialization is simply learning to conform with today’s society or world!
Each of us that were trained by the public education system of our time grew up with the idea that, after a long day of being in school, we could go and play with the neighborhood children or friends we made from school. There was never any question as to the desirability of our companions as we had to all get along in our neighborhood!
Much of our upbringing has overflowed into our home training lifestyle and we need to reexamine what is "normal" to us... and if it is scriptural.
What does the bible have to say about conforming to society?
John 15:18-19 says, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, (or paraphrased - you are not to be socialized!) therefore the world hateth you!"
Romans 12:2 states, "And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Would it be fair to say that if we ARE conformed to this world, and are NOT transformed by the renewing of our mind, that we will NOT KNOW what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God? Heaven forbid if we allow our children to be conformed or socialized to the world and its ways!
We must be cautious that we do not get carried along with the homeschooling movement as it has become no longer just a Christian issue.
As believers, we should NOT want our children to be socialized as the world sees it. We need to be very careful of whom our children see and are around.
In the homeschooling movement are a growing number of people who are not teaching their children because of Biblical convictions but are doing it for educational purposes. We constantly hear from people who are dismayed with support groups whose "center" is not Christ at all, but education and socialization. Many of these homeschoolers do not profess Christianity but are following the New Age and humanistic philosophies.
One of their main objectives is that they believe they can turn their children into even better citizens (or socialized individuals) than what the public education system is doing.
But why are we training our children? The reason Christians are undertaking this is because of the Word of God! The scriptures clearly tell us it is the responsibility of the parent to train their own children up in the admonition and love of the Lord. Now what fellowship, dear brother or sister, have we with that of the world? What could we possibly have in common with those who are NOT homeschooling for the same reason?
A fear tactic is used to keep people in deception regarding socialization!
What starts to happen when people ask, "Aren’t you worried about socialization?" is that this very question plants a little seed in ones heart. It may sow a little seed of doubt that maybe our children won’t be brought up normal! Or another deceptive thought this humanism breeds is, "Don’t you know that your children aren’t going to know how to get along in this world?" ... "They aren’t going to know how to get along with people who are not like them!"
The list goes on and on. But if we are training our children up in the Word of God we know our children are not going to be "normal" compared to the world’s or society’s standards!
As believers, we should know that our children will be happily different than other children... Our children will be raised up with a love for God and a respect for God and His family of believers here on earth.
The fear that is instilled by people that don’t quite understand the Biblical teaching that we will not conform to this world or society, by saying that our children are going to be "different", can only affect us because of our own socialization!
Are we afraid to stand for the Word of God? Are we so far damaged by the result of our own selves being socialized that we listen to the whispers of humanism and accept these thoughts as truth without ever searching in the Scriptures as what the Lord would say? It is our duty as children of God to find out what HE would say in response to socialization.
The missionary concept regarding our children has kept many children from being trained up by their parents and are still in public school today as a result.
The missionary concept is the belief that we need to have our children out in the world witnessing and interacting with other children that are not believers. That it is their responsibility as young believers to be with and teach non-believers about the Lord and His Word.
What happens with this philosophy is that the children are then allowed to mix with children that are not being trained up in God’s Holy Word with the thought that they will be a good and righteous influence upon those that are devoid of truth. Does this thought line up with God’s Word?
The belief that children of good moral character befriending and training those that are of a bad character (or that character which is trained up in worldliness) is contrary to sound Biblical teaching:
1 Cor. 15:33. Be not deceived; evil communications corrupts good manners.
According to the Strong’s Concordance communications means companionship; association together; company!
This scripture makes it very clear that evil company will only make the good corrupt! Not the other way around!!! If the scriptures say these things, are we willing to test them to see if they are true? Are we willing to take this chance with the character of our own precious children?
Here are some more scriptures to ponder regarding this subject:
Prov. 9:6. Forsake the foolish and live.
Prov. 13:20. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.
Here is an allegory that one brother came up with. He worked at the Olympic Training Center and was talking about the way the athletes lived. They were put on very rigorous schedules and very disciplined diets, some for years and years, during the time that they were preparing for the Olympic tryouts. During this time, they were only allowed one goal in their minds, and that was to win the opportunity to compete in the Olympics! Nothing else was allowed to be focused upon in their lives.
Do you know what they call this period of time during an athlete’s life? Training!
The dictionary definition of training is: 1. To coach in or accustom to some mode of behavior or performance. 2. To make proficient with specialized instruction and practice. 4. To cause to take a desired course or shape.
The Strong’s Concordance definition of train in Prov. 22:6 (Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it...) is Hebrew #2596:
To narrow. To initiate or discipline. Dedicate; Train up!
The term "Narrow Minded" has usually been used in a derogatory manner towards people who have a narrow view or regard life through an unmovable philosophy or viewpoint. We should be very encouraged when we are viewed this way!
Dear believers, if the world regards training so seriously today in an effort to win such a prize as an Olympic medal, why do we not regard as seriously our race that Paul preached about....
1 Corinthians 9:24-27: Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air; but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Do these scriptures sound as if we are to be passive towards the goal of living a life unto Christ? How much more should we teach our children to be careful in the race towards Christ and to not be afraid to train them! Sheltering our children during this time of training is not bad!
One of the goals of socialization is to broaden the minds of our children and not have them be "narrow-minded"!
A very popular bumper sticker that is seen on the rear of many cars reads: "CELEBRATE DIVERSITY" ! It is a very sad thing to see many religious organizations accepting this same philosophy. We have accepted as "normal" perversity! Another bumper sticker recently read: "CELEBRATE PERVERSITY?"
Socialization can be devastatingly dangerous to children that are not yet founded in the Word of God and are easily swayed by others.
Prayerfully, if we bring each of our children up to not regard the opinion of their peers higher than the opinion of their parents, and we insure that those who they do have minimal interaction with are being trained with the same goals, we then will have beaten this humanism! The outcome for our children will be that they will never have been socialized, or in other words, made worldly!!
Socialization also has been Christianized so that many have been deceived into letting their children befriend the world.
The scriptures teach us to GO into all the world and preach the Gospel, but does this mean that we go and befriend the world? Did our examples, the apostles, befriend the world? What did they have to say about this?
James 4:4. Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Socialization is also based on the belief that if our children so not play with other children, they will not be able to function in society.
This belief has pressured many of us to allow our children to play and associate more often than what we should with others children. This is where we need to question this belief and line it up with the Word of God. First of all, what does the Bible have to say about children?
Prov. 22:15. Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Prov. 29:15. The rod and reproof give wisdom; but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
How many times have we allowed our children to play with other children and then go off and let them tend to themselves? So many times we have let our little ones occupy themselves with playmates while we get things done that needed to be tended to, and have not supervised the situation. Many times, these situations have ended with children getting hurt or fights breaking out. Tears are shed and the parent never really knows exactly what happened or who really was at fault in these instances. If one is in the habit of doing this often, isn’t it doing what is spoken of in Prov. 29 of leaving our children to themselves? And not only that, we are allowing them to train each other! We are letting foolishness train up foolishness.
There is nothing wrong with children playing together. But the philosophy that they must play together to grow up functional is never mentioned once in the Word of God. The Scriptures which talk about children are all based around the parents having interaction... not peers.
The family is where biblical socialization starts and ends . . .
The following are scriptures that admonish us in who is necessary in the training of our children. Please note that there is not one scripture throughout the whole Bible that says peers are needed in this training. Read 1 Kings 12:1-16 that tells us what happened to King Rehoboam because of peer pressure and influence.
Deut. 6:6-7 & 11:19... And thou shalt teach them (God’s Statutes) diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
This scripture says to diligentlyteach our children and then goes on to say that during each moment of our lives we are to teach them... not just speak them but also teach through our actions... constantly. It doesn’t sound here as if the parents were allowed too much "time for themselves"!
Prov. 22:6. Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Prov. 29:17. Correct thy son and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.
Eph. 6:4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
WHO is told to train up the children? The parent. Who is to chastise and correct? The parent. Who is to teach the children God’s ways? That’s right, the parent!
Scripturally, the parent and the family is all that is necessary for a child to be trained up correctly, if that training is based on God’s Word. We no longer need to be afraid that if we are careful of our children’s associations we will cause irreversible psychological damage to them! It is actually quite the opposite. We could cause spiritual harm to our blessed offspring if we aren’t careful of socialization.
Socialization has had an affect upon believers that were brought up in the public schools and are now raising children.
Public school has done a very good job in influencing most of the parents today. The aspect of socialization has caused many of us to be afraid to stand up and do things a little bit differently. But this is what socialization was meant to do! It is to ensure that people follow along with what society says is normal! When people lift up their eyebrows when you say you "home teach" your children, their reaction is only because they were not trained this way and they wonder if another way could be successful.
The aspect of expertism comes in also... Pretty soon, we are wondering if we will need degrees to be mothers and fathers!
In order to do anything successfully, one must have a university and college degree... only then does a person know what they are doing!
Socialization is not just a simple thought that children must play with other children. It runs much deeper than that. When humanism declared that all children must interact it was part of their belief of reconstructing and reforming the mind set of America. It is a way to have the people in society keep an eye on the rest of society! It causes people to never step out and think for themselves and never weigh society’s teachings with what God’s Word is saying!
We do not know how much longer the Government will tolerate believers home training their children. We pray that God will soften the hearts of those in authority over us... We need to keep on the alert and watch! Socialization is not a Christian philosophy. Rather, it is totally contrary. Many people do not realize this and so are allowing their children to have influences in their lives that are harmful to their spiritual growth. Many of these influences come through the guise of homeschooling. Many through the influence of television.
My wife recently stated that many seemingly innocent cartoon characters were hurting believer’s children... She was questioning me, if Donald Duck came to play with our children, would we let him in? Now Donald Duck seems to be a relatively harmless fellow but if you take a closer look at his character, he is known for his selfishness, grumpiness and deviousness. If you happen to let your children befriend cartoon characters, take a closer look at their character and see what they reflect!
One family uses these questions as a checklist for their children’s associations:
1. Do they have a deep love and respect of the Lord and His Word?
2. Do they choose not to conform to this world as in Romans 2:2 & John 15:18-19. (This is a very sensitive subject as different families have different beliefs as to what conformity is. The head of each family should decide for his own offspring what their standard will be. Also, be charitable and remember that all of us are in different states of growing with the Lord and to look at the openness of people in their attitude to God’s Holy Word.)
3. Do they have attitudes of respect for one another and operate through a character of brotherly kindness and love?
Beware, dear saint, that we do have an enemy, and this enemy definitely wants the hearts, minds and souls of our children. Do not underestimate him, but be watchful and alert!
1 Peter 5:8-9 "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
Thanksgiving is our family’s favorite time of celebration. I always take the time to read a Christian version of the story of the Pilgrims to our children. They never cease to be inspired when told about how a part of a body of Protestants called Puritans, those called so because they wished to purify the Church and realizing this couldn’t be done, came seeking freedom in America to worship as they thought they should. Before 1600, some of the Puritans decided that they could not reform the Church from within. They separated from the Church of England and set up congregations of their own. These persons who separated from the Church became known as Separatists. English officials persecuted them and many fled from England and then settled in Holland. From there they fled to America and so we have the story of the Pilgrims on their way to the New World. What Did the Puritans Want to Purify? Many of the Puritans differed a bit among themselves, but they had one common idea. They believed in a simple religious belief, a simple manner of worship, and a simple method of church organization. Most of the Puritans wanted to purify churches of priestly vestments and elaborate ceremonies which they called traditions of men. Some wanted to do away with statues and the ostentatious buildings, and some with the monetary “business” of the church. They said their views on church organization and government came from the Bible itself and that they firmly believed that all clergymen should be of equal rank. Were They Able to Purify? For a long time, all Puritans were opposed by the officials of the Church of England and not only that, but the English government itself. The English government controlled all religious affairs in the country. Because the Puritans wanted to abolish the priest hood as well as do away with bishops and because they believed that any member of a congregation had the right to preach, they were no longer tolerated. When they were cast out of the churches, no longer did they hold the title of Puritan, but now they were called Separatists. Something rather interesting... after some of the Pilgrims left England to live in America, Parliament executed Charles I in 1649 and the Commonwealth was established under the devoted Puritan, Oliver Cromwell. During this time it was declared that no King would rule over England, only God. And throughout Cromwell’s time the Puritans were able to worship as they wished without government involvement in the Church of England. The political power of the Puritans came to an end in 1660, with the return of the Stuart dynasty, but the influence of the Puritans in strengthening Protestantism, and in increasing political freedom in England, has lasted until the present day. (All information gathered is from the World Book Encyclopedia). The Puritan Awakening Today we see in many of our churches an infiltration of humanism and feminism. I’ve had friend after friend sadly state that there are no older women in their church. But just as our ancestors who bravely battled the sea and perils in an unchartered wilderness, pulled away from a world and a religious system not aligning itself with God’s Word, we find a brilliant fistful of young women and men also following in their footsteps. These devoted believers are willing to think beyond the philosophies they were brought up with. As we find the educational system slowly conforming to worldliness, there was a long period of time in American History when the most important aspect of education was that of learning to read with the prime purpose of being able to read God’s Word. After a few centuries, however, a Machiavellian philosophy of a well-rounded education overtook the system and worldly study and a worldly, rather than Biblical, became known as advancement. The dedication of our Puritan forefathers is apparent in many of the believers as there are still those who today are working within the system in the hopes of bringing school prayer back as a norm and also bringing back the true facts of history in our nation, which then contained a belief in God. We have come so far in our educational system of getting rid of our Father that it is now taught as fact in schools that the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians rather than as a Feast unto the Lord! But many of these modern Puritans have found themselves shut out, and shunned as they have tried to Christianize the world’s system of education. They, too, have had to leave and now they are indeed Separatists just as much as the Pilgrims were over 300 years ago. The Return of the Separatists The Separatists today are those who have found that they will not go along with the world training their children and have removed themselves from the influence of humanism and feminism. There are thousands of parents across the nation and also around the world whose God’s Spirit has touched regarding the education of their children. Many parents who were brought up with an academically stressed education have found that truly indeed, “That wisdom of this world is foolishness to God, and the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.” They were not able to merge the two, neither were they able influence one against the other. They were not able to serve two masters, that of humanistic academics AND a Biblicaly based education. It might be helpful to add here that if you are living in a state where the home education laws are difficult, that if you were brought to trial for home educating, they would try to find out if you home educated your children because of a preference versus a conviction. A preference is where you prefer to do it, but you would still use secular material. They would want to prove that your belief was legally a conviction and then allow you to home educate only if you showed that it was a religious conviction. One major way of proving this would be because your actions showed your belief by using only Christian material. This is the basis of being a Separatist. You live your life through what you believe. It is not head knowledge. It is heart knowledge and it affects every aspect of your life. When you believe in something so strong, it effects every thing that you do. The Return of Feminine Separatists There are more aspects among women to be seen today where they are walking in the life-style of the Separatists. They are those women whose lives are separated from the humanism and degenerating that we see being taught to young girls from infancy. These women are not afraid to look about them and realize that they do not want to walk the way of a feminist. That they will separate from the world and walk that of being woman. Not women in men’s clothing, not women in men’s positions, not women in men’s mannerisms and speech, but those who are willing to walk away and be what God has called them to be... God’s females. He created them male and female. He separated His own very creation from the beginning. And He intended it to keep that way. As the world accepts more and more of a unisex philosophy, as it moves towards a universal role for all citizens of the earth, women who are professing the love of God through their Savior are willing to take a gigantic risk and stand alone. When many of their friends and associations from their past are wanting to walk according to the ways of the world, the Spirit of God is pulling and separating His people. God Himself is the separator. “When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth His sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, ‘Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’...” And dearest sister, I pray that indeed you will have the same heart that our Christian ancestors had, when after they were come unto a new land, that they gave a feast unto the Lord and thanked the Father. So also should we as we come out of humanism and feminism, as we are walking obediently in the new land of femininity in Christ, thank God for all the blessings and joys that He has brought us and spread the feast of love and nurturing to all those who He brings us, be it our children, our husbands, or those who are needy. For remember the end of the scripture above, “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me... And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” -by Anna Neumas
As believers in Christ we become indifferent to the ways of mankind as we live by faith in Christ, proclaiming His name in our every being. Our being, as created by God, find conformity by our faith in Him and by this, we may understand and perform in ourselves what and whom we should become, as created by God; as man and woman. Masculine means the quality or state of being manly; robust, strong, brave, coarse, bold. Feminine means the quality or state of a woman which is defined as her “heavenly” state; soft, tender, delicate, gentle. “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.”(Prov 12:4)Virtue is defined as moral goodness, the practice of moral duties and abstaining from the conformity of life. (Mark 4:19)It is an acting power or that which constitutes value and merit. Our value and merit as beheld by God is as He has designed. Men and woman have been created different and they have been given different roles. This does not make a woman less than a man. Eve was not created from Adam’s head that she may rein higher than him nor his feet that she may be treaded upon but his side, to be his equal, to be his help, to be his companion, as he is hers. “For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” (1 Cor 11:12) We are designed to serve each other “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”(1 Pet 5:5-6) Ultimately we are all in subjection to our Maker who has crowed us (His elect) with glory and honor and set us over the work of His hands. (Heb 2:7-8)I think perhaps we come to the true nature of “denying ourselves.” The virtue of a man or woman as designed, as defined, as commanded by God needs to be given proper submission. We need to understand and keep our proper place as God created in us to be. Only then do we have husbands that can obey the Lord, wives that can honor their husbands, children that can bring praise unto their parents and the family can glorify His name. (2 Cor 9:13) A husband is called by God to be the head of his home, (1 Cor 11:3) to have his household in all subject to his authority. (Gen 3:16, 1 Tim 3:4 Pro20:7 Col 3:19&21) The wife’s desires are to her husband. (1 Pet 3:1&5, 1 Cor 7:34, Tim 2:11-13, Eph 5:22-23 Col 3:18 Heb 13:17 ) Children are to honor, obey and submit to their parents. (Luke 18:20, Col 3:20 1 Pet 5:5-6) Let us observe to submit to God’s commands as being that of a “Godly” woman.
