Divine Inspiration and Poverty of Spirit

Dear Father,

     I praise You that because You do not change, we are not destroyed. Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; Though I dwell in darkness the Lord is a Light for me. I will bear Your indignation because I have sinned against You until You plead my case and execute justice for me. You will bring Your people into the Light and they will see Your righteousness (Micah 7:8-9). Please help me to use the Mind of Christ and the new heart that you have given me though there is an encircling gloom. I know that You are faithful to bring us through the sorrow and to refine us through it. Show Your people that Your Breathe gives Life to our souls. Give us the poverty of spirit that makes us know our inability to breathe apart from Your Divine Inspiration of the Holy Spirit's Word of Jesus. 

In Jesus Christ's Name,

Amen

Theme Song: Rescue

¹⁵ For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ “For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.Is 57: 15-17

     God's purpose in this letter is to show us that all life is derived from His Breath of Life. The Breath of Life is the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The Breath of Life brings eternal Life to those who are poor in spirit and judgement on the wicked. To be poor in spirit means that we are aware of the suffocation of our spirits apart from the Divine Breath. The Divine Breath is inhaled through the hearing, receiving, believing, and obeying of the Word of God. The Divine Breath [Holy Spirit] grants us faith to inhale the Divine Breath [Word of God] through our faith and obedience. When those who have the Spirit of God resist the devil and flee the evil patterns of the world with the faith and hope granted by the Spirit and Word, they may suffer intensely, but God will quickly restore them. Thus, all of the work of the Spirit and Word encompass the Breath of Life. 

I. The Breath of God

     The Breath of God, the Breath of Life, is the very source of the physical and spiritual life of all created things which "live and move and have their being" (Acts 17:28). When God created the first man He formed him from the dust of the ground and "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" and this man became a living being (Gen 2:7). From then on God gave breath and spirit to the people and their offspring who were spread out on and walking in the earth (Is 42:5). With the Divine Breath came life to all whom God has breathed upon. In His Hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind (Job 12:10). All breath of life that we have comes from Him. The Spirit of God has made us and the Breath of the Almighty gives us life (Job 33:4). The life of our mortal bodies is embedded in the Breath of the Creator God. Even as the two witnesses described in Revelations who came upon the earth to prophecy the Word of God were killed by the beast, "after the three and a half days, the Breath of Life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them" (Rev 11:11). The Divine Breath not only grants breath to our mortal bodies, but also is used to clear the heavens (Job 26:13), to make ice, and to freeze the expanse of the waters (Job 37:10). At the blast of the Breath of His Nostrils and His rebuke, the channels of water appeared and the foundations of the world were laid bare (Ps 18:15). All life is derived from the Divine Breath. 

     As we ponder on the Truth that creation declares the glory of God, may we remember the Breath of Life which is all around us and apart from which all that is mortal and all the created things could not be sustained. For the Breath of God is the Word of God and by the Word of God all things in heaven and on earth, invisible (i.e. the unseen realm) and visible, thrones, powers, rulers, and authorities were created by Him and for Him (Col 1:16). The Word of God, the Scriptures, have been inspired by God, that is, they have been breathed out from the Life of God (2 Tim 3:16). The Breath of Life is the Word of God. And as we have been granted an eternal Life by the Spirit, we acknowledge that the Breath of God brings eternal Life to our spirits. The Breath of Life is the Spirit. This Spiritual life that we are given by the Breath of God alone will endure forever. For as Jesus spoke "The Spirit gives Life; the flesh profits nothing; the Words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are Life" (John 6:63). Prior to His ascension He breathed on them and said to them "Receive the Holy Spirit" (John 20:22). The Breath of God is the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life, the Living Word. Apart from the Breath of God, we could not have physical or Spiritual life. 
  
     Though we entered the world bearing the breath of physical life, we had no breath of Spiritual life. We were dead in our transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1) and we were as the dry bones described in Ezekiel. But as the regenerating work of the Spirit came to His people, their spirits were brought life by the Divine Breath. For with the resurrection of Christ, God, who is rich in love and mercy, has made us alive and we are saved by grace (Eph 2:4-5).

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.Ez 37

      In addition to bringing Spiritual life to all those who have received the Holy Spirit through the death and resurrection of Christ, the Breath of Life executes the judgments of God. His Breath kindles coals and a flame goes forth from His mouth (Job 41:21). At the time of the end Jesus, whose Name is the Word of God, will ride on a white horse and out of His mouth will come a double-edged Sword, the Word of God, by which He will execute judgement on the nations. The very Breath of Life, the Word of God, that flows from the mouth of God will destroy the breath of life of all mankind who had rejected His great salvation. (Rev 19:11-16). The lawless one who had deceived many will be revealed and slain with the Breath of God's Mouth and he will be brought to an end by the appearance of His coming (2 Thess 2:8). The Divine Breath is like an overflowing torrent which reaches to the neck, to shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, and to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridles which leads to ruin (Is 30:28). The very Breath of Life that brought eternal Life to us brings eternal destruction to the spirits of those who reject Him. 





⁴ But with righteousness He will judge the poor,
And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.
⁵ Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,
And faithfulness the belt about His waist.Is 11:4-5

     One aspect of the great deception of mankind administered through the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of the disobedience (Eph 2:2), is the lie that life can be brought about through something or someone apart from the Divine Breath. Herein lies the root of idolatry within the souls of those who live apart from the Word of God. This idolatry results in the living of mankind in the lusts of the flesh and the indulging of the desires of the flesh and of the mind causing them to be by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:3). For the understanding and the training and instruction in righteousness that came about from our breathing in of the Word of God could not be found in the idols of mankind. 


Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.Jer 10:14




II. Poverty of Spirit

      Though God has given mortal life to all people, flesh and blood will not inherit the Kingdom of God (I Cor 15:50). For as we have seen earlier in the "Living in the Eternal Realms" letter, those whose spirits are raised immortal will inherit the Kingdom of God forever. Jesus gave us a very important Truth in His Beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:3

     Thus, only the spirits of mankind brought to Life by the Divine Breath are able to inherit the Kingdom of God. We will describe here what this poverty of spirit refers to. Our goal and ambition when reading this beatitude is to be poor in spirit so that we may inherit the Kingdom of God. We know that we could not derive such a state of the soul in our own striving and rely on the grace of the Holy Spirit to bring us to this place. As we understand the characteristics of the state of  those who are poor in spirit, may the Spirit cause our hearts to gravitate further towards this mindset. 

    The Greek word for "poor", ptochos, refers to the state of a beggar, a pauper, or one who is in distress. The Greek work for "spirit" used in Matt 5:3 is pneuma, the breath, vital principle, or mental disposition of a person. Pneuma also refers to the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. Taken together in light of the counsel of the Word of God, we understand that to be poor in spirit means that one is a beggar or pauper with regard to the Holy Spirit. One is in distress without the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, this distress accompanies an incapability to breath, a suffocation of the mental disposition and vital principle apart from the breathing in of the Holy Spirit, the Divine Breath. That is, apart from the filling iof the Holy Spirit and the breathing in of His Word, we cannot think straight, our hearts go "haywire" [as the people of this day call it], we fall into a state of distress, and great inner turmoil. We assume ourselves as living in spiritual poverty apart from the Divine Breath. We beg and plead for the Holy Spirit.  

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13

     We are suffocating without the Divine Breath. Vital principle must indicate the principles which form the basis for our vitality, or life. Without the Holy Spirit we would have no sustenance of our lives, even our mortal lives. Our souls and bodies would draw near to the grave if we could not sense His Presence. We are like Moses who said "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here" (Ex 33:15). We are like Daniel who saw the vision that God had given him and said "How can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my Lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me" (Dan 10:16-17). 

      David's prayer in Psalm 119 shows us the perfect example of someone who is poor in spirit. This paragraph is taken from this chapter. His soul was crushed with longing after God's ordinances at all times (20). His soul cleaved to the dust and He desired to be revived according to His Word (25). He clung to God's testimonies and cried out to not be put to shame but to run in the way of His Commandments with the hope that God would enlarge his heart (31,32). He longed for God's precepts and sought revival through His righteousness (40). His comfort in his affliction [i.e. distress] was that God's Word revived Him. He knew that is was good for him to be afflicted so that he may learn God's Statutes (71). The Law from God's Mouth [the Divine Breath] was better to him than thousand of gold and silver pieces (72). His soul languished for God's salvation and he waited and his eyes failed with longing for God's Word [God's Breath] (81-82). Though he became like a wineskin in the smoke, he did not forget His Statutes (83). He was exceedingly afflicted (107) and he opened his mouth wide and panted while he longed for His Commandments (131). Trouble and anguish came upon him yet God's Commandments were his delight (143). He cried with all his heart for God to answer him and save him (145-146). He rose before dawn and cried for help, waited for God's Word [Divine Breath] (147). His eyes anticipated the night watches so that he may meditate on the Word [he was meditating on the Divine Breath]. He went astray like a lost sheep and asked God to seek His servant for he had not forgotten His Commands (176)...

     David, the man after God's heart, a man who was poor in spirit, was in great distress and affliction until he could breathe in the Word of God. He longed for the Spirit of God, the Presence of God. He hungered and thirsted for the Spirit and Word. His only delight and satisfaction were in the Word. Without the Divine Breath, he would have perished both physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, Spiritually... And he knew this very well.

     For there are many who do not know that they would perish without the Divine Breath. There are some who kindle fires and encircle themselves with the firebrands of their idolatry. They walk in the light of their idolatrous fires and yet from the Hand of God, they will receive their just punishment: they will lie down in torment (Is 50:11). These were like the Pharisees of whom Jesus said "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains" (John 9:40). Those who are not poor in spirit are by no means rich in their spirit. For though they claimed to be rich, they were wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked (Rev 3:17). Indeed without the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, their spirits were in poverty. But in the midst of their spiritual poverty, they refused to beg for the Holy Spirit. They refused to long for, hunger and thirst for, and earnestly desire the Divine Breath. They were tired by the length of their idolatrous road but they did not say "it is hopeless', but found renewal of their strength and did not faint (Is 57:10). Their hearts were hardened and the evil forces had deceived their spirits to think that no disaster awaited them and that they could find their breath of life in their idolatry.

You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jer 29:13

     Without the Divine Breath [the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, the Breath of Life], everyone suffocates. Those who are poor in spirit are in distress in their suffocation and cry out for the Divine Breath like a mendicant. Those who are not poor in spirit are deceived into thinking that they are breathing though their life wastes away and destruction awaits them.



III. Divine Inspiration


¹⁵ For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.
¹⁶ “For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.
¹⁷ “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.
¹⁸ “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,
¹⁹ Creating the praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”
Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
²¹ “ There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Is 57


     Divine inspiration refers to the breathing of God. When God breathed, the Scriptures were given to the prophets of God. Thus the Word of God that proceeds from the Mouth of God is the Breath of Life which alone can bring eternal Life and heavenly immortality to our spirits. The Word of God is to us the substance of the Breath of God that brings us eternal Life. Let us think of an earthly example to illustrate the process of our breathing in of the Word of God. If you were suffocating underwater and someone came to you with a canister of oxygen connected to a tube what would you do? You would bring the tube to your face and breath in the oxygen to save your life. In a similar way, our souls have been suffocating and now the Word of God is presented to us and because this Word contains the Life-giving Air, we need to set this Word up before our eyes and read It. And as we hear this Words the process of inhaling is the act of hearing with the intent to believe and obey, that is, to "incline our ears". As Jesus said "Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and obey It" (Luke 11:28) and as the apostle John said "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the Words of this Prophecy, and heeds the things which are written in It; for the time is near" (Rev 1:3). The Word of God is in the book in your hands and in the words that you see, but unless you take these Words to heart through the faith that the Spirit gives to you, you have not inhaled the Divine Breath. To inhale the Divine Breath of the Word means that we receive and believe, hear and obey the Words that are presented to us. And when we have inhaled this Divine Breath the Scripture teaches us, reproves us, corrects us, and trains us in righteousness so that we may be adequate and equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3). 

     We must acknowledge that without the Holy Spirit, we could not inhale the Divine Breath because we would be unable to receive the seed of the Word of God with the faith that encompasses the act of the inhalation. It is the Spirit who moves us to heed the Voice of God. It is the Spirit who grants us faith and repentance; He is referred to as the "Spirit of faith" (2 Cor 4:13). The Spirit is the Divine Breath. And the Word is the Divine Breath. For even the act of the Spirit to cause us to hear the Word of God occurs through the effects of the Word Itself. The Words of God are essential and fully adequate for all of the Work of the Spirit. For the Spirit Himself is the Word. Jesus's Words are Spirit and they are Life (John 6:63). The Word of God convicts us of our need for the Divine Breath by revealing to us our sin, His righteousness, and the coming judgement. In this sense the Spirit and the Word cause us to Breath in the Divine Breath through enabling us to believe and receive the Word of God. 

²² And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.John 20

     When we have Breathed in the Word we will surely see the revelation of the holiness of God: the glory of God. But we must continue to breathe in the Word in order to continue to see the glory of God. The viewing of the glory of God is what fills us with the love and eagerness to obey. But because we often fail to inhale the Divine Breath, we temporarily lose sight of the glory of God. And during these times when we cannot see the Light of His splendor, the Word encourages and exhorts us to obey His commands to restrain from evil and to pursue righteousness. We obey because by faith we know that the Light and glory that we had once seen would again be revealed in His time because we are His children. 

     There will be times dear family, when the Word of God will convict and exhort us to leave behind sin, and though we may not understand at the moment, in faith, we must obey. We are obeying because the Spirit has granted us faith to obey even through what seems like darkness. As the apostle Peter writes in the Scripture "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you" (I Peter 5:8-10). There will be times, numerous times, when God will call you to suffer to avoid sin, and you will experience suffering, an inward burning, during these times, but the Divine Breath will cause you to stand firm in your faith. The Word of God will encourage you that the God of all grace has called you to His eternal glory in Christ. We are promised to have suffering in our struggle against sin. We may end up resisting it to the point of death (Heb 12:4). Yes, there are times when our desires to obey will be so strong and glorious because we are seeing glimpses of His glory and we will not feel much pain in our obedience. But dear family, to be a follower of Christ, there will be times when you must obey with the faith that the Spirit grants you with the hope that the Word gives you though you temporarily suffer and feel the depths of the grave. 

Who is among you that fears the Lord,

That obeys the voice of His servant,
That walks in darkness and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.Is 50:10

      But He will only let you suffer a little while as we read in I Peter 5. He will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. We are all weak in our faith and we have much refining that we trust Him to accomplish before the work that He started in us is finished. For when our hearts are perfectly aligned with the Truth, then we will be at perfect peace in our obedience. He is bringing us to this place, but there is much that the Spirit must purge from within us so that our heart's desires are aligned with His Truth. He will do this with the Word. All of this work comes from the Divine Breath. 

 I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. Jer 32:40

Prayer Request: Dad is going to Maine for a week for a work conference. He is putting up a flier for a Bible study which would be open to conference attendees who are interested. And if you think of it, pray that I become more like Christ, not that my sorrow would be removed, but that I would be near to Him.

Hearts Turned to the Children

HEARTS TURNED TO THE CHILDREN

Dear Father,

      We praise You that You have given us the right to be called Your children. Thank You for causing us to receive You and believe in You. Please show us the right way that we ought to walk in with regard to Your children. Thank You for Your loving discipline which results in our sharing in Your holiness.

In Jesus Christ’s Name,

Amen

      God is doing a work to turn our hearts towards the young people in our midst: both our own children and other children within our Body of Christ. We are in the midst of the time when people will be “lovers of themselves” and disobedient to their parents” (2 Tim 3:2). Father’s will betray their own children and “children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death” (Matt 10:21). God has been teaching me several things about the way we ought to regard our children and I am compelled to write a short summary here. The items to be described relate to the nature of children, the relationship between God and His children, fathers and children, mothers and children, and older people and younger people.

     God is calling us to lovingly embrace the children in our midst. He is calling us to teach them His Word and to set an example for them to follow. He is warning us against neglecting them, looking down upon the work of raising them, and causing them to sin. We are essentially working to obey the Great Commission among the children. We are to pass on to them the true Light which alone will make all things clear for them as they grow up among the world of wickedness. These children will not see the downfall of society as we have. For they have entered a society that has already fallen to the deception of the love of pleasure, worldiness, lawlessness, sensuality, and godlessness. They were born into a lion’s den, a haunt for jackels and every wild creature. As they strive to survive they will grope in the darkness and they will find no light wherever they look. They will look but will not be able to find the Truth. For many who are not sincere will have joined us and even those who hold up the banners of Truth will be quenched with demonic influence. As for our children, their consciences will be dulled or seared, their eyes will be closed, and their minds darkened under the influence of demonic oppression. The desire for material things and the pleasures of darkness will rise within them and there will be no alternative laid out in their minds. They will  have fallen to the spirit of the antichrist. Their hearts would be ruled by the spirit of the world and they would be destroyed along with those who hate the glory of God. Indeed this will be the fate of many of these young ones who recently enter into our present day. And God is calling you to heed His Voice and pour out His love and Truth to these young ones.

     The important realization for us is that our ability to bring up this generation will depend on our reliance on His grace, our walking in His Truth, the removing of our pride, and our denouncing of the secret sins of the flesh. In this process we will come to find that before God we stand as equal heirs of the promise with these young ones and unless we all had seen the glory of God, we would have no hope of passing on the only true Light. If we did not love God and hold Christ as Lord in our hearts, we could not love our children.

⁵ “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. ⁶ He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.” Malachi 4

1.     The Nature of Children

¹³  Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”Matt 19

     Here in Christ’s Words we acknowledge that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like little children. We are apt to ask the question, “Are children more likely to receive the Gospel than adults?” and “What kind of change happens between childhood and adulthood that renders the latter unfit for acquiring the Kingdom of God?”. As I have considered these questions and studied the nature of children I have found that children are by no means sinless. For we know that all humans were conceived in sin and every inclination of our hearts has been evil since childhood. But there were shown to be characteristics of children that were in most cases absent in adults. First of all, children are unlearned with regard to the hypocrisy and facading that we as adults are prone to show. They have no knowledge to put forth self-righteous fronts before men which are not based on the Gospel. As evil as children are, they are sincere, not necessarily honest, but they are sincere. And they are unable to hide the evil intents of their hearts and the lusts of their tiny flesh as we are able to. Secondly, children are aware of their helplessness and neediness. They willingly ask (by word or cry of mouth) for their needs to be met and they do not feel abased or demoralized at the concept of receiving help or material items from another. There are no learned feelings of awkwardness (which is one of many reasons why I find my heart’s delight in spending time with children: they are never awkward nor can they sense awkwardness in me).  And finally children long to be loved, cherished, held, protected… To summarize, though children are filled with wickedness, their innocence of learned evils allows many of them to remain poor in spirit. And we know that the poor in Spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God.

2.     The Relationship between the Fathers and Sons

     There is a somewhat lost concept of the intended design for the relationship between the father and son. This intended design is derived by studying the relationship between God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. To summarize this Divine relationship, the Father finds great pleasure in His beloved Son (Matt 3:17) and the Son is meant to exactly reflect the Father’s glory and character. The Son is the exact representation of the Father bearing all of His worth, glory, radiance, splendor, and honor. The Son was to live His life in perfect submission and obedience to the Father and to only do and say what the Father commanded Him to.

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ² in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. ³ And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

⁵ For to which of the angels did He ever say,

“ You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”?

And again,

“ I will be a Father to Him
And He shall be a Son to Me”?Heb 1

     Immediately the earthly fathers will feel at a loss when examining how their relationship(s) with their son(s) measure(s) up to this ideal. In one sense, sons rarely bear all of the good characteristics of their fathers nor would they be inclined to perfectly submit to and obey their father. And secondly, even if the sons perfectly reflected their fathers, the fathers would normally not be perfect beings worth perfectly reflecting. Furthermore, because of the failure of many sons to uphold the honor and glory of their earthly father’s good characteristics and their success at inheriting [and sometimes amplifying] his weaknesses, the father would not seek to find pleasure or honor in his son. The failure of his son to measure up to even himself [much less a perfect man] would cause a father who does not regard the Gospel to disown his own son. For in the flesh, the father would desire his own exaltation, and what he sees in his own son will simply never come close to reflecting the glory that the father feels he ought to have. I have seen numerous souls of men who have been crushed and demoralized at the failure of their sons to meet their requirement of a good representation of his own perceived glory.  For only when the earthly father has ceased to glory in his flesh is he able to do anything but disown an unworthy son.

     On the other hand, the son may attempt to imitate and obey his father early on in his life, but when he finds that he is unable or unwilling to obey his father, he will seek his own independence. For apart from Christ, any one seeks to be removed from any perceived yoke of responsibility or oppression. Or when his father has ceased to represent the son’s ideal of a glorious man, he will cease to honor, imitate, and obey him.

      In this case, apart from the Truth of grace, Christian fathers and sons would have been in a great dilemma. And indeed this is one explanation for the nature of these end times where children and fathers will turn against one another. The resolution of this dilemma starts with grace. The father must first of all receive His heavenly Father’s for his own sins. These sins are likely reflected in the son and only after the father receives forgiveness for his own sins is he able to forgive his son. Secondly the father must cease to find glory in his fallen self and find glory in the unchanging character of the Sovereign God of love. When the father’s glory is in the eternal Covenant, there is no human glory at stake and this will bring great peace to the relationship. The son then has the choice to glory in his father’s glory, that is, the heavenly Father’s glory. And the sorrow of the lost pride of life is removed. Ultimately, the father-son relationship for believing men must be based primarily on grace and forgiveness (much of it).

·        Dad and Anand have been blessed by God to grow much in this area.

3.     The Relationship between Women and Children

To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply

Your pain in childbirth,

In pain you will bring forth children;

Yet your desire will be for your husband,

And he will rule over you.” Gen 3

     Just as in Christ the woman is free from her desire to rule over her husband, in Christ, the woman is free from the Spiritual agony of raising children. All around me I see mothers, even Christian mothers, who are distressed, irritated, wearied, drained, and disinterested with their children. Though I have never given birth, based on my relationships with children, I believe that these mothers are throwing away a precious gift. Children were meant to be the heart’s delight of women. I believe that there is a part in the soul of a woman that is intended to be used to love children and to raise them in Godliness. Many women develop their relationships with children based primarily on authority and the failure of the modern day children to respect their authority leaves the woman in great distress. I have seen a different type of relationship between children and myself. For one of my weaknesses in dealing with children is that I do not know how to show loud authority. Many children have become some of my best friends. We pray together and pour out our hearts to one another. Secretly I have a much deeper relationship with children than these children may have with their own parents. It is as though the adulterated authority structure between mothers and children has destroyed the joy of their relationship. God is calling women to show Godly motherly authority. He is also calling them to BEFRIEND their children. You must capture the souls and hearts of your children and you must let them capture your heart and soul. This bond can only be established when Christ is exalted in the home and in the heart and again, when much forgiveness and grace is understood and shown. A mother must show authority in the Name of Godly discipline, but she must also be the best friend of her child. Even if her children go astray, she should be the one whom they would pour out their wicked hearts to. And indeed the grace and Truth that she is filled with will prove to be healing in the end. My mother has been my best earthly friend ever since I was in 9^th grade. I went through internal struggles and impurities, but my communication with mom allowed her to know every nook and cranny of my childish crooked heart. And though my heart had not been pure, her teachings from the Word of God are my present day stronghold. Ultimately, women must cultivate the part of her heart that God created for the bearing and nurturing of children. This will have profound effects on her own purity. For the heart that cannot love ordinately will seek inordinate affections, but “the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace”. I have a strong feeling that all of the energy behind the evil sensuality in modern women was meant to be used for the Spiritual nurturing of God’s children. Woman were created with intense affectionate hearts to be used appropriately to portray the love of Christ to these precious ones, for there are few remaining in this world to love them. May you seek out your children and the children in our midst whom you have yet to be acquainted with and love them dearly with the love that you have been shown. And if we have not known His love, we must seek Him for our soul’s satisfaction.

How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

Who walks in His ways.

² When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,

You will be happy and it will be well with you.

³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

Within your house,

Your children like olive plants

Around your table.

⁴ Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed

Who fears the Lord.

⁵  The Lord bless you from Zion,

And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

⁶ Indeed, may you see your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

Ps 128

4.     The Passing Down of the Word of God

⁴ “ Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ⁵  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ⁸  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. ⁹  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deut 6

     The greatest thing that we can do for our children is to teach them the fear of the Lord. We must teach them the Truth of the Gospel and of the infinite character traits of God. We must show them our own poverty of soul and our own receiving of His grace and forgiveness of our weaknesses. For when children have learned to fear God, the Truth of His righteousness becomes their anchor and they are unwilling to turn away from the One whom they have learned to honor and revere.

     Many have a wrong perspective that children cannot understand the Word of God or that their attention spans are too short to contain such deep information. In my experience children understand the Word of God to a great degree. While they may not understand other areas of study, when it comes to the Word of God, many of these children have the Holy Spirit indwelling them and working for their good. So what would otherwise be incomprehensible to their small minds become vivid and clear through the teaching and convicting work of the Spirit. I learn much from children or rather the Spirit speaking through them.

     We are in a world where the Word of God, the only Food by which man can live, is becoming scare. We must impart to them every morsel that we can before it is too late and the snares of the world have come upon them. The earlier we start and the more intensively we labor to impart the Truth to these children, the better will be the state of their souls in this wicked and perverse generation. The time for you to start pouring the Word into your children is today.

     Every piece of information that is taught to children shapes their perspectives and attitudes, having such a profound influence on everything else that they purpose to do, say, or think with the remainder of their lives.

     I am not sure why, but I have experienced that when we teach children the Word of God they will love us and long to be near us. Without using even an inkling of human authority [that I need to learn to show] the teaching of the Word of God commands the respect, admiration, clinging to us, and love from our children.

5.     The Setting of an Example

     The concept of honor, that is, to fix a high value to someone, is altogether lost from this wicked genernation. The young have neglected the old and the old have not loved the young. The concept  of honor is based on the setting of a good example by the one who is honored. That is, someone is honored because they have set a good example for others to follow. Do you see now why this concept has been lost in our society? The older generation has resorted to apathy and sinful pleasure and so they have ceased to set a good example. The younger generation has ceased to honor them due to their own rebellion and pride as well as the failure of the older generation to set a good example. On the other hand, there is no desire to set a good example from the older generation’s part because the younger generation has ignored them.  And the older generation’s feelings of uselessness have made them prey to the demonic temptations of earthly pleasure.

⁴ And I will make mere lads their princes,

And ^[e]capricious children will rule over them,

⁵ And the people will be oppressed,

Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;

The youth will storm against the elder

And the inferior against the honorable. Is 3

     God is calling the older generation to pursue Godliness and a zealous love for the advancement of the glory of the Gospel and thereby to set the example of holiness, purity, and truth. The younger generation is called to show unconditional honor to the older generation.

The younger generation is looking for meaning, purpose, passion, deep emotion, and zeal. And if the love for our Lord and Savior has not captured and possessed us, then they will not follow us. But if by the Spirit of grace, we put to death the misdeeds of the body, and show a holy and chaste life filled with intense Godliness, and passionate labor, their hearts will understand. For in the workings of grace that allow us to live a Godly life, the glory of God is revealed. And these chosen young children, when they see the glory of God, they will understand….everything.