Appreciate And Value Your Physical Appearance

The Perfect Work of God in People’s Appearance

"For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know this very well" (Psalm 139:13-14 HCSB).

The Scripture above is most definitely not what many people think about themselves. Instead, they think that God has made their appearance imperfect. In this Scripture, King David was expressing his appreciation for the way God made him. In addition, King David also knew God was interested in the condition of his heart (Psalm 51:17). 

Furthermore, when Moses the servant of the Lord complained to God about his physical disability, God told him to appreciate the way he was created (Exodus 4:10-12). God did not change his condition right there even though He could do so; instead, He charged Moses to appreciate and accept his condition, for God was pleased to have made him like that. If God was displeased, He surely would have changed Moses' condition!

Likewise, the Lord sent the prophet Jeremiah to the potter's house to observe him while he was busy molding his clay. Strikingly, Jeremiah observed that the potter 'made it as it seemed right for him to do' (Jeremiah 18:1-4 HCSB). This illustration of the clay in the potter's hand is indicative that the clay is powerless in the hands of the potter. It has no ability to transform itself; it thus relies on the discretion and intelligence of the potter. Is humanity not like clay in the hands of the Lord God Almighty? (Isaiah 64:8). He fashioned each one of us according to His Will and for His good pleasure (Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13).

Meanwhile, this generation is more concerned about their image and their appearance than their walk with God; they are more aware of how they look in the eyes of others than in the sight of The Lord. They appreciate and value everybody's opinion about them instead of God’s opinion (John 5:44). Like we said in the article Women in Pants and External Adornments, people's motive is to feel attractive and acceptable to others. They want to be complimented and they use “image” to garner respect from others. In their insecurities, they have allowed others to be their judge and to determine the value of their conscience. The pressure of conformity has robbed many God-fearing Christians of their testimony (Romans 12:1-2).

Why Are You Ashamed of Your Appearance?

When the Lord called to Adam and Eve in the Fruitful Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:9-11), they were ashamed of their appearance because they had lost their innocence before God. Similarly, many of us are haunted by negative thoughts about ourselves. We are conscious that we are not looking good enough to receive acceptance from others. We feel intimidated and inferior to other people who have the physical attributes that we don't have. So what do we do? We deny and disown ourselves and we embark on the inevitable task of transforming ourselves into the image of man, animal, and even demons. We want to be somebody else, but ourselves.

Furthermore, who told you that you don't look good enough? The answer is twofold: firstly, it is the devil with his smooth-talking voice through the media, using a face to represent his desire for your appearance, and secondly, it is those never- satisfying worldly desires we all have (Ephesians 6:12; Galatians 5:16 ). Let me put it this way: if you allow worldly desires to control you, you are defeated by the flesh (Romans 13:14). The weakness of succumbing to the demands of worldly acceptance more than what is desirable to God is eating away at our salvation. Let us reject the devil's lies and accept the Lord's truth about ourselves; you look good enough. You are "...fearfully and wonderfully made.." (Psalm 139:14).

My fellow Christian brethren, the devil, through the world system, is making the world a desirable place for the flesh, and he is sucking you into his web of deceit. The Lord Jesus Christ told us that those who follow after the image of the world will perish! (1 John 2:15) Like King Saul, we fear the voice and opinion of man more than God's commands (1 Samuel 15:24). Recently, The Lord rebuked somebody for feeding onto worldly desires. When we asked the Lord what He meant by that, He replied and said: "Everything a human being does wrong is worldly" (1 John 2:16).

As followers of Christ Jesus, we should consider what is important to The Lord rather than what is important to us. The Lord told us that those Christians who are disobedient and transform their appearance are seeking acceptance from the world, contrary to what He commanded us not to conform to the standards set by the world (Romans 12:1-2). There was a girl in our midst who desired to be a boy in her heart. The Lord revealed this wickedness to us in power and she confessed to it. He told her to appreciate the way He made her, and that her appearance is not for her good but for His, and that He made her the way she is (Romans 14:7-8). How many times do we read the headings such as "A boy or girl trapped in a boy or girl's body"? In this world, people's hearts are rebellious against God and the counsel of His Word.

As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah who died and rose again, I am not ashamed about how I look and the message He gave me to proclaim. We judge no one, but the message we received from God is a message of judgment against sin. If you, therefore, change your appearance or looks, you are sinning and show no appreciation to God for the way He made you. If we pursue our own image, we are rebelling, disobeying, and despising God's Word. If we are driven by an inferiority complex to conform to the dictates of worldliness we allow our inner weaknesses to overcome us. Those who are transforming their image are exposing their inner weakness and their shame is evident on the outside. Beware of the smooth talk of the so-called image experts; they are servants of Satan to destroy your soul. For the soul suffers when we give in to the flesh (Mark 8:36; Matthew 10:28). Therefore, wise up and trim your inner image according to the working of the Word of God (Ephesians 3:16-21).

Finally, as I conclude on this subject, beware of those "prophets" who encourage you into worldliness. They are the ones who want to boast on how they liberated you, while they take away your innocence and boast that they are sent to set you free. Only The Lord Jesus can set you free (Luke 4:18; John 8:32). These "prophets" enslave you to worldly appetites; they want you to feed onto fleshly desires which are eating your salvation away.

Heavenly Vision of the Lord Being Pleased with This Family

Background: As a God-fearing family, we are praying together every night while reading from the Scriptures. We also discuss the wrongs we did to one other and apologize. We use our evening devotional sessions to evaluate our mistakes and to learn from them. In our striving for complete obedience to the Lord, we allow the Word of God to settle our disputes and guide our conscience and decisions. Furthermore, we devote our days reading Bible while praying 3 times daily or more. This is not a religious ritual but a life of obedience and commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Given to Charis on June 13, 2014

“After our morning prayers, I had a vision from the Lord regarding this family (Brother Glenn, his wife, 3 daughters and their Godly adopted daughter, Jaydeen) standing on plush green grass and each swinging around. While we were standing there smiling joyfully and playing with one another, I heard the THUNDEROUS yet audible VOICE of the Lord saying from Heaven, "I am very pleased with this family, because this family hasn’t done anything to hurt the Ministry, and even though this family makes little mistakes every day, it is not wicked things. It is only little mistakes, and I am pleased with this family, and I am going to bless this family for being so obedient to Me. This family’s example is obedience." The Lord paused momentarily, and I looked up and saw how we (the family) prayed the Lord’s Prayer together sincerely.  The Lord spoke up again and said, “This family has really shaped up since the time I spoke to them and I am well pleased with them!” END.

Blessed Grace in Christ,

Brother Glenn.

Christian Parenting: Bringing up Children in the Fear of the Lord

Original: March 14, 2012 Updated: May 11, 2015

Vision of Coming RENEWAL

On May 9, 2015, I (Glenn) received a short vision from the Lord Jesus. In this vision, I was in a room with just enough light for me to see. I saw a butterfly flying or floating on one place with a messenger of God or an Angel in the form of a man to my right speaking. While I looked at the butterfly he said, “Just like a butterfly goes through a renewal and some Jews celebrating a renewal festival (the vision changed showing me a Jewish woman dancing at a renewal festival). As sure as this is, there is a renewal coming, there is a renewal of all things coming”. End! (Revelation 21:5).

Brief explanation, my family and I prayed and fasted a few weeks ago asking the Lord for an end time message or revelation. This was all we received for now as we will continue in prayer. However, at first I was reluctant to share this vision as I did not fully understand it, but the Lord said I should share it to remind people that there is a renewal coming!

Brief note: This is a must read for every God fearing parent. With rise of social media, teenage rebellion and various addictions, Satan will stop at nothing to destroy the next generation. We need God in our children. I declare in Jesus name, the greatest gift a mother and father can give to their children is Christ. I gave my children to the Lord and today I have no regrets but co- workers in this ministry. Now brethren, we have completely reworked this article with the Lord’s permission since we had to add a few more teachings and testimonies. We acknowledge that this is not a blueprint to child rearing in Godliness, but a good start in Godliness as you may read what we experienced. We should therefore not neglect witnessing to children as some of their parents are not saved to lead and correct them in the will of the Lord. Our work as parents will never be complete; the work of prayer and encouragement should be ongoing until our children are formed in Christ (Galatians 4:19). This article will be revised as we continue to learn from the Lord.

As parents, we have a direct command from the Lord to bring up our children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). There is actually a Biblical promise and reward if we obey this command; the result is “...and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6b). The current state we mostly see today in children, including rampant disobedience towards God and parents and moral degeneration, is as a direct result of our own disobedience and failure to follow and apply this Scriptural Truth. Because of focusing our time and effort on pursuing personal ambitions, we have ‘estranged’ our children from God. Additionally, the demands of our modern lifestyles push our children further and further away from God. Sadly, some children spend very little time with their parents and are instead left to watch TV, be taken care of by the nanny or daycare facility, and play on cell phone and games to keep them busy. Because some of these activities keep the children at home, we falsely believe that our children are obedient. We have all been tricked to believe that the games they play are educational, and to some extent this may be true, but little do we know that overall they encourage a spirit of laziness and addiction, which the Lord abhors (1 Corinthians 6:12; Proverbs 6:6). The Word of God is completely ‘packed’ with every human experience and God’s solution to our problems; we only need faith and obedience to inherit its promises and gain mastery over our sinful desires.

Furthermore, while it is right to make children aware about God’s love and care for them, they also need to be made aware that they will be held responsible for their actions (Ecclesiastes 11:9). God has appointed a Judge to rule over all humanity: our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 10:42; Acts 17:31). He calls all children everywhere saying: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). Children are called to a relationship with the Lord. He wants them to love and fear Him in submissive obedience and to be dependent on Him and not just on their parents. When children have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, He takes complete care of them: He gives them good them health, and provides them with spiritual care by protecting them against demonic possession and deception. In many instances, He uses the parents to act as a channel for His blessings and provisions. Quite often, we parents bring our children up in our own ways and our fears mixed partially with God’s Word. I mean our ways and fears because we often use our own experiences and traditions to influence their behaviour and decisions; this in turn undoubtedly runs in conflict with Biblical teachings. Let me hasten to add that children do not have a separate Bible from that of adults. I have read many children Bible story books, some of them are well written and intended for good. Sadly though, some of the Bible story books are inaccurate, changing actual events with inferences and twisting the truth in some cases. This creates confusion and at best it denies children the whole truth; those authors are guilty of adding or taking from Scripture (Proverbs 30:6; Revelations 22:18). Admittedly, some of the Bible story books and DVDs are good in the illustrative part; however, they must be faithful to Scriptural truth.

In addition, we must stress what the Lord told us that when children are able to distinguish between right and wrong, they are considered witnesses and believers. God is expecting them to live by the Word and to obey as the parents do, for on the day of Judgement there will be “...great and small...” (Revelation 20:12). When the Lord showed Charis the vision of the world’s entire population with their shoes fitted on wrongly (See Putting on Shoes the Wrong Way), she saw children, including some of those who read the Bible with her daily. However, she saw no infants, babies or little children. The Lord will use the same Bible we are all reading to Judge all of us, both great and small, of our actions.

How Did Our Lord Jesus Christ Start Speaking to Charis?

I have been asked by a few mothers regarding my daughter Charis’ experiences with our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the record and to encourage parents to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord, I will briefly explain below how she got to hear from the Lord. By sharing this I’m not implying that God grants the same spiritual gifts to all children; in His grace, God gives different gifts and as He wills (Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:11).

Like any other born-again believing parents, we took Charis to church with us; and when she was about six (6) years old, she was dedicated to the Lord during a church service. Back then, she had no actual relationship with the Lord except just being content of going to church with us and praying the Lord’s Prayer (“Our Father...”).

As time progressed, I felt deeply convicted to share the Gospel with my own family. I discussed with my wife during mid-2008 that we should start a home-church, and we should meet at least once a week as a family to pray, read the Scriptures and to worship the Lord together. After praying and laying out our plans, we decided that each one of us should get an opportunity to read and share from the Scriptures and that we should pray with one opening in prayer and closing with each one of us getting an opportunity to read and pray.

However, one evening after supper when Charis was about nine and a half (9.5) years old, we decided to read from the Bible and pray together before going off to bed. Due to her constant insistence that we pray and read from the Bible, it became our nightly routine. After about one week into our new commitment, I decided to explain to her the importance of being born again and to have a relationship with the Lord and through a simple salvation prayer she accepted Christ as Lord. Brethren, I can truthfully testify to you that consistent service and commitment to the Lord is very pleasing to Him and He would always bless and show His approval of the good a person is doing.

To stimulate her interested in the Word of God, I would read and explain to her from the Old Testament’s historical accounts. Being selective on the topics we started with the creation account, Joseph’s account, the Ten Commandments, The Egyptian Exodus, Samson, David and his defeat of Goliath, Daniel and his friends and many other short Biblical accounts that portray God’s Power and Supremacy over all His Creation. To me this was a great way of presenting the Creator to her. My aim was to show her to the work of God in His creation.

After about three months, we urged her to read from the Scriptures and explain to us (my wife and I) what she read. At first she was reluctant to read though, but through many pronunciation difficulties she obeyed. At times, she would cry thinking that we would let her off the hook, however we were persistent in encouraging her. In the same breath, we would like to thank the Lord Jesus for giving us the patience and through His grace, He answered our prayers and worked in her heart; this helped her find a renewed interest in our evening Bible reading and prayer.

Teaching a Child How to Pray

As a custom and church tradition, we were all taught to pray the ‘Our Father’ prayer. Therefore, during this time, she was confined to praying the Lord’s Prayer only; we made her pray it morning and evening before bed time. We noticed that she prayed the Lord’s Prayer in haste and it became more like a recitation to her. Remember, if prayer becomes repeated and monotonous we show no interest and energy in what we are asking for. It would be that we are just uttering and offering faithless and vain words, about this the Lord has a warning (Matthew 6:7). In my experience, the Lord answers faith-based prayers and this includes the “Our Father” prayer if it is prayed by faith with a focused concentration.

Moreover, after a few months into her new faith, we decided to “wean” her from the Lord’s Prayer and encourage her to pray using her own words. If we pray using our own words, the Bible says, we pray from our understanding which comes from the heart (1 Corinthians 14:15). I must emphasize, there is nothing wrong with the ‘Our Father’ prayer, as long as we don’t abuse it by praying it thoughtlessly or reciting it because we are lazy to pray from the heart.Because my daughter was unable to pray using her own words, I wrote for her three prayers as a model or guide to help her develop a ‘prayer vocabulary’ one prayer for the morning, one prayer for the afternoon and one evening prayer (Psalm 55:17). Beloved, from this you may see that I showed a keen interest in my daughter’s prayer life and as is common in children, they learn through practical examples and this requires patience. As it is, these she prayed for about a few weeks and as often as I noticed she has lost interest in her prayers by racing through the prayers I would slightly amend the prayers to encourage interest. It was not longer than about three months thereafter that we encouraged her again to start praying in her own words. This was our final hurdle to have Charis serve the Lord with her own faith and commitment. In addition, the Lord told to us in a message some time ago that patience is a mark of a truly faithful Christian.

Combined, this entire experience of reading the Bible and praying with Charis went on for well over a year. As a reward for our efforts, on Sunday January 24, 2010, our then pastor announced a general seven (7) day fast for our local congregation. My wife and I joined our church in fasting for that week. I was particularly motivated because I needed deliverance from some ungodly habits and I also need a job. As is my custom, I wrote down my prayer request and lay it before the Lord during each time I prayed. We were two days into the fast when Charis told me that she had seen the Lord and that He said: “I AM your Lord Jesus Christ. I will show you visions and you must tell your father, and I love My children”.

Child Discipline and Punishment

The Bible declares: “He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Proverbs 13:24). I will share below some experiences Charis received from the Lord to parents who are members and co-workers in our ministry. I can vouch in truth about the faithfulness and commitment of these brethren to the Lord; these precious members endured every kind of test and rebuke from the Lord, including punishments for sinful behaviors. In the Lord’s rebuke of us on child rearing, the Lord upheld Scriptural teachings on child discipline. As parents, we always allow our children to get away without correcting them of unacceptable behavior (1 Kings 1:5-6). This usually stems from them manipulating our feelings to enforce their demands (2 Samuel 13:2-7). Some of these manipulations may be constant crying without reason, and excuses to hide laziness. The Lord through gentle rebukes exposed our children’s hidden motives as selfish and manipulative.

In a teaching we received from the Lord, on an occasion, there was a young girl aged eight (8) who knowingly or unknowingly was in the habit of showing off when she sees her mother; when seeing her mother she was in the habit of fighting other children and pushing them knowing that her mother would side with her if they (the other children) retaliate. This mother, and being aware of her daughter’s ill behavior, would just ignore what her daughter was doing without correcting her being afraid to hurt her own feelings. No doubt many parents can agree to that this is often the case where most of us as parents are just too over protective of our children not knowing that this leads our children astray with non-corrective behavior. After having noticed this habitual oversight by this particular mother, this development displeased the Lord and He commanded this girls’ mother to correct her daughter and not just overlook her mistakes and that she should discipline (spank) her if she repeats this behavior as a means of deterring her. Being as young as she was then, the Lord revealed the sins we may consider as innocent in this girl. In a powerful message to Charis, He exposed her lies, stealing habits, fighting, cheating in prayers by just sitting there and not praying, her secret swearing of others in her mind, jealousy, laziness and even gossiping. This might sound exaggerated for an eight (8) year old but we must remember that the Bible says humans are defiled “…I know that from the time they are young their thoughts are evil…” (Genesis 8:21 NIV).

Through many subsequent messages to the girl’s mother, the Lord brought to light what was hidden in children eight years old and more. Through these revelations, we may clearly understand that we should not overlook children’s mistakes and even side with them when they have done something wrong. Children in this age range including five year olds know if they have done wrong. We have observed that when we asked them why they did that, they would lie to hide the mistakes they did. By showing children their wrongs we allow them to grow and not to repeat these wrongs. If we do so in a gentle spirit, we obey and apply Scripture (Proverbs 22:6). Furthermore, if we overlook their little mistakes and turn a blind eye to their swearing, fighting or stealing we agree with the wrong they do and the psychological damage it is causing to them becomes a habit.

Punishment from the Lord

Furthermore, in one of the Lord’s own discipline to this eight (8) year old, He commanded that she get up at 01:00 A.M and pray for an hour until 02:00 A.M and sleep for an hour and then wake up again at 04:00 A.M and pray for another hour until 05:00 A.M. The Lord made her read the Bible for about three hours a day. After having to endure getting up early for one week, the Lord ended her discipline. During this time of discipline, we witnessed her struggles and crying and we knew that we should not interfere but to encourage her to obey the Lord. In a serious message to her back in 2010, the Lord warned this girl that she would go to Hell and that eight (8) year olds can also go to Hell if they do wrong things and disobey His Word.

This came as a shock to us and her mother and this led her mother to pray persistently very earnestly for her daughter’s salvation and deliverance from disobedience. With her mother’s consent, we obeyed the Lord by taking care of this girl. Through years of prayer, correction and reasonable discipline and in answer to our prayers, the Lord delivered this girl.

Today being more than four (4) years later, our patience, discipline, correction and teachings in the way of the Lord bore fruit in the life of this girl. Her spontaneous obedience and submission to us and the Word of the Lord led her to being used by the Lord. Brethren, the girl we are talking about is Jaydeen whose visions from the Lord you might have read in the Visions section.

Punishment or Discipline

Brethren, we need to stress from the onset, this ministry is not encouraging abuse of children and nor are we saying the Lord encourages us to just spank children for no reason or for any wrong behavior. In our understanding, reasonable discipline should be meted out after a few corrections three or four at most for repeated offenses. We would also like to acknowledge that the Lord said we should not discipline children out of anger as this may lead to abuse.

In another correction from the Lord on child rearing, a mother was warned not to just punish her daughter when she has done wrong; instead she should discipline (spank) her. In this situation, the girl’s mother and father were totally against using the rod of discipline. In their understanding, they believed it was not what the Bible teaches and hence in disciplining their daughter, they never employed the rod; they would rather use some other kind of sanction as a form of punishment. When this sister shared the Lord’s command of issuing discipline or spanking to the girl with her father, he questioned the context of discipline as explained in the Bible and the Lord’s command to his wife.

I know this comes as a great disappointment to many Christian parents who have adopted the worldly way of teaching and disciplining their children.

Brethren, as you know the worldly view of child rearing differs fundamentally with the Bible and as Christians we should decide whom do we follow the Biblical way of child rearing or the worldly way (Matthew 16:24)? This teaching is not intended to dictate to you but to share actual experiences and our failures.

Moreover, a few months ago, a good pastor and friend of this family and ministry shared this teaching on a social media platform, with many parents being blessed by this testimony and teaching; but a certain woman strongly opposed this message. In her anger, she hurled abusive insults against us and being a Christian mother, she extensively quoted from some secular sources to justify her beliefs that God does not mean we should spank children and that we are making up the things we said the Lord revealed to us. In truth, our testimony is not false and in addition to this sister’s insults there are several Bible verse to the contrary (Proverbs 23:13-14; Proverbs 29:15). Therefore to us, the same God of the Bible spoke to us reinforcing His teaching on child rearing and we only share our testimony looking to Scriptural support.

In the Bible we read, “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him” (Proverbs 22:15). While we have the honour to discipline our children and teach them the Word of God, the Lord has also cautioned us not to be abusive to our children. I was once cautioned by the Lord for unreasonably disciplining two of my children.

In another incident, a then 14 year old boy was secretly watching pornographic movies and magazines material at a friend’s house when their parents were not home. Through feedback we received, these adult movies greatly influenced this boy and led him to make wicked advances at girls younger than him. After we learned about his behaviour, we informed his mother who joined us in prayer as we asked the Lord to reveal to us if what we heard was true and how we should help the boy.

Vision of Evil Entering Children as They Watch Secular Movies

In a vision to Charis, the Lord showed her on a flat television screen all the things this boy had been watching. While he and his friends were watching some X-rated adult movies and violent magic cartoon programs, she witnessed how evil spirits entered them as they were watching these programs. In the vision, Charis saw a demonic ghost coming out of him from his chest, a big red eyed demonic wolf, including the evidence of the things he watched and viewed two adult X-rated movies together with all the Ben 10 characters and a few adult X-rated magazines. Charis says as she saw some of these magazine pages coming out of him suddenly one naked woman seemed to become alive and laughed at her scornfully. This we know is the demonic spirit which operates in all the people involved in the production of porno movies and magazines. The message the Lord gave us through this vision was that these things were now possessing and controlling the boy.

By his own admission, this young boy was hooked to Cartoon Network (CN). This boy was also possessed by a spirit of lust and this led him to act out these evils the world calls fantasies. He made some lustful advances at some girls who reported to us. For his trouble, the Lord commanded us to discipline (spank) him for his wickedness.

Parents, as a preacher of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and as a father, I admonish you in the love of the Lord, the enemy Satan is creating habits and appetites of evil in our children through some things they are exposed to on television and this becomes a possession (James 4:4). I would like to confess, some time ago I considered the warning of some Christian brethren on this topic as nonsense but how can I not be convinced after the Lord made this known to us? I tell you the truth that screaming and anger on the television can potentially destroy and possess a child’s soul (1 Corinthians 15:33). Not only that, in a message to Charis about a 3 year old girl, the Lord revealed that this precious girl was being subtly influenced by her mother’s anger.

Encouragement on Children’s Prayer and Reading Times

As I mentioned in our previous article on prayer, Charis, Jaydeen and two other children of our ministry were commanded by the Lord to pray three times daily in keeping with the Biblical model (Daniel 6:10; Psalm 55:17). As a matter of principle, it is the Lord who set their daily prayer and Bible reading times. No holidays or chores may interfere in their intimate prayer and Bible reading times. It is very pleasing to the Lord if we encourage our children to be prompt in time keeping, Daniel did that and this was very pleasing to the Father (Daniel 6:10; 10:11).

Also, in the Bible, God chose Abraham so that he would direct his children and household to obey the Lord so that the Lord would bring about for him what He had promised him (Genesis 18:19). God commanded that Children who do not know God's law must hear it and learn to fear the Lord all their lives (Deuteronomy 31:13; 32:46). His will was for the next generation to know His commands that they may teach their children so that they would trust God, remember His deeds, and keep His ways (Psalm 78:5-7; Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Are Born Again Children Permitted to Fast and Witness?

We must remember though that the Lord said His word applies equally to all people great and small alike (Revelations 20:12); the only exception in judging is that He considers people’s level of understanding. Therefore, in our experience, the Lord commanded our children to fast and witness to teach them faith and ministry service in the body. Like we said elsewhere, fasting is service to God and the body (Isaiah 58:6-9).

You would recall from Charis’ Hell visit, that the Lord commanded her to fast for four days (See Visit to Hell vision). In another witnessing and fasting experience which should be used by discerning parents as a model to encourage children their age, the Lord had the children fast for a full week. During this time of fasting, they had to witness for three (3) hours a day. This went on from Monday to Sunday every day; in addition to this they had to get up at 04:00 A.M and pray for an hour until 05:00. Like us, they were commanded to go house to house handing out tracts. I give solemn Praise and Glory to the Lord Almighty for His protection of them during that time of witnessing.
Being familiar myself with the area they were assigned to witness in, I can confirm that they were brave to witness in a drug infested, alcohol abuse and a gangster paradise. However by the Grace of God, our children conquered that area all by themselves. Being concerned for their safety, I intended accompanying them on their witnessing trips for the week but the Lord would not let me go with them, instead He said: “No one must go with you. I will protect you”. With the Lord being a faithful God, they were protected against dogs, hostile children who made fun of them and against abusive adults.

In their report back to us, they said that some adults even mocked them when they said the Lord sent them to bless them with His Word, and that He loves them and that He was Coming Soon.

On another witnessing occasion, two of our girls were attacked by a security guard who took off his belt and spanked them just for witnessing to him. While this was a humiliating experience to them, this was a necessary test from the Lord to see if this would deter them from witnessing. In a message to them that evening, the Lord encouraged them to forgive the man who attacked them.

As a further testimony to you, witnessing is at the heart of the Gospel, and if the Lord would use eight (8), nine (9) year and eleven (11) year old girls to witness, how much more do you think God will hold the average church goers responsible for not witnessing (Mark 16:15)?

In my observation, the general consensus among Christians who don’t witness is that they have decided that it is the Pastor or church’s responsibility to witness and not theirs. My brother and sister you are walking in disobedience according to (Matthew 28:19), I encourage you, do some WITNESSING! Remember, it is good to give to mission work because these organizations take the gospel to nations around us, we however as individual members of the body of Christ have our neighbours to evangelise to. In the present situation, God is using children to carry forth His Word as an example to the individual Christian.

Prayer before Going Witnessing

As a rule from the Lord, He commanded that they pray for a few minutes before they depart for witnessing and pray and worship when they return from witnessing. As parents we were not allowed to police them.

Are We to Spoil our Children?

Before sitting to write on this subject, I have first read up on quite a few works on this subject of “spare the rod, spoil the child”, and I came across some radical interpretations to the Scriptures dealing with this, with other parents even suggesting that it was right to spoil your children.

In our experience, I will be referring to some of the Lord’s rebukes to parents in our ministry. A certain mother was in the habit of giving in to her children’s demands for unnecessary things. If her children see something they would cry and nag her for it until she gives in to their demands. This situation was very displeasing to the Lord and He rebuked the mother not to spoil her children. Prior to the Lord’s rebuke, this precious sister did not realise that she was spoiling her children, but understood when the Lord pointed her to the habit it develops in the children and the fact that this would lead the children to develop selfish and greedy conduct.

Similarly, another well-meaning mother was rebuked by the Lord for quieting her small children with treats when they cry. The Lord said this was spoiling and very wrong and not pleasing to Him. As we mentioned in the Gluttony article, this also encourages a spirit of gluttony. She has since learned to recognize those moments and discipline when necessary.

As a matter of truth, we are living in a permissive society where children are spoilt with luxury items to please them. In some instances, and because of their habit of getting what they want and not what they need, some children would hold grudges against their parents even refusing to talk or do certain chores until they receive what they want. In a sharp rebuke to a mother, the Lord told her not to allow her children to speak to her as if she was a child. Those precious daughters grew up with the habit of speaking to their parents as if they were friends. In such a situation, one cannot distinguish who is the parent and who is the child. The Lord however wants to see children honouring and respecting their parents as the Bible teaches (Ephesians 6:2).

Furthermore, in a separate rebuke to another mother, the Lord encouraged this particular sister not to treat her grown children like babies and being overly concern and acting on their every whim. This kind of spoiling leads to laziness, demands, disobedience to parents and disrespect. One such instances of spoiling in our community led a young man to kill his mother for refusing to give him money to feed his drug habit. The Lord says parents who spoil their children and fail to discipline them according to His Word will only blame themselves for disregarding the Lord’s Word. As a witness of the gospel, I can testify that parents who really work to teach their children on the will of the Lord do receive His mercy. As a gift to us, the Lord told us that He imparted a spirit of obedience in our then four year old daughter (Philippians 2:13).

As we all know, no one is born with obedience and as we grow up it becomes a choice if we want to obey or not. In our case the Lord made our work easy by imparting obedience in our daughter who is willing ready to do as we reasonably guide her.

As a God-fearing family, we provide our children with what is NEEDED and if we have it and not what they desire. Naturally, people always desire the things that others have (Exodus 20:17; Ecclesiastes 4:4). Therefore, humanity’s natural tendency is covetousness and it is Satan’s most powerful weapon to create bondage, greed and habits (Genesis 3:1-24). Also, pampering children with gifts is not a sin if those are needed but giving in the demands for something specific only to satisfy their desires is sinful and spoiling. If you give in to your children’s demands, you will have to do it again, but if you refuse after giving in the first time you stand to receive emotional blackmail and attitudes.

How is Your Parenting?

We live in a society where the number of single, part-time, or willfully absent parents is high. Even many Christian parents who are married and could easily be available to train up their children have instead chosen to pursue careers, business, higher education, or other selfish goals while leaving children to the daycare system, babysitter, or nanny. We are not saying it is wrong for both parents to work, however our responsibility to train children in the Lord’s will rests with us parents and not with those we pay to look after them. We suggest parents who find themselves in this situation should pray and seek the Lord’s guidance on this matter. Like we emphasized, the command to train up a child in the way he should go was mainly intended for parents (Proverbs 22:6).

We had a couple a few years ago who wanted to know how they were doing in their parenting. When we asked the Lord, He showed Charis a vision with three (3) pairs of hands. The first pair of hands held thumbs up, the second pair held thumbs sideways, and the third pair held thumbs down. Then a white finger of light appeared pointing to the thumbs sideways (medium). This is how the couple was raising their children. This couple was surprised but through prayer and studying the Word, they learned they were not properly training up their children up in the fear of the Lord. This also tells us that the Lord cares very much how we are raising our children.

We also have a father in this ministry whose wife desired to quit her career and take care of their children. For a while he would not allow her stating that they had many things to buy and needed the money. Soon after, the Lord rebuked him by saying he had ‘NO FAITH’. He humbly chose to repent, put His trust in the Lord, and allow his wife to quit her career to raise their children. As a result, the love between them and their children has grown and they are happy to be available to correct disobedience and doing their best to give their children a chance at heaven (Proverbs 27:23). The Lord also has showed Himself faithful in never failing to provide financially.

Unfortunately, many married Christians prefer to have a two-income household and have basically “outsourced” parenting while using the extra money to buy cars, couches, gadgets, and other wants. They say they want a good life, good things, and to save for good schools for their children. While we all want to enjoy a life without lack, this model promotes acquiring things in this life while neglecting the children’s souls and their need to obtain eternal life (Mark 8:36). What we have seen with this model is by the time children are teenagers to early twenties (20s), they bring their parents grief by being rebellious, promiscuous, in distressful circumstances, and displaying ungodly fruit which parents are unaware how and when it was planted (Proverbs 29:17). Dear parents, we admonish you to have faith and stop being selfish. The Lord Jesus promised to reward those who give up fields for His sake and for the gospel (Mark 10:29-30). The Bible calls it a good deed to bring up children (1 Timothy 5:10).

In conclusion, when children are young and tender we can easily influence them however, as they grow up to be teenagers, parents will often find it hard to influence them. In addition, peer pressure contributes to undue pressure on parents and most children or teenagers rebel against their parents and authority to please others. The point is, if we brought up our children in the Word we can easily influence them into corrective behaviour because of their fear for the Lord. Otherwise, the world will educate them and they will follow that lead.

Finally, as parents our fatal mistake is our failure to teach our children to have a relationship with the Lord earlier on in their lives. We give them knowledge about God, and our responsibility seems to ends there. The rest of the core teachings of the Word of God we leave to the preacher, or Sunday school teacher whom we task with the responsibility to teach our children about God. Parents: who told you it is someone else’s responsibility to bring up your child in the ways of the Lord? While we acknowledge the work of the church, parents are directly responsible to God for teaching their children in His ways (Ephesians 6:4).There are some parents in our ministry who never fully committed to bringing up their children in the fear of the Lord, and now they are sitting with tears of disappointment in some of their children’s poor and ungodly choices. So, dear father or mother, you might serve the Lord and have your salvation secure if you walk obediently. However, would you only want to realise in the hereafter that your sons or daughters did not make it to Heaven? The truth is that you will never see your child again; you simply failed in your responsibility as a parent to do as the Bible commands. Please take the time now to teach your children on the way of the Lord.

Therefore, don’t despise the Lord, obey His Word and give no rest to your soul until your child knows the Lord and actually serves Him. Paul says: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). One mother once asked me: “What if my children are already grown up?” Well, if you have repented, it is not too late to at least pray for your children and encourage them in the will of the Lord. They might not be as receptive and willing to listen, but we rely on the power of Scripture and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to break through their hearts of stone (Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 59:1).

For more on child rearing kindly refer to our articles on “Love Children Equally”, “Obedient and Disobedient Children”, and “The Youth”.

Blessed grace and love to you all,

Brother Glenn van Rooyen and Preparing for The Kingdom Ministry Team.

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Having a Favourite Between Your Children

Note: In our opening to this article, the Lord told me use the words He gave Charis when He transferred her in the spirit to the Statue of Liberty in America (see Pastor’s Repent article). From the pinnacle of the free world’s symbol of freedom, the Lord Jesus Christ made her say these words to all peoples everywhere: “People, this Word (waving the Bible) is for children, adults and older people, and for all generations. People, this is a teaching from the Lord but you don’t seem to care!” Please do not despise the Word of God and the message He gave us to proclaim to you; it is for your edification, salvation and for the future Heavenly heritage of your children.

Important! To emphasize the importance of practicing equal love and not showing favouritism amongst our children, the Lord had me write again on this subject. I have therefore partially reworked the Love Your Children Equally article. Like I said below and experienced myself, favouring one child over another leads to bigger problems in the home and society.

“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant [Annoyed at an unfair treatment of children]. He said to them, let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:13-14).

The above Scripture is prominently quoted, but with no action! The Lord was visibly annoyed with His disciples for denying children access to Him. This led Him to make the most powerful statement about children and their role in the kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is theirs by God’s Sovereign choice. I am referring to children who are under the age of accountability, which according to our Lord Jesus Christ is eight (8) years. This is what He confirmed twice to us through Charis when He rebuked an eight year old girl for deliberate sinful behaviour and He said: “Joan must stop doing wrong things because eight year olds can also go to Hell”.

In a vision, the Lord showed Charis a woman standing in her kitchen with three children. One child was her daughter and the other two children were not hers. These children were all standing one after the other when the woman in the vision suddenly gave sweets to one child while ignoring the other two children. Then someone came in from outside entering the kitchen door and said: “That is unequal treatment of children”. Immediately, after this vision Charis was shown another vision; this time she saw a mother with four of her own children, two boys and two girls. The children were between 10 and 12 years old. In the vision, the Lord made her feel this mother’s strong hatred for her two girls and her favouring love towards her two boys. After these visions, she heard the voice of the Lord saying to a mother in our ministry who was favouring one child above the others: “My daughter W must love her children equally”. This was a similar warning the Lord gave my wife not to have a favourite between our children.

God Loves and Upholds Equality

I am careful not to deviate from our message, but it won’t hurt to mention the following as an encouragement. The Bible categorically associates the Lord with virtues such as justice, righteousness and faithfulness to mention but a few of God’s attributes (Psalm 7:8-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:6; Isaiah 45:18-21). This should undeniably be His children’s desire to be like Him. The Bible makes a loud appeal to people and leaders everywhere to exercise justice and righteousness (Matthew 7:12; Exodus 23:1-9; Colossians 4:1).

When God placed humanity on the earth, He gave them social laws to foster co-existence (Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah 7:9-10; Jeremiah 22: 3; Matthew 7:12; 1 John 3:17-18). These and many other Scriptures echo the same message of fairness. The result of wars and conflict in the world are based on two powerful pillars of evil, namely GREED and Injustice. As it is, peace is denied an entry into human society because man is possessed by these evils and all we see in this world is greed, hurt and death!

Where Did We First Learn to be Unequal?

As children, we have all learned to practice selfishness at home. While I do recognize that selfishness is innate and part of our human nature, we as parents must not encourage this kind of behaviour in our children. Our responsibility is to teach our children to unlearn selfishness. Sadly, today’s message to our children from the mass media portrays selfishness as a way of life. The Word of God says: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). Our refuge and escape from sin is obedience to God. We have been given the tools to master sin and do right. We have the Bible as our rule of living, the spirit of faith, obedience, prayer and the Holy Spirit who guides and convicts us (John 16:8). These are potent weapons that mightily attack ‘self’ which is feeding onto worldly desires (1 John 2:15-17). Remember, Satan likes to inflate our egos to show us our self-importance – let us therefore guard against this evil (Genesis 3:4-5).

Furthermore, as a parent myself, I had to learn to respect my children as human beings with feelings and not just to demand respect and compliance from them. My wife and I have been repeatedly rebuked by the Lord for infuriating our children. In addition, I strive daily to bring my children up in the ways of the Lord and I teach them to fear God more than us their parents (Ephesians 6:4). If we practice favourite love at home, our children will also practice favourite love to a parent. This inevitably leads to strife between mom, dad and the other children. Lord Jesus, please save us from houses with no peace and discipline!

It is easy to love when we have only one child, but the more children one has the greater the challenge and responsibility. Children compete against one another for our attention, and as parents instead of favouring one, which leads to spoilt brat status, we should encourage them to love and support one another, because “a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17: 17b NIV).

It is considered a blessing to have more children (Psalm 127:3); we must also therefore guard against loving one child more than the other(s), like Jacob did (Genesis 37:3). Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children and this led to Joseph being ill-treated and hated by his brothers. Equally, I have seen how favoured children are abused by others. Therefore, the home, and not the school or church, is the place where we should teach and practice to teach our children fairness and respect for others. We are called to treat others as we desire to be treated (Matthew 7:12); this is equality which cancels out favouritism. If we favour or love one child more than our other children, are we not sinning? Yes we are! Now, not only are we sinning, but also we are preparing children who will transfer this behaviour into society. In return, this unequal treatment of others, which our children adopted from us, will become a well-accepted practice in society.

How to Practice Equal Parenting

Our success in equal parenting is dependent on our personal sense of fairness or justice. When we lack integrity and honesty, we will make poor parenting choices and this will result in many troubles for us with other people and God. I’d rather teach my children how to live with others in society than have society as my enemy because of being biased. I tell you this; prudent and discerning children will blame you later in life for the poor example you set for them. Kindly allow me to state this, when you do not treat children equally you are preparing your children for HELL because you are working against God’s model for raising Godly children (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4). In addition, my beloved brethren, we must remember that it is not about us or how we feel, but what is important to God and how it will affect our children’s future and destiny.

Before I turn to testimonies, I would like to add the following for your encouragement. It is our Biblical duty as parents to instruct our children in the fear of the Lord as the above Scripture (Ephesians 6:4) says. It is also our duty as parents to listen to them when they relate their failures and experiences with others. This is invaluable feedback to you to impart or encourage more corrective behaviour.

In the home, children must all feel equally loved. When a child comes to us, as parents, to complain about someone else’s behaviour towards them, we must act to help rectify the problem. It might be some misunderstanding or a problem that requires a just recourse. Failure to intervene when children bring a dispute to us may lead to rejection and some children will get the impression that you do not care about them.

I will use my own upbringing as an example of this. As a child, I grew up with my four sisters and our parents. I was about seven years when my father left home to live with another woman. This badly affected us and especially my mother who resorted to drinking. She became negligent and one of our aunts took care of us. My aunt had children of her own (my cousins) and she practiced gross inequality. Consequently, we suffered unfair verbal and physical abuse. I am not saying this so as to be pitied; I have heartily forgiven and love everybody who made our lives hell.

Sadly, the treatment we received inevitably made me very stubborn, rebellious and hateful. During this ordeal I desired a normal childhood like other children who had their parents. This abuse resulted in me withdrawing from others and it badly affected my relationship with others. I lost my self-confidence and this led to more trouble for me from my peers. In short, I became their scapegoat and laughing stock. This unlovingness I received at home and among my peers generated bitterness in me. I became more defensive and as a result, I transferred it to others, and despite my being saved now, they are still carrying that wicked behaviour today in society. This is the short story of unfavourable love.

It took the GRACE and the LOVE of the Lord Jesus Christ to CHANGE me from this destructive way of life. I am not asserting that all abused or unequally treated children end up like I did; mine has a happy ending in Christ Jesus, and for this I am eternally grateful.

Parents, do you love one child more than the rest? Are you willing to repent from your sins and start loving your children equally? If you are willing, please pray this Prayer of Sincere Repentance.

For questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed love,

Brother Glenn.

Obedient and Disobedient Children

Note: During this past week, we sought the Lord in prayer in particular to give a message for our Muslim brothers and sisters. We share a very important vision from the Lord with Muslims worldwide at the end of this article. In Jesus name, we beseech you brethren not to despise the message and jump to the vision.

Slightly over two years ago, we wrote and posted an article on Raising Godly Children. In that work, we concentrated primarily on how to train and prepare children to serve the Lord. We drew sharply from our own experiences and the successes we enjoyed as a result of our children's obedience and co-operation. In this article, however, we will concentrate on the blessings of obedience and the Lord's displeasure with disobedient children. This article is therefore addressing children and parents alike.

The Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise., that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth" (Ephesians 6:1-3; Exodus 20:12). This order of authority in the house has been instituted by God Himself. When the Lord issued this command, He added a promise to it and that is to reward the obedient with long life. Truly, there is no higher reward than life itself (Luke 12:23). Everything else in this world apart from life is considered vanity; indeed it is true! Life is the most precious in God's sight, which Christ Jesus offered to all who would accept and obey Him (Ecclesiastes 1:14; John 3:16-18; Romans 6:23).

Obedience is Not Automatic

As a God-fearing family, our aim is always to raise our children in His ways. Having being taught by the Lord Himself our children knows what He expects from them. However, we have observed as our children are growing up we noticed the change in their moods, attitudes and their sense of obedience. What we further learned as parents is that no one is exempt from tests and trials but we all have a cup to drink (Matthew 20:22) As parents, we are forced to pray hard as the enemy is hard at work to destroy our children through acts of rebelliousness and worldliness. Thus, none of us a spared from the wrath of Satan who is out to kill, steal, destroy and deceive (John 10:10; Revelations 12:9). Therefore, the weapon to shield and protect our children is the Word of God and persistent prayer (Joshua 24:15; Proverbs 3:33).

 Now, obedience, as an act of respect and submission, is surely not an automatic or spontaneous response. Instead, we are taught to obey through words, actions and discipline. Without going into the entire psychological aspect of early childhood development, children often learn their behavior through the actions and words of others around them. As it is, children first experiment the things they learn around them to see if they are acceptable; they then adopt what is accepted and thereby learn new behavior. If an adoption of a bad behavior in a child goes unchecked or without correction, it results in a way of life. Therefore, systematically as we grow up as children, we resist correction and authority, thus resulting in disobedience.

Furthermore, let me clarify from the onset: I am not claiming to be an expert on this subject, but Biblically, and being a parent myself, there is something you could learn and apply. Also, remember the Holy Spirit of God is our teacher and He is a great help in matters like this (John 14:26 NKJV). I will therefore give account from my knowledge and experience.

A few years ago, I decided to take on two grown boys to come live with my wife and I. These lads were my own nephews (my sister's children). They were about 16 and 17 years respectively. I taught them all that was necessary for peaceful relations in the house and society at large. Like many of us, they “obeyed” only in our presence, but in our absence they behaved and lived at will, forgetting or disregarding all the good values we taught and disciplined them for. Does this sound familiar to you? Yes it does, and some of us still practice such hypocrisy when authority is not around to observe our actions.

Anyway, I started receiving some negative reports regarding the young men's behavior in our absence. On numerous occasions I would confront them with the reality of their actions, while exercising whatever reasonable means of discipline necessary. As it is, after sometime their rebelliousness shone through, which affected relations amongst us. They decided to return to their home and to their old habits and behaviors which they had suppressed while living with us. The clean, Godly lifestyle was usurped for worldly, pleasure seeking way of life. In regard to the above, the point I'm making is this: in the absence of nurturing God's Word as a foundation in a child, we have very little success in seeing them walking in obedience.

Disobedience is Rebellion

I have children of my own and I laid the foundation of the word of God in their lives through establishing it as a way of life (Proverbs 22:6). What is critically important is that what we teach, that we observe, so that we eliminate confusion and enforce spontaneously obedience. For the Bible says, "Furthermore, tell the people, this is what the Lord says: See I am setting before you the way of life and death" (Jeremiah 21:8). Therefore, we do not force our way of life onto our children, but through disciplined living and submission to God in humble reverence, they see and adapt to a life of joy that is burden free. In teaching our children obedience, we allow them to choose, while pointing them to the consequences of the choices they may make.

Scripturally, it is easy to walk and live in obedience to the Lord when we have had the Scriptures as a foundation (Proverbs 22:6; 2 Timothy 3:15). Generally, disobedient children give their parents grief and disgrace (Proverbs 10:1; 19:13; Genesis 26:34-35). This is the same spirit of disobedience they would carry onto their children and future generations.

Like I mentioned earlier, we lived with children that we taught in the ways of the Lord while they saw the way we lived (1 Thessalonians 1:5). Because the way of the Lord was in conflict with the way they were brought up, disobedience was an easy route. The Lord told us that disobedience is a demonic spirit that controls a person from the inside, resulting in rebellion against His will (Ephesians 2:2). Through various messages that came through Charis, the Lord encouraged our children to be obedient and He also warned them about Hell (Please see Dwight's Vision of People Going to Hell, given on November 9, 2013).

In conclusion, last year the Lord blessed a girl of 12 years with beautiful words of encouragement for her obedience to Him. When the Lord gave her the words, we could literally sense that the Lord was happy and well pleased with her. Parents, don't be afraid or ashamed to teach your children the Word of God; He will reward you and their obedience will be your delight (Proverbs 23:24; 29:17). Children, always remember that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10 NIV; Psalm 119:9). Obey your parents and submit to their authority; this is the right thing in the Lord, for the Lord has promised long life for the present and eternal life in the age to come (1 Timothy 4:8).

Vision of Muslims

Given to Charis on June7, 2014

"After our 06:30 morning prayers, I received a vision from the Lord. I saw myself standing in a weed field, surrounded by beautiful long, green grass. My eye sight appeared to be enhanced as I could clearly see things about 700 to 800 meters away. I saw hundreds of Muslim people bowing down in worship on withered or dried grass.

I then heard the Lord said, "Those people love the Lord Jesus Christ, but they are afraid and they are being forced to do what their hearts don't desire. I love all the Muslim people and I love everybody in the world and no one must think I don't care about them". After the Lord said these words, I felt a deep pity and love in my heart for those people I saw in the vision and for the unsaved people in the world, and I started crying while closing my face with my hands, and I said “thank you Lord for this message and vision". End.

Explanation:

This vision is not an attack against the Muslims; the Lord loves them and He wants to save them. The Lord Jesus Christ is calling Muslims around the world to come to Him and accept Him as Lord and Saviour. He loves them and all other people and He died for the sins of all humanity (John 3:16-18).

Blessed love,
Brother Glenn

The Youth

The Youth in Today’s Society 

In this week’s article, the Lord is specifically addressing the youth to come to Him, that they “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22 KJV).

“Youth” is classified in society as being 15 to 34 years old. The youths between these age ranges know right from wrong. Instead of looking at the ills of today’s youth, we will concentrate on what the Word of God instructs the youth and how the youths in the Bible responded to the fear of the Lord. In today’s society, youths are being encouraged by money-hungry advertising agencies to behave braggingly and act superior to others. The products they present to the youth are to promote “class” and independence. They offer the youth freedom, but in reality they make them slaves to their products and services. The world is drawing the youth deep into HELL itself by offering them every kind of worldly desire and appetite for sin and power.

In our current society, one of the greatest influences on the youth is the mass media. While it brings us information, it has undoubtedly changed the way we live in society. Furthermore, while this is not a discussion about the role of the mass media in today’s society, it is necessary to trace youth problems to the very thing that influence their behaviour. Psychologically, we are a product of the things we are exposed to, whether good or bad, and that will determine our behaviour in society.

How Do Youth Keep Pure from Worldly Influences?

The Bible has the answer and here it is right away: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your Word” (Psalm 119:9 NIV). In another verse, the youth are also reminded: “Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore" (Ecclesiastes 12:1 NLT). By honouring God and by living according to His word we are promised a pure and blameless life (Psalm 84:11). King Solomon also issued a stern warning through the Holy Spirit to the disobedient, rebellious and lustful youth by saying “Young person, if you spend your youth only having fun, if you use your early years just to entertain yourself, if you follow your heart as you live your life, and let your eyes be your guide; understand that for all these things God will bring you to judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9 CJB).

Kindly allow me to share a conversation I overheard recently. I recently got into a taxi, and being in close proximity, I could not avoid listening how two young ladies spoke. The one young lady whom I perceived to be a born-again Christian was telling the other one how hard it is to be a Christian, while explaining some of the troubles she was going through. At first I thought, “Poor lady, this is exactly what we all complain about; it is indeed hard”. However, later that day the Lord told me that what makes it hard to be a Christian for many believers is our appetite for sinful worldly desires. The Lord said we don’t have His peace within us because we invite worldly desires into our lives and that makes us unstable in our walk with Him. The ways of the Lord are not burdensome (1 John 5:2-4) and we should not magnify the desires of the sinful nature by saying the ways of the Lord are hard. It is not hard at all; we just must not give way to bodily passions (1 Peter 2:11), and instead as youth we should have appetite for the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2).

Faithful Youth in the Bible

In the Bible, there are accounts of God-fearing youth who chose the path of obedience and submission to God. These youths separated themselves from bad company to remain faithful and obedient to God (Genesis 39:21). An example is Daniel, a young man who feared God; he set his heart to obey all the will of God and to serve his nation before God in prayer instead of following his selfish desires (Daniel 9:20). His friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, being also youth who loved God and right doing, took their stand against the King of Babylon (Daniel 3:16-17).

Furthermore, there is Ruth who was a young widow when she chose to dwell with her mother-in-law, and for her faithfulness God made her a great grandmother of King David, and through whose ancestry line Christ our Lord was born (Ruth 1:16-18; Matthew 1:5). Her obedience and love for truth resulted in a lasting dynasty for her. We also have Esther who in her youth obeyed everything she was taught by her uncle Mordecai, who was a just and God-fearing man, and through her obedience and fear for God she was elevated to become Queen and this resulted in her saving countless innocent lives (Esther 2:20, 4:14). The lists can go on: there is King David who killed a giant in his youth (1 Samuel 17:42), Jeremiah became God’s prophet when he was only a child (Jeremiah 1:7), Josiah who followed God since he was only 8 years old (2 Chronicles 34:1-2) (and some people had a problem when I told them I led my daughter Charis to the Lord when she was only 8 years old).

In addition, there is Mary the earthly mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. She was a young virgin when God chose her. She feared God and being humble she pleased God and that resulted in her delivering the Saviour of the world Christ Jesus (Luke 1:26-33). Also there is Timothy (1 Timothy 1:1-2), Titus (Titus 2:6-8), and Stephen the martyr (Acts 6:8); they were all devoted young men who lived for truth, righteousness and for the salvation of their generation. These youths did not run after the cravings of their sinful appetites, but they followed truth, righteous living and purity. In their zeal for God and their love for humanity, they lived to save others from the way of error and they are promised by God that they will shine like the stars (Daniel 12:3).

I therefore challenge the youth: don’t you want a change? Accept Christ Jesus into your life and live to work for souls, for only this brings true joy to the Lord and this joy He will pass on to you for eternal Glory and bliss in Heaven (Romans 2:7).

The Past Cannot Hold You Back; Look Forward

While it is good to share with you just how others lived for God and through their lives we draw courage and inspiration, I deem it necessary to share something out of my own youth days. This I do to make our message not just a mere talk with Scriptural evidence; I do so to show you how I applied the Scriptures in my life. I have repeatedly mentioned how I was involved in wrong things as a youth. This was largely due to a lack of Godly guidance in our home. My father and my mother drank like typical parents; they were just satisfied to supply the normal family needs—food, clothes and shelter—but no moral guidance through the Living Word of God. Without going into much detail, their drinking led to more trouble in the family and it resulted in them neglecting us. As we grew up, my sisters and I learned how to survive by lying and stealing. Paul encourages us to forget about past mistakes (Philippians 3:3). Sadly, because I learned about God when psychological damage was already done in my life by being exposed to wicked things in the past, I only have the Word of God and His holy promises as security not to escape to the hurts I caused and the pains of abuse I suffered. I learned to trust in Christ and cry silently to Him when I am being reminded about the past for my complete healing is in the future when God will wipe away all my tears (Revelation 21:4-14).

Don’t allow the devil or others to hurt you by referring you to your past; they want you back there to ridicule you so that they might tell you how you failed. Stand on Christ’s promises (Psalm 103:12). Don’t become a person who is worrying and being influenced by bad friends; wake up youth and take control of your life. God will Judge you alone in the absence of your parents or friends.  Don’t give up on eternal life; Christ has it! COME TO HIM!

Let me encourage you parents: a shortage of God’s Word in the lives of your children results in rebelliousness and if you don’t teach them at home, Satan has a plan for them through their social grouping. As a father and God fearing man myself, I encourage Godly living in my house and the Scriptures govern our relationship with one another (Joshua 24:14-15). This is a compulsory rule and all who come and dwell with us enjoy the benefits and protection of God.

My youthful brother and sister, don’t escape to drugs, bad friends and cell phone addictions.  Don’t become involved in chat/gossip groups; these are evils that the enemy uses to ensnare you; ESCAPE TO CHRIST TODAY and hide from the coming wrath and you’ll be saved (Luke 21:36). As youth, we tend to be self-centered but like the youth in the Bible, they laid down their lives for what is right and praiseworthy to God.

Therefore “brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).

Be blessed in truth and righteous living.

Your fellow brother and redeemed sinner,
Glenn.

Love Your Children Equally

Love is Equal and Respectful

“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant [Annoyed at an unfair treatment of children]. He said to them, let the little children come to me, and not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:13-14).

The above Scripture is quit prominently quoted, but with no action! The Lord was visibly annoyed with His disciples for denying children access to Him. This led Him to make the most powerful statement about children and their role in the kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom is theirs by God’s Sovereign choice. I am referring to children who are under the age of accountability, which according to our Lord Jesus Christ is seven (7) or eight (8) years. This is what He told us through Charis when He rebuked an eight year old girl for deliberate sinful behaviour and He said: “Joan must stop doing wrong things because eight year olds can also go to Hell”. This has been confirmed by many other people whom we believe hear from the Lord as well. This week’s article has been revealed to us in a vision by the Lord. We asked the Lord what this week's message should be. He answered saying: "I will answer your father's question tonight". This was answered through Visions and a message to a mother.

In the first vision, the Lord showed Charis someone we knew standing in her kitchen with three children. One child was her own daughter and the other two children were not her children. These children were all standing there together when this mother suddenly gave sweets to one child while ignoring the others. Just then someone came in from outside saying: “That is unequal treatment of children”. Immediately, after this vision she was shown another vision, a mother with four of her own children, two boys and two girls. These children she estimates them to be about 10 to 12 years. She was made to feel this mother’s strong hatred for her two girls and her love for her two boys. After these two visions the Lord gave her a message for a mother in our ministry saying: “My daughter W must love her children equally”. Brethren, this is the message the Lord has for you this week. He knows every heart and reader on this website and the messages we publish online are for you. He knows His children and the challenges we face. The Lord provides word education for you and your family. Please find below a brief presentation.

The Bible categorically associates the Lord with virtues such as justice, righteousness and faithfulness to mention but a few of God’s attributes (Psalm 7:8-11; 2 Thessalonians 1:6; Isaiah 45:18-21). This should undeniably be His children’s desire to be like Him. I am careful not to deviate from our message, but it won’t hurt to mention the following as an encouragement. The Bible makes a loud appeal to people and leaders everywhere to exercise justice and righteousness (Matthew 7:12; Exodus 23:1-9; Colossians 4:1). When God placed humanity on the earth, He gave them social laws to foster co-existence (Isaiah 1:17; Zechariah 7:9-10; Jeremiah 22: 3; Matthew 7:12; 1 John 3:17-18). These and many other Scriptures echo the same message of fairness. The result of wars and conflict in the world are based on two powerful pillars of evil, namely GREED and Injustice. As it is, peace is denied an entry because man is possessed by these evils and all we have is just harm, hurt and death!

Where Did We First Learn to Be Unequal?

As children, we have all learned to practice selfishness at home. While I do recognize that selfishness is innate and part of the human nature, we as parents must not encourage this kind of behaviour in our children. This is also further encouraged by our social setup and the television. There is no escape from this evil practice. It is everywhere present just like all other sins, but we must overcome it by doing what the Word of God says. As people, and being easily enticed by sin, we only have the Word of God to ‘escape’ to. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). Our refuge and escape from sin is obedience to God. We have been given the tools to master sin and do right. We have the Bible as our rule of living, the spirit of faith, obedience, prayer and the Holy Spirit who guides and convicts us (John 16:8). These are weapons mighty to attack ‘self’ and sin. Remember, Satan likes to inflate our egos to show us our self-importance – let us therefore guard against this evil (Genesis 3:4-5).

Furthermore, as a parent myself I had to learn to respect my children as humans with feelings and not just to demand respect and compliance from them. My wife and I have been repeatedly rebuked by the Lord for infuriating our children. In addition, I strive daily to bring my children up in the ways of the Lord and I teach them to fear God more than us, as their parents (Ephesians 6:4). This is easily achieved especially when we have just one child to bring up. The more the children one has, however, the greater the challenge and responsibility.Children compete against one another for our attention, and as parents we should encourage them to love and support one another, because “a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17: 17b NIV). It is considered a blessing to have more children (Psalm 127:3); we must also therefore guard against loving one child more than the other(s), like Jacob (Genesis 37:3). We are called to treat others as we desire to be treated, this is equality (Matthew 7:12). If we treat or love one child better than the other are we not sinning? Yes we are! Now not only are we sinning but we are preparing children who will transfer this behaviour into society. This unequal treatment of others, adopted by our children, and now well accepted in society found its roots with us as parents.

How to Practice Equal Parenting?

Our success in equal parenting is dependent on our personal sense of fairness or justice. When we lack integrity and honesty we will make poor parenting and this will result in many troubles for us with people and God. I’d rather teach my children how to live with others in society then have society as my enemy because of being biased. I tell you this; prudent and discerning children will blame you later in life for the poor example you set for them. Kindly allow me to state this, you are preparing your children for HELL because you working against God’s model for raising Godly children, (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4). In addition, my beloved brethren, we must remember that it is not about us or how we feel but what is important to God and how it will affect our children’s future and destiny.

Before I turn to testimonies and what the Lord said, I would like to add the following encouragement. It is our Biblical duty as parents to instruct our children in the fear of the Lord as the above Scripture says. It is also our duty as parents to listen to them when they relate their failures and experiences with others. This is invaluable feedback to you to impart or encourage more corrective behaviour.

In the home, children must all feel equally loved. When a child comes to us as parents to complain about someone else’s behaviour towards them, we must act to help rectify the problem. It might be a misunderstanding or a problem that requires just recourse. Whatever that is might be considered minor by us, but this affects our child and this might leads to feelings of rejection. The feeling or spirit of rejection brings a spirit of hatred and rebellion. I will use my own upbringing as an example of this. As a child I grew up with my four sisters and our parents. I was about seven years when my father left home to live with another woman. This badly affected us and especially my mother who resorted to drinking. She became negligent and one of our aunts took care of us. My aunt had children of her own (my cousins) and she practiced gross inequality. We suffered unfair verbal and physical abuse. I am not saying this to be pitied. I have long forgiven and love everybody who made our lives hell. This treatment made me very stubborn, rebellious and hateful. I desired normal childhood like other children who had their parents. I became very shy and withdrawn and I lacked self-confidence. I confess while I did not know that then, I avoided other children because I thought they would mock me for my lack of things, and they did. The spoiled brats (cousins) on the other hand became disrespectful towards their mother, and today they have children of their own who are equally affected by their parent’s nonchalant way of life. By this I was just trying to show that what we are exposed to as children is being transferred into society. This made me a troubled child causing me do untold harm to others. It took the GRACE and the LOVE of Jesus Christ to CHANGE me from this destructive way of life. I am not asserting that all abused or unequally treated children end up like me. Mine has a happy ending in Christ, doesn’t it?

The Lord’s Correction of Parents

Earlier this year, I was commanded by the Lord to share some of the things He taught us on how to raise children in His ways. We have an article titled ‘Christian Parenting: Bringing up Children in the Fear of the Lord’. This is a basic document based on our experiences with the Lord and His direct counsel to us as parents and our children. This is a very, very serious thing to the Lord, not raising and teaching our children in His ways. Beloved, I want to be bold and brave on this subject, children are the most neglected when it comes to their training and instruction in the Word of God. Many parents have shifted this responsibility to the church through the Sunday School program. While this is ministry and is somehow helpful, it is not a God-ordained purpose. The Sunday School setup is formal and it teaches knowledge more than applied obedience, faith and proper behaviour. The Lord has mandated parents to bring their children up in His ways (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4). We hinder the children to serve the Lord because we consider them way too innocent for spiritual things. This is wrong. There are numerous scriptures showing us that children must be brought up in the instruction of the Lord and taught the Word and they will grow up to serve the Lord. Samuel the prophet was promised to God and brought up in Holy law of God (1 Samuel).

As I mentioned in our previous articles, we have mostly God-fearing mothers in our ministry. These mothers are born-again and spirit-filled. I have no doubt on their genuine commitment and faith in the Lord, but their poor parenting abilities has been laid bare by the Lord. Many of us were rebuked for taking sides with children while giving the other children unfair treatment.

The Lord expects us to listen to both sides and issue correction or discipline where necessary. Children are naturally selfish and simply jumping to their defense is kind of giving them license to offend others while they are being denied the opportunity to learn to love and respect others. A truth-loving and honest parent would abandon her feeling of pity for her child and satisfy herself in obeying the truth and correct her child.

Some parents are afraid to correct or discipline their children, some mothers were rebuked for being afraid to rebuke or discipline their children. There was a girl who got away with almost every wrong thing and as parents; we consider it ‘childish’. The girl was only eight then, so the Lord gave her mother a message to give her a spanking at a certain time. My wife and I and this girl’s mother thought, ‘Lord how could she get a spanking without an offence’? The mother was however determined to obey the Lord and my wife and I sat there as witnesses. When the time came for her to receive a spanking, she committed an offence. She refused to do what her mother asked her to do and to top it she gave her mother a dirty look; this gave our sister the opportunity to discipline her. The Lord was vindicated, Glory to our Lord Jesus Christ!

I would like to conclude by sharing this, I have three children of my own and the Lord has given us three more children to bring up. They are God’s children whom He took from their parents and entrusted into the care of me and my wife. I resisted this within myself knowing that this was added responsibility. It took me about one week of prayer to make peace with this change of life. Through the grace of our Lord, I fought against this selfish spirit through prayer and obedience. During this time, I learned to allow the Lord to do His will through me. Admittedly, my thoughts disagreed with the Lord, but I was determined to obey and be made submissive (John 3:30). I thought, gone are the days of being just me and my family. We had to learn to love and live with these other precious children. Because of our love and fear for the Lord, we united in love as a family and shared all the good things the Lord provided. Love is proven pure and unselfish when we share our lives and possessions with others. Then the Lord said this is proof of our love for Him (Matthew 25:31-40). Let us practice equal love to our children and other people as followers and children of God!

Blessed grace and peace to you all in Jesus Name,

Brother Glenn.