Before the Throne Wednesday

Welcome back!  I hope you are beginning to see and understand the value of praying for your kids daily and more specifically the privilege of praying scripture over them.  Today's scripture for our prayer targets the choices our kids make.

As parents, we want our kids to make wise choices don't we?  This seems to be a topic that comes up very often in my conversations with Cecily (13) and Bentley (5), even with JennaBeth (2).  I'm trying to help them understand that their choices affect not only them but others around them as well.  Our choices have consequences, either good or bad.  

Our senior pastor has been preaching through Ephesians for the past several months.  Recently we have been going through Ephesians 6 and have been looking at the breastplate of righteousness.  The last couple of Sundays he has taken us to Romans 6 as we flesh out what righteousness looks like in our lives.  His sermon this past Sunday centered on verse 13.  I'll offer verses 11-14 of chapter 6 for our scripture prayer today:

"In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.  Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.  For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."

Pastor made this statement in his sermon on Sunday:

We answer the question "What does my faith in Jesus mean to me?" by the daily choices we make. 

His points were:

1. What you must choose not to do:  Your response against sin must be determined and informed.  The focus is the obedience that God demands from us.  Your rationale against sin must be perceptive and protective.  Sin is a thief and will rob you of your spiritual privileges and joy (John 10:10a).  Sin is an assasin whose intention is to destroy your life and the life of others (John 10:10a).  Others become the casualties of your sin.
2. What you must choose to do:  You must present yourself to God decisively, dependently, particularly, and  purposefully.  

*You can listen/watch the sermons from Ephesians/Romans by going HERE.

So, today I encourage you to pray for your children and the choices they make using Romans 6:11-14 as a guide.  Pray that as your children come to a saving faith in Christ that they will choose to offer themselves to God daily.  And while we are praying these points for our children, we need to be reminded of these truths in our own lives!

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