Creation Family Ministries

Leaning on Jesus
There is an old song that says: "Learning to lean, learning to lean, I'm learning to lean on Jesus…" If there is an area in which this song is especially true, it is with children. Throughout life, children rely upon their parents for spiritual leadership, emotional stability, philosophical help, and physical sustenance. As Christian young people grow up, they rely less upon their parents and more upon their Heavenly Father, the Creator. Whether this truth concerns children at home, or whether it relates to our spiritual walk with the LORD "as dear children" (Eph. 5:1), we all must learn to rely more upon the LORD. While parents, pastors, Sunday school teachers, school teachers, coaches, and other family members are entrusted with various degrees of leadership and influence in a child's life, parents carry the most responsibility. This is why this series of articles dealt with marriage, divorce, and remarriage and the design of our Creator for homes to provide that solid foundation upon which children can "lean." Divorces devastate the ability of children to rely upon parents, and this devastation so easily affects their ability to trust in a Heavenly Father. Regardless of what takes place in a family-whether divorce or death-Psalm 68:5 still stands! God will be a "father of the fatherless..."

While the Biblical pattern is that the parents have "first dibs" on influencing their children, it is also true Scripturally that upon this foundation of relationships at home God adds others to assist in nurturing a child. The Biblical example of Timothy gives us insight into these other influences. Foremost In his life, there was his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Tim. 1:5). Later, along came a traveling missionary to Gentiles named Paul who was a great influence in his life ... so much so that he referred to Timothy as his "own son in the faith" (I Tim. 1:2). Here, the original word translated "son" is the same Greek word Mary used in speaking to Jesus (Luke 2:48), and it indicates that Paul felt a strong, familial kinship with Timothy as a true father for his son. Still another level of influence we learn from Paul is that Timothy was to affect others-"faithful men who shall be able to teach others also" (2 Timothy 2:2). Ultimately of course, the most important influence in one's life is Christ Himself, the Creator of all things. Therefore, the full pattern and Biblical order of influence in our lives is this:

1. Jesus,
2. Parents & grandparents,
3. Pastors,
4. Faithful teachers

Is Jesus worthy of our confidence in every area of our lives? Can we trust Him with our deepest needs? The answer is a resounding YES!

Matthew 11:28 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Peter 4:19 "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator."

Learning from Jesus
II Timothy 3:15 "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

The original word used here for "child" is the Greek word, "brephos" (BREE-fos) or "baby." It denotes the youngest age in connection with a child, from age 0 to 8 days! This particular word was used of Jesus when He was circumcised (Luke 2:21), and it is used of Timothy referring to when he actually began learning the "holy Scriptures": in the womb! This fact should drastically affect how and when we begin teaching children! We should begin teaching them even in the womb! (See Psalm 139:14-18.)

More and more, science is discovering the marvelous abilities of even the youngest of children. They are NOT "blobs of tissue" in the womb that go through "stages of evolution" from fish to frog, etc. This thought is based upon a LIE and serves as the foundation for the modern abortion movement. The logic is that if "it"-the "embryo"-is "still an animal" then we are free to kill it. Ernst Haeckel, an evolutionist in the 1800s who desperately wanted to produce evidence for evolution, made up drawings that showed "similarities" between creatures such as a pig, a fish, and a human at the same stage in their embryonic development. It is amazing that his fraudulent drawings were proven a LIE in a court over 100 years ago, yet they STILL show up in school textbooks! It was only a couple of years ago that a biology teacher told me online that Ernst Haeckel was "wrong" but that "he was on the right track." (!) How absurd!

"Particles-to-people," macro-evolution is NOT a benign belief that has nothing to do with Christianity or salvation. It is an attack upon the very foundation of Genesis and of Scripture, and it is a great hindrance to believing the Bible. Yet, parents often seem so blithely unaware that museums, Discovery channel, Animal Planet, movies, public school science classes, and other avenues which teach evolution as a "fact" distract and hinder young people from believing Scriptural truths they learned at home, church, or school. We desperately need to realize the danger that evolution poses to our children and to their ability to learn from Jesus, the Greatest Influence of our lives! In order to let children learn from HIM, we must remove from their lives the hindrances and distractions (i.e. evolution) that undermine HIM. In our culture and around the world, there is no greater distraction from learning of Christ than evolution! As you, the reader, realize how devastating this belief system is, may you be alert to help others avoid this corrupting influence that so often comes through avenues thought to be innocuous.

Living for Jesus
"Living for Jesus, a life that is true, Striving to please Him in all that I do; Yielding allegiance, gladhearted and free, This is the pathway of blessing for me." (hymn)

Perhaps the greatest struggle for a parent as their child grows up is to let him or her go. This struggle can be seen in situations regarding school or church, and sometimes later in life a parent struggles with letting go of their children in marriage.
Do children belong to parents? No. They belong to the GOD Who gave them life. Rather, children are entrusted to parents for a short time to rear in the "nurture and admonition of the LORD" (Eph. 6:4). Parents are not the sole influence in the lives of their children. Sadly, some parents think that they should be the only influence in their child's life. Because of this belief, they may not allow a child to go to outside activities such as school or church. They may home school or even "home church," not primarily because of protection from wrong influences, but mainly because they desire to be the sole influence in the lives of their children. This idea is contrary to Scripture as one sees the extra-familial influences (for good) in the lives of Bible characters such as Samuel and David. Samuel was influenced by the prophet Eli while David had important relationships with Samuel, Jonathan, and Nathan the prophet. As was mentioned beforehand, Timothy had his mother and grandmother, and Paul. Each of these influences outside of immediate family was extremely influential for the LORD. In short, we must allow young people the freedom to live for Jesus alone. All other influences should help channel him toward His design.
Does the teaching of evolution relate in any way to leaning on, learning from, or living for Jesus? If evolution and "millions of years" is true, Jesus was just a man and not the Creator. If evolution is true, there is no reason to lean on Jesus, to trust what He taught, or to live for Him. On the other hand, is Biblical creationism instrumental in helping young people to lean on, learn from, or live for Jesus? Absolutely…but this subject is for another article! (As you read this article, can you guess what the letter "I " of "I - Factor" represents?)