A guest post by Chris Spradlin
I live in the winter wonderland, snow globe world of Steamboat Springs, CO!
We are notorious for having “champagne powder”, 25” inch Rainbow Trout and 8’ bears that can rip your head off!
Seriously!!
And a few years back I came face to face with one.
It was 8PM at night, I walked out of my office and behold there he was! He was 8’ tall, he stood up on his hind legs, his claws were jagged, his fangs resembled daggers and foam was dripping from his gnarly mouth! This beast was literally standing two feet from my face.
So what did I do!!?!
I actually jumped up and gave this monster a round house kick to the face!
Yeah, not so much.
I actually yelled like a little girl, wet my pants just a little…and ran back inside!!
There is actually a point to this story! Parents, pastors, leaders and volunteers we have to come to grips with the fact that that the enemy (AKA satan, lucifer) is a beast with jagged claws, daggers for fangs and his mission is to take your kids out!
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” John 10:10
Just last week I received a telephone call from a dad that was hurting, angry and irate! His 12 year old son has a Droid phone, he checked out his son’s internet history and found pornography.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” John 10:10
Another friend saw that her 13 year old daughter had been “sexting” pictures to her boyfriend.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” John 10:10
I also have a buddy that read his son’s text messages and found out that his son’s girlfriend had been giving him “hand jobs” while he was driving the car.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” John 10:10
Parents, did you know that…
- The largest viewers of internet porn are kids ages 12 – 17. (Family Safe Media)
- 47.8 percent of High School students are having sex. (Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
- 70 percent of teenagers ages 15 to 17 have engaged in oral sex. (CDC)
So what do we do? How do we fight for our kid’s purity? How do we teach them to stand against the schemes of this monster?
I believe that all parents should take the time to teach their kids the 10:13 Principle.
The 10:13 Principle:
“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
There is no stronger, inspiring, life changing verse in the Bible. I believe that parents should teach their kids to memorize, stand on, trust in and believe every single word of this verse. The life changing promises for your kids in this verse are…
1) You are not alone, other kids (their friends) are struggling with lust, sex and triple X as well.
2) God will not give you more than you can handle. This is a promise that your kids should claim in the very midst of struggle and temptation. This is a prayer that should be prayed through every day.
3) God ALWAYS provides a way out.
As parents, our job is to prepare and arm our kids to fight against the enemy. Please take the time to deposit, memorize and unpack this verse with your kids.
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Chris Spradlin is the voice behind EpicParent.tv, a ministry that strives to heal, empower and unleash a new generation of parents! Chris, also known as Sprad, brings an honest, creative, on the edge approach to parenting at his blog EpicParent.tv. He has recently launched EpicParent.tv Family Counseling Center and can be found speaking at churches, conferences and retreats around the country. Before launching EpicParent.tv, Chris Spradlin was a Campus Pastor and Team Teacher with Craig Groeschel at LifeChurch.tv.
