What Your Kids Must Have Before Going Back to School

You may have bought pens, papers, folders and so forth, but you may be missing the most important preparation of them all. You see, learning, completing homework, and graduating to the next level is one thing, but there is a greater test they will face (which we all face) that is a spiritual one. Will they make the right friends? Will they get swayed by the wrong crowd? Will they experiment with drugs, alcohol or sex? Yes, you can in part help to avoid these things through loving instruction, but you won't be there every moment of their life and our adversary is waiting for them around every corner seeking to kill, steal and destroy. But there are weapons we possess that are mightier than our enemy!

Consider Job and his early morning routine found in Job 1:5, "...Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them (referring to his children), thinking, 'Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.' This was Job's regular custom."

Here's the picture. Job has some kids that are not always in his presence. Knowing the threat that is the prince of this world, EVERYDAY he makes sacrifices on their behalf just in case they might be swayed in the wrong direction. This was his REGULAR custom. The result: Satan couldn't touch them. Check out what Satan says to God in Job 1:10, "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has?"

As parents we can learn a lot from Job. We have been given the role of priests for our children - making sacrifices of prayer and praise on their behalf. We would never send them to school without pens, pencils and lunch money - let's not send without prayer either!