"Look the devil in the eye -- saying ---- "

To: parents of our 5th graders and other adults ーー  I am passing along this quote from a teaching message given by Christian Evangelist and Teacher, Dr. Mike Smalley, of Rockwall Texas, along with my comments.   Our Lord has spoken through Dr. Smalley’s teaching, and I ask that you take what he said to heart.    I have added some of my own thoughts, after his quote.  ー  George Nielsen

“Look the devil in the eye -- saying:  ‘you can’t have this generation.’”  (Dr. Mike Smalley, September 2, 2014)

God Almighty has given parents the authority that you need to raise the children He has given you, and also the instruction to raise them in the nurture and instruction of the Lord -- that is, to raise them in the faith.  We, as ministers and teachers in KidZone, assist you with this.   In our class, rcc.5gr, a major goal for this year is that the students be (or, become) Young Disciples of Jesus who agree to serve Jesus, as their own decision, not just because you as parents “made them go to church”. God’s enemy, satan, also has a goal, which is to get your child off the path in life where they serve and follow Jesus, and to have them be worldly, discarding the faith and teaching they heard as a child in church.

You parents are the most important influencer of your children, spiritually.   Now that your children are preteens, we make a rather intense, focused effort to also be a strong influence in their lives for spiritual commitment and for growth.    

Your preteens can learn:

• to be strong in their faith,
• to be leaders,
• to pray with faith,
• to give financially, as an act of worship, not from a “bill-paying” mentality,
• to practice basic spiritual disciplines,  
• to use their talents, and
• to discover and use their spiritual gifts.   

We are intentional about encouraging them in all of these aspects of Christian life.  On the very first day of class, June 1st, they were told “We have high expectations for them,” and also that they are fully capable of meeting those expectations.    We remind the students about the High Expectations, regularly, and teach them that “Christianity is a Way of Life” -- it’s not just “well, I go to church.”   

So, we the teachers at rcc.5gr, and the other adults in the church that are in agreement with us, STAND, along with you parents, in opposition to satan, who desires to hurt your children and keep them out of God’s Kingdom, not achieving the good plans God has for them.   God’s plans will be a blessing -- satan’s wants to bring people under a curse and suffering.   One of the ways we STAND is by speaking out with authority and making spiritual declarations and decrees.    These comments are written to encourage parents to do the same.

Dr. Mike Smalley’s quote is an example of this.   “Look the devil in the eye” can be understood as having an aggressive posture and directly challenging satan and being resolute -- you are not going to to back down.  Then the declaration is made.  “You can’t have this generation.”   You can then follow this with a decree that specifically addresses things in your child’s life, speaking them positively, as a form of blessing upon your child.  

Examples might be “she will be strong in the faith”, “he will be a leader, not just following the crowd, and will lead his friends in a Godly way”, “she is a doer of the Word, and will do exploits, advancing the Kingdom of God”.    

This kind of spoken word, declarations and decrees spoken into the spiritual realm, is linked with the process of binding and loosing, described in a declaration made by Jesus, recorded in Matthew 16.

And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”      

(Matthew 16: 19.  NKJV)

The reason why Jesus could call this particular process of speaking a “Kingdom key” is that the Holy Bible declares that God Almighty listens to our spoken words, and is actually seeking out these decrees spoken in alignment with His Word -- so that He can act on them, releasing His Power.   

Your children are in your sphere of spiritual authority, and their friends and classmates can be included too, when you make declarations and decrees.  Dr. Mike Smalley spoke the statement quoted above as a challenge to us.   I accept  it.   I encourage parents and the other adults that stand in agreement with us to also accept it.   Speak out victorious and overcoming declarations and decrees for our children, and watch for the results.

(Note:  with this challenge, you do not have to pour ice water over yourself -- but if you want to, go ahead.)