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These words,
which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you
shall teach them diligently to your sons (Deut.6:6,7).
Christian children and teenagers populating our schools, attending
our churches, and living in our homes are the targets of satan's
strategy. Many Christian young people hear voices as if a
subconscious self is talking to them. Satan seeks to destroy our
families and churches by seducing our children away from their
parents and from God (1Tim.4:1).
Is every evil thought in our mind the "voice" of Satan
or a demon?
No, the flesh -- that part of our brain that urges us to operate
independently of God and to center our interests on ourselves --
also introduces sinful thoughts and suggests evil deeds.
Furthermore, input from worldly movies, music, books, TV, etc.
also introduces evil ideas into our minds. As we grow in Christ,
we learn to say no to the deeds of the flesh and walk in the
Spirit.
But the world and the flesh are not the only culprits, even though
we tend to place most of the blame on them. The devil and
"spiritual forces of wickedness" (Eph.6:12) are shrewdly
at work introducing evil suggestions as thoughts or inner voices.
Just as we learn to deal with worldly and fleshly influences, so
we must learn to distinguish satan's subtle, personal influence
and resist him, and we must teach our children to do the same.
Whether your child's evil thoughts are coming from the world, the
flesh, or the devil, you need to help him bring "every
thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor.10:5).
Our children aren't saying much about Satan's seduction in their
lives because most of them don't know that he's at the heart of
it. Satan is the great deceiver. He doesn't march into their lives
accompanied by a brass band. He slyly worms his way in through the
opportunities they and we give him. And since kids haven't been
taught what the Bible says about satan's strategies, they blame
themselves, and their sense of guilt and fear of punishment
further contributes to their silence.
Father God, raise up a standard of truth to defeat the enemy in my
children's lives, and help me teach them to resist the enemy
themselves.
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