Purposed Parent/Connected Child Podcast Episode 004 - Arming Your Child Spiritually
Welcome to the Purposed Parent/Connected Child Podcast
Episode #004 – Arming Your Child Spiritually
Are you yearning for greater connection with your child and Christ? Would you like to parent beyond the moment with eternal perspective? Do the days seem long, but you know the parenting journey is short? Let’s grow together now with practical tips, scripture, and stories geared to draw your heart to Jesus and guide your child into His arms.
As an adult believer, you are aware of the wickedness Satan causes, but can focus on Jesus so that you truly know, love, and obey Him. You understand that God has already defeated Satan.
But how well does your child know this truth? How well are you guarding your children, teaching and instructing so that they are equipped against the devil who prowls like a roaring lion seeking to destroy them?
Do you intentionally mature your walk with and belief in Jesus so that He pours from you?
Are you guarding your mind and heart so that your child is lovingly mentored to do the same?
For example, although it’s not a popular opinion, I’ve never been a fan of the Harry Potter series. Many parents insist that they read the books as children and “they turned out okay,” or that they “don’t see anything wrong with them.” I don’t pretend or profess to be a parenting expert, but I do know Who is. My intention on this podcast is to point my listeners to Jesus and discuss methods and tips that will ensure you do not lead your child into a slippery slope of temptation or away from you or our Heavenly Father.
I believe that the Harry Potter books are part of the alarming trend of literature intended for harm, not sanctification. We should desire that our life and the life of our children honor God in everyway. Protecting our mind is one of the biggest ways to ensure that we carry the thoughts and desires of Jesus and instruct our children in His ways. We must purposely stay ahead of trends and popular culture and above what this world calls good. We must dissect and analyze what touches our child in light of how Jesus would view them.
Would you agree that what you are frequently exposed to usually becomes what you think on or believe?
When our children are repeatedly subjected to the witchcraft and demonology in the Harry Potter series, it can easily open their mind, imagination, and musings to further interest in the occult, which God’s word strictly and clearly forbids. This series of books and movies create a world that desensitizes children to God’s clear command that they should stay away from anything close to the occult. How is letting them be involved with the Harry Potter series any different than if you let them use a Quija board or play with Tarot cards? Couldn’t your children just as easily have exposure to those items, yet say that they don’t really believe in what they are doing, so it is okay? Please, don’t tread on the slippery slope that leads to destruction. Wouldn’t you rather build a fence several hundred feet away from the cliff than next to it?
Take care that nothing becomes an obstruction between your child and Jesus.
Luke 18:16 says, “But Jesus called the children to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Witchcraft is not fantasy, but a sad and scary reality of our sinful world. What we allow our children to ingest becomes what sustains them. It can also become the stumbling block that hinders them from growing a beautiful, maturing relationship with Jesus that carries them into eternity.
Although the subject of this podcast today is not witchcraft or the occult, I mention it now because these topics are directly tied to arming children spiritually. Satan knows how to lure and tempt each of us. His methods are used over and over because we continue to fall for them. Past hurts and behavior, attitude, thoughts, lusts, pride, so many things can be touched on by the great deceiver. Culture is touched by many who do not follow Jesus. There is an arsenal of ways that Satan reaches our precious children. We must be aware and diligent in protecting our children, but also preparing them to have the skills and knowledge of how to look to God for ultimate protection.
Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”
Christians know that the enemy of this world is Satan. Jesus warned us that we would face trials and persecution, but He also reminded us that He has already overcome the world. The devil knows his time is short. Believers of Jesus should follow Him in one direction, but the devil schemes and works to lure believers and non-believers in the opposite direction. Because of the power of the Holy Spirit within followers of Christ, we are morethan conquerors and through Jesus, we have His strength within us to stand against the wiles of Satan.
It is our obligation and honor to guide our children to Jesus so that they can stand in the power and strength of Christ. In order for them to stand, we must ensure that they are aware of the evil influence targeted against them in this world. This world is a battlefield for the mind and heart of you and your child.
Today we will discuss scripture and ideas to help you start or continue conversations with your children and enable you to remain diligent and consistent in this critical area of raising your child to know, honor, love, and follow Jesus with joy and stand against what the unseen enemy seeks to destroy.
2 Chronicles 20:15b says, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
As we know, children see and respond to Christ much easier than adults. It’s usually more difficult for an adult to accept Jesus as Savior than it is for our open, loving children. We do such an injustice to children when we do not love Jesus with a deepening maturity and disciple them as we should.
I have a biblical example from the gospels showing the ease in which children recognize and honor God.
Matthew 21:15-16 says, “The leading priests and the teachers of religious law saw these wonderful miracles and heard even the children in the Temple shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David.” But the leaders were indignant. Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “’From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”
Although the children who chanted this praise may not have understood the full significance of what they were saying, their words forced religious leaders to understand that the cries of the children indicated they recognized the awaited Messiah before the adults did.
Children want to know God.
Remember, just like you, the mind of your child controls their thoughts, beliefs, actions, reactions, and words.
Their heart controls their truthfulness, obedience, kindness, service, and acceptance of Christ.
Activities, such as games, movies, books, shows, and music all contribute to the mind and heart your child will grow and mature. What they ingest will be reflected because it becomes who they are. Friends and teachers also have a huge influence. Of course, the fleshly nature of your child impacts their behavior, but that is also beautifully sculpted by the way you disciple, train, and love them through Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Bad company includes more than friends. All of the entertainment areas I mentioned earlier also shapes character. Sometimes games, books, and movies are the main company some children desire. There are companies and individuals with ungodly agendas who I believe live under the influence of Satan and seek to influence our children in impure ways through the items mentioned earlier. We must be diligent, wise, and alert.
1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.”
Since we desire to grow the knowledge of Christ in our child as early as possible, we need to ensure that we also teach them the truths about spiritual warfare. Even from a young age, we can let our children know that there is an enemy they cannot see who seeks to do harm in the world through experiences and people.
Children love stories. I believe one of the most effective ways to share the truths of Jesus is through story telling. Of course, I recommend a good children’s bible. In fact, you will most likely purchase several as your children grow. We have multiple bibles in our home so that the girls are able to hear about the Lord and read about Him for themselves at any age. Beginning with picture books and ultimately progressing to adult study bibles, your child must have access to the word of God at any stage and be able to absorb, process, understand, and articulate what they have learned in order to believe and live it.
In our home we read the bible together often; daily is our goal, and the girls also study God’s word in private, as well. When my youngest came home to us at the age of nine and could not understand English, it took creativity and persistence to help her begin to understand God. It was a sacred process to carry the honor of making God known to her. Once I looked at the challenge of teaching her as if she were just an infant, because it really was the beginning of everything for her, it was easy to introduce God to her naturally. We spoke about God throughout the course of our day, weaving Him through the center of everything, as we normally do. We read the bible together, even when I knew she wouldn’t yet understand. We used a children’s bible with attractive illustrations that kept and heightened her interest and helped her to understand what we were discussing. I used a whiteboard to draw pictures of what we discussed to help her better understand. I would go step by step with drawings to re-enact what we had read together. My youngest is very creative and we would sometimes act out scenes like we were in a play. Whatever way you know will connect with your child is the right way to teach them about their Heavenly Father.
When teaching awareness of spiritual warfare, start with a basic story foundation you can easily share with your children in the same ways I mentioned, and do it from a young age. An easy story to remember and recite is one similar to the following:
Once upon a time, God created this beautiful world for each of us to live in because He loves us so much. Our Heavenly Father made people in His own image, and He wants to have a special relationship with each one of us. Just like God made the people, trees, flowers, oceans, animals, insects, planets, and everything else, He also created heavenly creatures we cannot see, called angels. These angels were created to love and honor God, just like we were, but they are different from people. We cannot usually see angels, but there are times in the bible where some of the angels God sent were actually seen by humans! One of the important things angels were made to do is carry out special jobs on earth for God, like helping and protecting humans.
Once upon a time one of God’s angels made terrible choices. He decided he wanted to be more powerful than God. He was prideful and rebellious. He didn’t want to love or honor God. He wanted to be better than the Heavenly Father who created him! Instead of loving and obeying God, this angel started a battle against God with other disobedient angels. God, who is always stronger and wiser, threw the devil and his demons out of heaven. Now they fight against God and all people, especially those who love Jesus. God already knew what they were going to do, so He had a plan to use all the bad things they try to do and turn those into good things. The best plan was that God sent His Son, Jesus to the earth to save all people who choose to follow Him. We must learn all we can about Jesus now and stay away from things that Satan, the disobedient and wicked angel likes. One day God will stop Satan and his followers forever. Satan and his followers will be gone and those who love and follow Jesus will live with God forever.
Children need to learn the basic truths and deep love and grace of God. Build upon that foundation. Then increase their awareness and understanding of the unseen spiritual world. I will now share 7 important points that each child should know from an early age in order to increase their knowledge and understanding of spiritual warfare as they age and mature.
1. The devil is a liar.
2. The devil hates God.
3. The devil is active.
4. The devil is tricky.
5. The devil doesn’t want you to follow God.
6. The devil cannot control you.
7. The devil is not your main focus.
2 Peter 1:3 says, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
Now we will share the other side, which is the truth, hope, and promiseof each of the points we just mentioned. Just as we ended with letting children know that Satan is not their main focus, we direct them to learn and remember the way to stand against darkness in this world.
2 Thessalonians 3:3 says, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.”
1. God is truth.
2. God loves you.
3. God is always with you.
4. God is mighty.
5. God loves you and wants relationship with you.
6. God is sovereign.
7. Focus on Jesus.
1 John 5:3-5 says, “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”
My other podcast, “Live With Eternal Perspective” features additional information about this topic in Episode 110, “Armed for Spiritual Warfare.” This episode relays the necessities needed to arm and equip yourself against Satan, flesh, and the unseen forces ruling this world. Without a knowledge of this yourself, you will not be able to equip your child to stand strong in the power and protection of Jesus.
If you look at Ephesians 6:10-18, you will see all that we need to stand against the evil schemes of the enemy and it is already supplied by God. These verses are also a wonderful passage of scripture that makes an excellent storyline for you to play or act out with your child or make into a beautiful story to remind them that each of us, no matter how young or old, must do to be equipped for any battle we face in this world. These verses in Ephesians have helped me at my most vulnerable and heart-broken. I have experienced God’s supreme and loving power through them, and I know from experience that they are proven, reliable, and effective.
Just like His word proclaims.
I am currently working on a short ebook with a storyline for teaching children how to arm themselves for spiritual warfare through God’s armor. It will be available soon on my website at terrihitt.com. If you would like to receive this free resource, please visit the website and sign up to my email list so that you will be notified when it is available. I would love to share it with you!
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” Ephesians 6:10 instructs us with these two commands. First, we must rely on God, and second, we must allow His mighty strength to fill us, not so that we will fight, but so that we will allow Him to battle through us. We want to mentor this for our children to grow in and rely on throughout their lifetime.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you that you love us with an everlasting love that we cannot comprehend. We think we begin to with the deep, wide, incredibly immense love we feel for our children. But we know that Your love is so much more rich and complicated than our mortal minds can fathom. You are so good to us, even when we do not understand Your ways or want what You desire. We thank you that Your word warns us there is an unseen world we know little about. Thank you for preparing us for the heartaches and injustices we will face in this broken world. Thank you for the armor you have prepared in advance for us. We know there is no protection like Yours and that You go before us, making a way to withstand the attacks we will face. Enable us to stand firm in Your arms and battle gear, letting You fight the battles for us. Help us to teach and mentor our children to do the same, and to rely on You in all areas of life. Grow our heart for You so that they cannot turn from You, because they know and see You so well through us and they love You with an everlasting, maturing love. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Thank you for listening to this episode. The Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast will soon be available at terrihitt.com, where you can access the episodes housed in one convenient location, receive access to blog posts, read transcripts, and find additional resources designed to mature your walk with Christ and equip you to raiseor influence connected children through Him.
God knows that we are not capable of successful parenting on our own. As we rely on Him, as we release doubts and expectations, and humbly bow to His guidance and experience, we find greater clarity in parenting and a wondrous walk with our Creator that will extend to our children and those around us for generations.
I pray this podcast helps you parent with purposeand deepen your connection to Jesus and your children. Intentionally place Christ above culture or self. Allow Him to work through you for true connection that will draw your children to Him and build a maturing relationship with Christ and your children that lasts for eternity.