Sunday, February 3, 2013

Mission 2013 #22 Family Life in a Christian Nation




Many nations exist without having a Christian basis. However, a nation founded and operating on Christianity will be more prosperous and life giving than if it were based on Sharia Law, Secular Humanism, Buddhism or Paganism.
The Bible and Christ in it promote love, life and generosity.
People who worship God and who read His word must sooner or later start to apply Christian principles of justice, mercy and grace to daily life. But because of sin,all those nations that arose from Christian principles failed to apply Christian principles to certain groups such as women Africans as well as some groups of sinners. The equality of all humans is writ large in scripture but the selfishness of humanity is strong. The desire for financial wealth and sexual power has driven many Christians to deny biblical rights to some. The Bible is clearly supportive of the importance of family life with an emphasis not only on the nuclear family but also on maintaining great ties from generation to generation. Scripture warns us to honor our parents and thus prepare the way for a prosperous future. Communists hated the biblical position on families and did everything possible to destroy the family. This approach doomed those nations to poverty and weakness.

As a Family Therapist I often read articles and books by leaders in my field. One of the consistent themes from them has to do with the current downward spiral of family life and healthy behavior. We Christians would call that a loss of biblical Christianity. They call it a loss of health, wealth and functionality. This loss leads to traumatized children who re carrying the pain of their parents dysfunction, divorces, conflicts and sin. As a result they often turn to sexual promiscuity, drugs, anger, violence, and crime.
Of the 100 murders in Cincinnati in 2012, I estimate that 95 of the victims and the killers were without a father in the home! And, I would bet that 90% of the killers were doing drugs. Yes, I said, 95% of them were from single mother homes. These kids were abandoned by their fathers.
One of the most memorable lines in scripture is found in Malachi 4:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the land with utter destruction.

This is a very apt line for contemporary Christians. Let us pray for the people who can accomplish this goal. Go to the web page and download my book How to be me in my Family Tree and find out how to heal generations of believers who are lost in dysfunctional family patterns. Learn how to heal your family tree!

Another book that you need to read is Breaking Free that tells about the results of Adverse Childhood Events and adult diseases, addictions and problems. I also tell you how to pray for healing. Also pray for political leaders with a knowledge and commitment to biblical principles. Gary Sweeten
www.sweetenlife.com 




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