God has provided the basis for victory in Christ.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

Paul’s declaration of victory is packed with powerful truth. He acknowledged God’s provision in Christ. We know that Christ overcame sin and death at the cross and that Paul’s boast of all boasts was the cross (Gal. 614). However, notice that he did not say God wins this fight for us so that we do not have to fight. He said God “always leads us in triumph in Christ.” He was saying that when we follow God’s lead for fighting Satan and use His weapons in our warfare, we always gain the victory. What does Jesus’ victory on the cross have to do with our warfare against those who hurt or disappoint us? Here is a list of the things Paul mentioned in his second letter to the Corinthians.

• God paid for and removed the sins of the flesh from consideration through the cross (2 Cor. 5:14-16). That truth means He tore down the wall of separation between God and you, and those who hurt you, by the power of the cross.
• Because of the cross, God no longer recognizes any man in Christ in the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16-17).
• Because of the cross, God attributes the righteousness of Christ to all believers, thus overcoming our weaknesses and sins of the flesh (2 Cor. 3:21; 6:7).
• Because of the cross, God gave believers a new purpose in life: to no longer live for themselves but for Christ (2 Cor. 5:15).
• At the cross, by God’s uniting us with Him, He created a new man, namely, Christ no longer with a body of flesh but a body of many members who are forgiven, cleansed, and united with one purpose to honor Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).

In Christ, God provided a basis for victory in the spiritual battles that develop in relationships. If He tore down the wall between Himself and us, then we have a basis for tearing down the walls in our own hearts toward others. Jesus Christ on the cross shouts throughout eternity: Sin and death are conquered! The wall of separation is removed! Reconciliation is accomplished! What incredible grace!

When we follow God’s lead for fighting Satan and use His weapons in our relational warfare, God manifests that we know Christ.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)

When people are hurt and they war according to the flesh, the stench of hell and Satan are manifested. Walls are always built, and Satan leads them into defeat (regardless of arguments won, successful manipulations, etc.), because people are using Satan’s strategies as their basis for warfare. (Read about this truth in previous Chariot of Fire articles at spiritofelijah.com/chariot.) When we follow God’s lead and base our responses to the hurts and sins of others on grace through the work of Christ on the cross, a very different aroma is manifested—the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ.

When we follow God’s lead for fighting Satan and use His weapons in our relational warfare, namely Jesus’ work on the cross, we are a fragrance of Christ to God.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. (2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

Paul’s primary motivation in his relationships was his relationship with God. How very important it is for us to make this connection with the life of Jesus Christ! When we tear down the walls created by others’ sins and weaknesses because He tore down the walls between Himself and us, we remind Him of the glorious work of His Son on the cross. It proves we know His grace!

What is your aroma to God?

This kind of relational warfare seems foolish to people who haven’t seen God’s wisdom and strategy in Christ and the cross clearly. Paul wrote, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1:25) The cross work of God has always appeared weak and foolish to proud men and women. However, to those who are being saved, it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24)

Please consider your ministry to others in the sight of God. What is your aroma to Him? Is your ministry to your wife, husband, or children reminding God of how His Son tore down the walls of separation?

Fighting the way Jesus fought takes practice.

Every relationship is an opportunity to practice what you believe about the power of God and the wisdom of God in the cross. I invite you to repeatedly follow Jesus’ lead in destroying walls. Every time you are offended, step into the battle confident of the victory to come as you apply the cross work of Christ to others. You will find yourself healed and taking part in Jesus’ victory march before the Father—to the praise of His glorious grace!

The post Tearing Down Walls appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

Home schooling can be a challenge for any family, but single parenting adds another element to life’s equation that can make maintaining balance between the various areas in our lives even more challenging. Single parents are usually faced with the responsibility of earning the income and maintaining the household, as well as providing for the physical, emotional, and educational needs of their children. They struggle daily to maintain stability and balance in their homes.

I was very blessed that for the first six years as a single parent, I did not have to work outside the home. My children and I found creative ways to earn money to supplement our income and to cut our living expenses. We schooled together and we worked together. We raised dairy goats and Border Collies, and we maintained a large garden and sold vegetables at the local farmers market. We cut our own firewood and raised and canned much of our own food. Now that my children are older, the Lord has provided employment.

One of my greatest challenges is to maintain balance and harmony between work and family. I think finding this balance is probably a challenge for every working parent. The struggle to maintain a harmonious state where work is not unduly emphasized at the expense of family is not easy in a society that demands we do it all and have it all. However, we often forget how blessed we are in this country, and most of us could do without far more than we are willing to give up. If we are working just to gain material profit, then we should reevaluate our jobs. The deposits we make into our bank accounts may be depleted, but the deposits we make into the lives of our children will last forever. As a working parent, I must decide daily how much time and mental and emotional energy I will put into my job and how much I will put into my family. I struggle to be the best employee I can possibly be and still be the parent and mentor my children need. That means I must learn to set boundaries in my life and abide by them, not just physically but also emotionally. I must carefully guard my thoughts so that my time spent with my family is truly focused on my family and not still focused on work, and the same is true for my job as well. I must be careful to use my time wisely and not let my personal life unnecessarily interfere with my job.

Another area in my life in which I remind myself to maintain balance is the social circle in which I travel. When I lost my husband seven years ago, I became a single parent, but that did not change the fact that I was still a mom. Some of my responsibilities changed, but I had to realize I could not replace Dad, nor was a male influence no longer necessary in the lives of my children. Our society has created categories for every situation. We categorize children by age or ability and we categorize families by marital status. Society has encouraged single parents to create their own society and segregate themselves from dual-parent (married) families. There are singles groups in almost every circle: church groups, work circles, and even home school support groups.

However, children in single-parent families need to be around other families that have both parents. Although it is nice and even healthy to have a friend or two who completely understands the challenges of single parenting, our goal is not to raise our children to be single parents, so our children need to be exposed to families in which both parents function as a team as much as possible. We live in a fallen world, and throughout history wives have lost husbands, children have lost fathers, husbands have lost wives, and children have lost mothers, but that was not God’s original intent for families. Children from single-parent families need to interact with whole families. This is an area in which support groups can help. Single-parent families need to feel included in group activities. Dads can mentor boys who do not have a father’s presence in the home, and moms can do the same thing for young girls. A suggestion to single parents is to invite at least two other couples to your house for fellowship. It can be a simple meal, since it is not about the food; it is the fellowship that is important. It does not matter how you do it, but remember it is important for children to have role models and mentors, and it is up to you to provide opportunities for your children to find those role models.

Since single parents often find themselves pulled in so many directions, balance becomes a vital need in their lives. In fact, the word balance has often been the focus of my thoughts as I try to juggle work, household duties, support group activities, church and Bible study, home schooling, and family. My prayer has become a plea for wisdom, wisdom to know how to maintain that balance in my life and how to maintain that balance without a counterweight. How do I do it alone? I was reminded I am not alone, and I found some inspiring insight into my question from an unexpected source. Recently, while still pondering and praying for guidance, I was inspired to look up the word balance. It means a state in which a body or object remains reasonably steady in a particular position while resting on a focal point.  It can also mean harmony or a state in which various parts form a satisfying and harmonious whole and nothing is out of proportion or unduly emphasized at the expense of the rest.

Of course, I realize harmony is the very thing for which I have been searching. How do I maintain harmony and balance between all these good things in my life? Life can seem so precarious, but the key to balance is in the definition. It was such a simple answer to such a complicated question. A body or object remains steady while resting on a focal point. I realize my relationship with the Lord is my focal point, and when I rest confident in that relationship, my life begins to fall into a state of balance. Sometimes that focal point may seem narrow or small, and I begin to teeter because I forget I do not need a counterweight to balance my life, nor can I do it alone. I need to rest my eyes and my life on the focal point. God is more than able to hold me steady if I will allow Him to become my focal point. He is my base when everything around me seems to teeter, and the more I rest on Him the more harmony and balance become a part of my life.

The post Maintaining a Balance Without a Counterweight appeared first on Texas Home School Coalition.

When a social worker says, “Who is going to protect the children from their parents?” it goes to the heart of social work education. There is a presupposition that parents do not know anything about what children need.  The Family Outreach agency for which I worked actually sent workers to families’ homes to offer our services free of charge to teach them parenting skills!  (Of course they had to agree to the agency’s “style” of parenting to use their services.)  Most accepted!!

I was so bothered by this occurrence that I did my senior thesis research paper on When Government Intervention Becomes Excessive: The Rights of the State versus the Rights of the Parents.  (I gave a special focus on the parents’ right to educate their own children.)  I had to present this research orally to the entire graduating class of social workers.  It was not very well received!  My professor got up and walked out during my presentation.  It was by doing all the research for this paper that I began to feel convicted about home educating my own children.  I saw too much undermining of parental authority with my work as a social worker in the public school system.

As I said, it appears the more things change, the more they stay the same.  Recently I was watching the evening news and saw a glowing report of this new  program in Texas called Healthy Families. I had to chuckle a bit at the thought of this being a new  program and then chuckle some more at the high praise the program was given by the reporter.  I just shook my head in disbelief at the public acceptance of a program like this and its long-term implications for the families of Texas.

When I was an intern, I was told that our agency serviced families strictly on a voluntary basis.  Families could decline our services if they felt the services were not needed. It sounded all nice, neat, and tidy!  As I got more acquainted with how the agencies worked, however, I learned that our client base was fed to us straight from CPS.  CPS would get a referral from the hotline for child abuse or neglect.  Then the intake social worker would determine if the case was suitable for a full-blown CPS investigation.  If they determined that it was not serious enough to investigate, they would refer the family to Family Outreach or Healthy Families.  From there another social worker, not related to the state, would make contact with the family in a very non-threatening way, offering all sorts of free services.  To the many low income, minority families with whom we had contact, this offer was very appealing and inviting.  We were invited into their homes and welcomed with open arms.  The only problem was that the agency never fully stated its intentions for offering all these wonderful, free services.

If we had been up-front and honest with the client families, we would have told them that we were a monitoring agency for the state of Texas.  We were there to make judgment calls and enforce our brand of parenting and discipline in their homes.  We never told them that was our purpose for being there.  Instead, we had seduced these families with all kinds of incentives such as free medical services and transportation to appointments, a mom’s fellowship (really a state-appropriate parenting class), and much more.

With the seduction under way, we worked our way into the hearts of these families and gained their trust.  We had weekly get-togethers at their homes, met with their children and played, and just had fellowship with these moms.  The families agreed to sign contracts and release forms with our agency that allowed us access to any medical information, school records, and psychological evaluations. They also gave us permission to report abuse or neglect, should any be found.  They signed this freely, without a second thought, because they were isolated, alone, and very hungry for fellowship.

As an intern, I had investigated a number of families by recommendation of CPS.  My immediate supervisor was an employee of Texas CPS, so in essence, I was reporting directly to the state about these families. CPS was an ever-present shadow over our work.  There were many instances in which I differed in opinion with my supervisor over what constituted true abuse and neglect within these families.

One case in particular had a seven-year-old boy who walked daily to the corner convenience store by his house to buy gum and candy.  Occasionally he got caught stealing.  The store owner contacted CPS, which referred the case to Family Outreach.  I was assigned the case.  The family eagerly wanted my help (rather, my companionship) and invited me into their home and their lives.  By my observations, there was no abuse or neglect of the children—just extreme poverty.  They made parenting decisions that I personally would not make for my own children, but that in itself is not abuse or neglect.  My supervisor, on the other hand, felt that the parents’ “slow” mental abilities, poverty, and the fact their seven-year-old walked less than a block from the house to the store constituted neglect.  I did not.  I did not think it was the wisest or most prudent decision by a parent, and I shared that with the parents, but emphatically it was not  neglect!  My supervisor referred this case back to CPS.  I was off the case, and the mother was truly hurt that I was no longer able to come by for our weekly visits.

Thus began my understanding concerning the ambiguity of what constitutes abuse and neglect.  Each social worker and each supervisor has his own basis of what he personally considers abuse.  Some think spanking is fine; others feel it is abuse.  Some believe poverty is unfortunate; others feel it is abuse, and children should be removed from homes.  It is never easy to tell what the values of any individual social worker will be. They vary vastly among the profession.

These agencies are trained to locate the “at-risk” families.  Those “at risk” are supposedly more prone to abuse or neglect their children.  Have you ever read a list of the criteria that makes a family “at risk”? These are just a few:

• more than two children in the family
• claim a religious preference
• single-income family
• single-parent family
• home schoolers

The list is so broad that I have never met anyone who was not  an “at-risk” family!!  The agenda of the state is rather hidden.  If CPS refers a case to a sister agency like Family Outreach or Healthy Families, its goal is still accomplished.  Families are monitored, and reports are made to the state concerning private family matters.

I strongly encourage and admonish each home school family to hold fast to its freedoms.  Never give an inch.  If you find yourself in need of support or outside intervention, I strongly encourage you to seek out your local home school support group.  If you are not able to have fellowship with a support group, seek out an older woman in your church to spend time with and mentor you. Be alert and aware that there are agencies out there that will want to “help” and support you, but this help comes with the hefty price tag of your freedom.  Guard your hearts—and your freedoms—with all diligence.

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