Proverbs 4:23,  “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

The best way to guard your heart is by spending time in God’s Word and in prayer!  Filling your heart and mind with God’s truth will help you discern what He has for you! Regardless of how old or young you may be satan has not given up on you.  He is after you and your family, your preacher, your friends, and your nation, he wants it all!  He is working harder than ever to grab every single person he can and will use whatever he can to keep you from all God has planned for you.  As it says in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”  The great thing is that God has set us up to win because Jesus has already overcome and if you have accepted Him as your Savior then His Spirit lives within you and therefore you have everything you need to overcome those attacks but you must be intentional about it!

Abby (18) and I just had this conversation, not long ago, about how sly satan can be.  He will even use something that seems harmless like a game on a phone to keep people from the things they should be doing.  Is there anything wrong with playing games on electronics?  No!  There’s nothing wrong unless it becomes your number 1 thing and as adults, we need to protect our children from that. (There are games out there that no one should ever play, but there are some good ones too) Whatever is number 1 in your life is your God, and even children need to learn that.  There’s a lot of good that we have at our fingertips these days, but we must choose wisely!  There are so many things out there that leave parents feeling guilty needlessly because they haven’t done something with or for their children that the world says they should.  It’s tough enough these days to parent children in a world that is fighting against Godly character without feeling guilty because you haven’t taken your kids to Disney, or maybe you can’t afford to or don’t have time for them to participate in every sport the neighbor’s children are participating in.  Release yourself from that type of guilt! Focus on what God’s word says and teach your children to pursue Him.  We desperately need to bring back verse memorization in our churches so children have His word embedded in their hearts and minds!  Satan wants to distract you from the things of God and it starts just a little at a time.

Seek God with your whole heart and ask Him to show you His desires and dreams for your life and the lives of those you love!  Take the time to teach your children and grandchildren about God.  Be the example so they see you reading your Bible and praying.  Be intentional in growing in your walk with Him.  He loves you so much and He has created you with a purpose in mind ~ don’t let satan rob you and your family of that!  Ask Him to help you guard your heart and mind so you can become all He created you to be!  Let’s become an army of people who shine the light of Jesus in this dark and lost world so they can know too that His best is yet to come!