Greetings from Phoenix,

 

We just got back from serving at our youth camp in the southwest area, Camp Hye Sierra, in King's Canyon close to the Sequoia National Forest.  The temperatures up in the mountains outside Fresno were quite moderate and pleasant which added to our enjoyment of camp. During part of the camp it was even a little chilly at night, and it made the evenings and mornings refreshing and crisp.

Over the years Joan and I have enjoyed working with the teens and young adults in the Church.  There were some extraordinary young people at camp, both campers and serving on staff.  I was struck by how some of our campers and young adults have developed and matured spiritually, and it is encouraging to know that God is preparing the next generation of leadership in the church.  

Our brethren are to be commended for producing and bringing up in the admonition of the Lord such wonderful children.  My wife and I know how difficult it is in this wayward world to help guide our children to the Kingdom of God.  Often it is an uphill battle, and we must constantly be on guard against the forces in society and the world which work hard to countervail what parents strive so hard to instill in their children.

Satan has marshaled his dark and demonic forces in this world to attack marriage and family.  One wonders how much more evil the world can get!  It seems that anything which is pure and right is challenged in this world.  Isaiah wrote in Isa. 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"

 The LGBT movement has succeeded in passing itself off as enlightenment.  In our time Isaiah's prophecy has come to pass.  If anyone speaks about right Biblical values they are ridiculed.       

The gay movement is presented in a positive light to our children in the public schools and society in general.  It is tough to teach right values in the face of all this opposition.  More than ever we must earnestly fight to instill true values into the minds of our own children.

We are assured by the scriptures that our efforts do have an effect.  It is encouraging to read what Isaiah wrote in

Isa. 55:11  "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;  It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please,  And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. "

What is the ultimate reason for the institution of marriage and the family unit?  From the beginning when Adam and Eve were given the gift of procreating in marriage, the goal has been the same as it is today.  Malachi 2:15 reveals God's purpose in uniting husband and wife-- to produce a godly seed. 

The Almighty God through our families is producing that godly seed, and what He spoke through Isaiah the prophet is coming to pass. The last verse of Malachi warns us and the entire world, "He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction" (Mal. 4:6).

All of us should be thankful our Father and Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, are busy in our lives and the lives of our children.  We must stay the course and relentlessly continue to point our children to the God's Kingdom. 

King David wrote about our children long ago in Ps. 45:16-17, "Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons, Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.  17 I will make Your name to be remembered in all generations;  Therefore the people shall praise You forever and ever."

The time will come when the fruit of what we do for our children now will be realized.  When Jesus Christ returns as the King of kings and Lord of lords our children will be prepared, and He will install them in positions throughout His government.

The United Church of God camps support parents in teaching God's way works and is a part of preparing them for fruitful lives now and the future.  Our children are a vital and precious piece of the plan of God, and are very much needed for the future of this entire world.

Please have a wonderful and uplifting Sabbath! 

Your fellow worker,

Jim Tuck