Isaac Crockett: Hello, I’m Isaac Crockett. Joining me today is Sam Rohrer, the President of the American Pastors Network and pastor Gary Dull, who is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pastors Network and extremely involved. Both of them are your regular cohost of this program.
Now, if you’re listening today, especially in the United States, but really anywhere, there is a lot of talk going on about North Korea. Of course President Donald Trump has kept things very interesting, the way he has been meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
Especially his recent surprise visit with Kim Jong-un, where he became the first sitting US president to put his foot on North Korean soil. He literally didn’t do much more than that, but he did. As you look at what’s going on in North Korea, and especially at their leadership, this supreme leader, Kim Jong-un.
One would have to really understand the religion of North Korea. There’s this religious cult of personality, that is based on the genealogy of this “supreme leader.” You’d have to understand his father and his grandfather, and this worldview that they’re having. That’s what we talk about on this program. It’s worldview, Biblical Worldview.
The worldview in North Korea is so skewed. It’s actually interesting in kind of a bizarre kind of manner, to see how this guy’s father and grandfather have really engraven on Kim Jong-un, but really all of the people of North Korea. This religious and national identity, based on what they call the imperial family.
We’re not going to take the time today to delve into all those details, but just let it be said that, it’s interesting how much influence this guy’s father has had on, not just him, but the entire country. Which really threatens the piece of most of the eastern part of the world.
With nuclear warheads, truly you could say the piece of the whole world just, because of the style of parenting of this guy’s father. We do want to talk today about the role of parents, fathers and mothers, and about the role of helping those who maybe haven’t had good parent figures, who maybe are the fatherless.
What do we do to pass on a Godly heritage, and a biblical worldview to our children and our grandchildren, but also maybe other people and affecting another generation. Just… I think it was because June is when we celebrate Father’s Day, but there were a lot of stories in June of 2019 about fathers sacrificing for children.
A couple of ones that stand out. Of course, there was the one where a young man gave his life, Robert Joseph Quick. He helped get a dog off of his daughter, that dog that they were watching was mauling his daughter. It started attacking him, when emergency paramedics and people arrived to the scene. He says, “Help my daughter, don’t help me, help her.”
By the time they get to him, he’s in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He died. Another case was a young man, Albert Passavanti in Florida. They said he had a… I was reading a New York Post article about him. They said he had super-man strength. Some people say moves, where his little one-year-old boy fell into a pool.
He jumped over into like a perfect jump and dive, over a pool fence. Perfect dive into the water, and took his son out of the water right away. Those guys were praised as being good parents. Unfortunately, there was another story coming out of Wisconsin then, around the same time.
There was a man in Wisconsin who punched his five-year-old son so hard, that his son died as a result. When they asked him what he had done, to deserve him to punch him in the face and in the chest, those two times as hard as he had, he said he caught his son eating the Father’s Day cheesecake, that had been given to him for Father’s Day.
It was of course, extremely sad. Today we want to discuss biblical role of fathers, of parents, how parents have a God-given responsibility to help our society. Also, examine what we can do to help in situations, where we have fatherless or not a very good situation.
Gary, let’s start with you as a father and a grandfather, but also as a pastor for a number of decades. We often tell people… and we talk about it on this program, that God has ordained different roles and privileges and responsibilities. There’s individual responsibility.
There’s families where the parents have certain responsibilities, children have responsibilities. There’s government, political, national leadership there, and then there’s the church.
Well, Gary, how are parents especially equipped to help society, by being responsible for their children in a way that these other entities like government and church, are not and cannot take responsibility for?
Gary Dull: You know, Isaac, that’s an excellent question. I appreciate the way that you worded it. How parents especially, are equipped to help society by being responsible for their children. I think that every parent and grandparent, needs to understand that ultimately, the children belong to God.
Those children have been given to us by God, so that we might be their earthly guardians. I’ll use that particular phrase. It is our responsibility as parents, to train and to teach our children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 6 and 7, is very clear on that.
Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 4, gives a particular responsibility to fathers to bring their children up and to nurture it in the admonition of the Lord. That involves the whole concept of teaching children first of all, biblical truth. Then how to grow to act within society, and culture around them.
I kind of think that one of the reasons why we have a breakdown in society today, is because many times parents and grandparents, have not taken that responsibility from God to do that. We need to remember that our children belong to God. We are to teach them and bring them along in the things of God, so that they can responsibly act in the culture around them.
Isaac Crockett: That’s so helpful, Gary. Sam, you’ve been involved at some of the highest levels in this state, as far as education goes. What are the dangers when parents think that somehow the school system, maybe the government, public schools or even a Christian school, or a Sunday school or a youth group.
That somehow those groups are going to be responsible, for teaching their children how to function in society? When God specifically has given that role to parents, as we’ve just heard from Gary.
Sam Rohrer: Isaac, I think that’s a great question that you pose. I would say this right off to those who are listening. Grandparents, mom and dad who are listening, there is no substitute for mom and dad, when it comes to raising children. Gary just said that. Why? Because it’s God’s model. God says to mom and Dad, “Train up your child in the way they should go.”
The Old Testament, God made it very clear. Fathers primarily have the ultimate responsibility, to give them the precepts of God’s instruction. What God’s word says, and to do it regularly. That means when they sit down, when they rise up, when they go to sleep.
In other words, a continual illustration by mom and dad. Particularly led by dads, on what it looks like to be a father. Now, who’s the model? God in heaven, the Father. We know that. I’ll say that government is not a substitute for mom or dad, and particularly since the US government… Supreme Court took the 10 commandments out of schools.
Took prayer out of schools. Since, increasingly God and God’s Word, has been cleansed from the public schools, there cannot be any instructions in the way of God. God’s view of morality, God’s view of sexuality.
What God’s Word says about respect and honor. Why? Because government has purged the educational system of all of those things. If parents rely on government, they’re going to get a government child, not a God-looking child.
Isaac Crockett: Welcome back to the program. I would encourage you to go to at standinthegapradio.com, to look through maybe the archives of the radio program, as well as there are archives there of the Stand in the Gap television program. Which is now national, via certain cable companies as well as satellite TV.
It can also be found online, and of course, the archives. You can find that at Stand in the Gap, even through standinthegapradio.com or Stand in the Gap media. I think that’s standinthegapmedia.org, I think. I’m really glad to introduce our guest today. You may not know this, but he’s really not a guest at all.
If you listen to our program, you’ve heard his voice before, but he’s just usually on the other side of the microphone, during most of the program. That’s our Stand in the Gap Program Producer, Tim Schneider. Tim, thanks so much for switching spots today. Amy, thank you for filling in for Tim.
Tim, you wear so many hats here at American Pastors Network and Stand in the Gap, and of course, our main Program Producer. People well, have heard your voice before. You were raised by a single mom most of your life. Can you just tell our listeners a little bit about what your life was like growing up?
Tim Schneider: Yeah. Isaac, I was born in New England. I get a lot of heat now, because the Patriots and the Red Sox, and all those teams from New England have been really good over the years, and everybody can’t stand them now. I am from New England, so I take that I guess, as a sign of a badge of courage I guess, you kind of could say.
I was born in the state of Connecticut. My Dad was an immigrant. He came here to America from Germany. He was an alcoholic, and he got in trouble with the law, being in and out of prison many times. I am an only child. My mom on the other hand, suffered from manic depression and bipolar disorder, with bouts of schizophrenia.
My Mom and my dad met in the prison system in Connecticut, which was kind of weird. They were married on October 31st on Halloween, at a prison somewhere up there which is odd in itself, because you try to think of all the things that could be used against you.
It seems like they were just going down the list of things, that can be used against them with everything that was going on. Well, like I said, my dad was an alcoholic. He would black out a lot while he was drunk.
He would beat up my mom often, and not remember the next morning though of his actions, from the previous evening. My mom could only take so much of this behavior, and so to make my life better, when I turned near the age of two, she left him with me.
She went out on her own with me. Mom’s illness kept her a lot from being able to hold a job for a long period of time, and we moved to a lot of different places. There was a period in our life where we were homeless. We had to walk the streets during the day, and at night go to the homeless shelter.
We were kind of the dumpster people, that you sometimes see. I did live that in my past. Those periods of my life were not good. I did also go in and out of a couple of foster homes during that time.
Then we go to the late 80s in 1987, when my uncle, my mom’s brother, cared enough to get us off the streets and into a place in the town of Torrington, Connecticut. Which turned out to be the place where I lived most of my life, until I joined the military when I turned 18.
One of the great things that happened during this time was, my mom and I were walking the streets one day. We saw a sign that said, “Free clothing,” and that turned out to be a church. We went through it, we found out it was evangelical church and we ended up going. Later that year, I end up giving my life at a vacation Bible school.
My mom also accepted the Lord as her personal Lord and Savior. Also, now, my dad still was not in the picture, but at least we had that hope in Christ to get us through, what were some very interesting times going forward from there.
Sam Rohrer: Tim and reading your testimony, I think it’s a great testimony. It’s a delight to have you on the program to share it today. As a child growing up, you had some interesting behavior. I mean, of course, it’s just interesting to see how the Lord got ahold of your life, and has brought you to where you are today.
Let me ask you, do you think that the behavior that you had as a child, was impacted by your home life and the lack of a Godly role from your mother and father?
Tim Schneider: I would say, yes. Obviously, looking back on the story, as I’ve shared it many times over the decades and it is my story. I never really thought about it in the beginning. I would say, yes, it did. It happened because of a lack of a mom and a dad. I had a lot of situations where I would have behavioral outbursts.
My behavior in places… in elementary school was terrible. I’d pick up chairs, I pick up school desks. I’d throw pens when I didn’t get my way, I’d flip people and desks. I just had an out-of-control temper.
The principal, even one year at school, chased me around on her high heels because I ran off, because I wasn’t able to be able to record a Christmas play at school, with my cassette recorder.
A lot of the parents were really afraid to have their kids around me. They went to the principal many times, and asked that I would be removed from the school, be put in a detention facility.
Be put somewhere to be able to change this around, because they were fearful for their kids, which I don’t blame them. I would be too if I was a parent. It was a very interesting time, because I didn’t have really… I had a mom that tried her best, but she had manic depression, and my dad wasn’t there.
Sam Rohrer: Tim, let me say that I just want to thank you for being willing to share your testimony, on the program today. There are a lot of people out there. You and I have talked a lot, since the time that you’ve come to work with the Pastors Network.
We’re very thankful that you are… even though people hear your voice from time to time on the program, they might not know who you are, but there is a face behind that name. God’s laid on your heart, to come and be a part of this ministry because of what God’s done in your heart. I think that’s just an absolutely wonderful thing.
I know that you still… even though your father had a negative impact in your life, negative to no impact, however you look at it. You have a continuing concern for him. Your mom as you’ve said, have trusted the Lord but your father hasn’t.
I think from talking to you before, it’s been a long time since you have seen your father. Could you just tell us a little bit about, what is your relationship? I’m sure you’re still praying for your father. When have you seen him last, and perhaps, are you active in trying to hopefully one day find him again?
Tim Schneider: Good question. My mom passed away about 13 years ago, so that’s part of the story that I need to share too. She’d passed away from stroke after living in a nursing home, but her and my dad were never together most of my life.
They tried to make an attempt at it, when I was an early teenager. I just had a lot of bitterness and hatred in my heart, because my dad was never a part of the picture. I never gave him a chance to come back. Last time I saw him, which was probably over 25 years ago, I never gave him that chance to say, “Hey.”
I think he wanted to try genuinely to get to know me, but I didn’t want to give it to him. He took off, and that was the last time I saw him. Which was over 25 years ago. When I was about 18 years old or so, maybe 19, the Lord really did some work in my heart as I was growing in my faith in Jesus.
He just said, “It’s time for you to forgive your dad. It’s time for you to forgive your dad, of what he’s done. You need to just let this go.” I had the opportunity to be able to just write a letter to my dad, to just say, “Hey, I don’t hate you anymore for what you’ve done. I want you to know about Jesus.”
I’m not even really sure… my dad may have become a believer in Christ, but I’m not sure at one point. I just wanted to let him know, “Hey, I don’t hate you anymore. I want you to know about Jesus, and this is what He offers.”
At this point, I’ve been really convicted the last particularly couple of years, about trying to make steps. I’m working on that right now to try to find hopefully, that opportunity to be able to reach out to him. I just got to start taking those steps.
Isaac Crockett: That is so powerful. Your testimony there, Tim, and there’s more that we want to get into. Sam, let me just kind of go to you with this idea of forgiveness, that Tim brought up. I think many people listening, there are some who can definitely relate to a single-parent home.
There are many people out there, who can relate to having a parent with mental illness. Tim, like you had with your mom. Just the major struggles that are physically and financially, and emotionally, spiritually involved with that.
Sam, I think all of us can relate to somebody who has wronged us. Even whether as a child or as an adult. Can you just comment on the importance of… and the attitude of forgiveness, from a biblical worldview?
Sam Rohrer: Absolutely, Isaac and Tim. I’m sitting here actually looking at you folks. Now, you’re sitting right here, and I can look you in the eyes. When you talked about being willing to forgive your father, I’m saying, “Amen, amen,” because that is one of the signs of true redemption.
A lot of people don’t think about it, but when sin came into the garden of Eden a long time ago, Adam and Eve became estranged from God our Father. It was God the Father’s love for us, through Jesus Christ, that allows us to come back into fellowship. God forgave us through Jesus Christ. He didn’t do anything wrong. We did wrong, and He forgave us.
I think that in the whole aspect of redemption and healing, within people’s lives today, one of the strongest and most powerful elements is that, the victim ultimately has to say to the perpetrator, “Because, ultimately of what God did for me, I forgive you.” I’ve heard people. I think all of us have, people who have been in Nazi concentration camps, who’ve come out.
They’ve ultimately had to turn around, and say, “I forgive my captors.” Or the person who has been involved in abuse, ultimately healing, which God can do. They ultimately have to go back and say, “I forgive.” That’s a hard thing to do. When you did that Tim, when you forgave your father, did that give you a sense of freedom? How did you feel when you did that?
Tim Schneider: It was a complete release. Of course, I was 18 or 19 years old, but I was old enough to understand and have the comprehension at that point. Yeah, I would say there was freedom in that, because bitterness and just hatred can really destroy and ruin people.
If you let that sit there and fester in your heart and in your life, even if you’re a Christian, you can’t put it towards the Cross of Christ, it just sits there and fester. I would say there was freedom in that.
Isaac Crockett: What a wonderful reminder, beautiful reminder. Again, in a biblical worldview, as an individual, our responsibility in the situation as a family, as a church, as government, their responsibility. We’re not the judge, we’re not the government, [inaudible 00:18:18] part is, but as an individual in Christ to be able to forgive.
There’s freedom in it, to [inaudible 00:18:23]. Well, we want to talk more about the freedom you found in Christ. The changes that Jesus made in your life, and the changes that can happen in all of our society. All the issues that are going on, when we take a biblical approach to all these problems. Tim, let’s go back to where we left off talking about your dad.
He’s kind of… we would claim a negative figure in your life, I think most of us would say. Yet, God can use that for good, and to His glory. Let me just ask you, would you feel comfortable, maybe saying to our listeners, but what if your dad was listening right now.
You’re trying to find him. You’d like to let them know that you forgive him, and share the gospel with him if he doesn’t know it already. What maybe would you say, if you knew that he was listening today?
Tim Schneider: That’s a good question to ask Isaac. You got to put yourselves into that shoes which obviously I am. If my dad was listening today, I think I would just want him to know the same thing that I wrote in that letter. I just would like to let him know that, I don’t hate him anymore. I don’t have any animosity towards him, for what he’s done.
I just want him to know that obviously, the circumstances did not turn out right in the beginning. I’m sure he has a story too, that I don’t even really know about his upbringing. Usually, a lot of times the generational curse, can sometimes be the reality.
I’m not sure what his story is, because I never had a chance to hear it. I would like him… to let him know, that I do forgive him. I just want him to know Jesus, because I believe that’s the most important thing.
If he dies and doesn’t know Him obviously, the results and the consequences are not good for him. That’s what I would probably say to him. I don’t hate him. I would love to be able to try to see if we can restore some of the years… the many years, that we’ve lost.
Sam Rohrer: It’s very interesting, by the media of radio and the internet, and so forth and so on. Tim, we never know where our voices are going to go. I’ve heard stories over the years of people, who in similar situations like you, have shared their testimony on the radio and their mother or father or whatever the case heard it.
We do not know, there would be a possibility I suppose, that your father would be listening to us right now. That even as you have the desire to reach out to him, you may even be speaking to him now.
We don’t know that, we can suppose that. We can’t assume that, but there is that possibility nevertheless. Now, your father wasn’t probably the best fatherly figure. Your mother had various illnesses and problems, in her life as well.
I think in your testimony you said that she was manic depressive and so forth. God did bring into your life some other individual men particularly, who stepped up and really worked with you and your mother. Basically, served as a second father to you. Why don’t you share with our audience how that all worked out, for your benefit and for your good?
Tim Schneider: Sure, after I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and my mom and I started attending that church, there were many families that actually cared for my mom and I. Invited us over to their houses for the holidays. Let me come over to hang out with their kids, who became some of my best friends growing up.
Many men saw the need and they stepped in, and taught me many life skills. Things like how to have proper hygiene, taking a bath and using deodorant and et cetera. How to work and be a good worker, and have a good work ethic.
How to control my temper and have self-control. Be concerned about my health, through daily exercise and proper nutrition. Taught me the importance of having good morals, character, integrity and honesty.
Most importantly, men that taught me about what it meant to have an active relationship with the Lord. Reading His word, praying, evangelizing, serving. Those men stepped in to the gap, no pun intended, for what I didn’t have.
Sam Rohrer: Well Tim, you’re talking about fathers or other men stepping in. I think you probably could encourage Christian men who are listening to the program, to look around perhaps and take others under the wings perhaps, that would be in a circumstance like that.
What would you say to encourage dads or granddads, that may be listening right now, who maybe their children are grown? Can they still play a role in helping young men like you? Talk to us about that, because… encourage them, because I think it would be helpful.
Tim Schneider: Yes, most definitely. I think of 2nd Timothy 2:1-2, which says, “You then my children, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, and trust of faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
I see this as a big verse, that just discusses the importance of mentorship. The importance of looking around. If you look hard enough… you may not even have to look hard enough. Maybe you are a father, maybe you are a grandfather whose kids have grown up, and are successfully raising their own families.
You see somebody in your church or maybe even somebody in your community, that needs that mentorship. That is maybe a single mother, or a single father for example, that doesn’t have the other part. Still regardless, those people in my life were very integral, and just stepping in for where my dad never was.
I would encourage people, there’s always opportunities. Life is messy a lot of times. It’s never easy. When we get engaged with people, it’s not always easy but it’s what the Lord has called us to do. If you see those opportunities, you can pray about them. If you don’t see them, pray about them. I’m sure the Lord will bring them to you.
Isaac Crockett: Thank you for that reminder Tim, as it is so important for fathers and mothers to be looking out for their own children. As Sam and Gary, both spoke to us at the beginning of the program, of those biblical designs for mom and a dad, working together.
There are many cases in our churches, where a father or a mother passes away or is sick. Or in your case, you have a father who left and a mother who’s mentally ill, and both of them also with a prison rap sheet. All of these different strikes against you so to speak, and so for us to be looking how to help. You look at the New Testament church in the book of Acts.
They did so much for the fatherless, and they did so much for the widows. They did so much for those who were suffering. That is one of the callings of the church, that sets us apart to show God’s love. We’ve talked about that, how that even flows into forgiveness, which is a biblical part of it too.
Gary, let me ask you as a pastor, who has dealt with and counseled many different situations. We’ve been talking with Tim, as the child growing up in a fatherless situation. What about to… especially women or a spouse, whose husband or maybe it’s a husband whose wife did it.
Someone has left them or wrong them. What kind of biblical advice do you give to them, in what to do and where to go from there?
Gary Dull: I want to get back to the concept of forgiveness. I think forgiveness is that which sets one free. That was brought up in a recent segment here. Many times I have found that, when somebody has been treated improperly, maybe their husband left them or even maybe the wife left them, or just basically emotionally mistreated them.
The key is forgiveness. Forgiveness sets an individual free. As long as that forgiveness is not given, then there’s going to be bitterness. There’s going to be even I believe… hindrance to one’s walk with their relationship with the Lord.
The Lord Jesus Christ, when He’s teaching the concept of forgiveness says, “If we’re not willing to forgive those who’ve defended us, then we’ve got a problem with our forgiveness, and our relationship with our Father in heaven.” Maintaining a non-forgiving attitude is in reality, walking in a sinful action. Certainly, that is not pleasing to the Lord.
It does start with the concept of forgiveness. Then seeking God’s wisdom. God, the Bible teaches us is the healer of the broken heart. God is the one who leads us. “He is leading us with His eye,” the scripture says.
To an individual who has gone through a difficult relationship. Whether it’s a situation like Tim is going through, or a husband and wife situation where there’s been a breakup or whatever the case, seek God’s direction. Once you get the forgiveness, seek God’s direction. Number one in doing that, He will no doubt heal your broken heart.
Secondly, He will order your steps as to which way to go, to be able to get beyond the situation. God wants to use people in that situation. Isaac, Satan will do everything to keep them from being used by God.
Through offering forgiveness, turning to the Lord for strength, seeking God’s direction. Then I might say, find a good Bible counselor who can help them get through it. They can be used of God. They can be blessed of God, and the joy the Lord can be restored to their lives.
Isaac Crockett: Gary, that is very practical, very helpful. I really like how you said that, about finding a good counselor or someone to help disciple you. Every situation is unique, it is different. Forgiving somebody does not mean that you’re condoning or covering sin.
The Bible is very clear that we don’t cover sin, but there’s humility in forgiving, and the freedom that comes through it, is very key. If this is something that you’re listening to this and it touches your heart, please reach out to a Bible-believing pastor or just someone in your church, to seek some help with this.
Welcome back to our program as we have been looking at not just the biblical role of parents with their family in their home. To leading their children, but the biblical role of all of us as Christians within the church, and within our broader community, of helping those who don’t have a good home background.
Of helping those children, or maybe even a spouse who are struggling because somebody in their home, somebody in their family or maybe multiple people, are not living the way God intended them to and so it’s affecting the whole group.
We’ve been talking with Tim Schneider who’s normally on the other side of the microphone. You may hear his voice here and there but he’s not the one usually speaking during the program. He’s our producer usually and again, Amy, thank you for filling in for Tim today.
We’ve been talking with you Tim. You grew up in a single parent home. Your parents had a rocky history, your father being addicted to substance abuse, his drunkenness and things, and then acting out against you and your mom.
Your mom having major mental illnesses that incapacitated her at times from being able to be the mom she wanted to be and a worker and different things to provide, and yet through it all, we saw God’s hand and God’s grace and we saw other people, other Christians that stepped in to help your mom, that stepped in to help you, and it’s amazing what God has done.
Tim, I don’t know the exact statistics I’ve seen some before, but maybe you know some statistics or just anecdotal evidence from your own life, how likely is it that a child from a home, especially a case of a fatherless home or any home where the parents aren’t around, we might call it a broken home.
Sometimes it’s a term that’s used, how likely is it they’re going to be in danger as a young person or as an adult of getting into more trouble than the average child would get into?
Tim Schneider: Well, Isaac, the statistics are not actually good. I’ve done a lot of research about this and without going into a lot of details, I share often, when I go into the prison down in Lancaster and I share with the prison ministry.
You look at children in single parent homes and they are two to three times more likely to have emotional and behavioral problems and run into the law. Fatherless children are at a dramatically higher risk of drug and alcohol abuse.
The risk is still higher if alcoholism runs in the family, which in my case my dad was an alcoholic, so you’re highly likely to be an alcoholic if that runs in the family. Children in such situations are also twice as likely to drop out of school and the statistics go on from there. There’s a ton of statistics.
If you look at my life, I really do believe I am an anomaly because the percentage of people that gets out of there unscathed as I have from the statistics is truly the product of a miraculous God, because the likelihood of someone making it in my situation without many hardships is very unlikely.
Isaac Crockett: Tim, that’s great input that you’re sharing there and I think you’re talking about your unusual illustration of being lifted out of an unusually a hard circumstance that’s not the normal, and you’re talking now to families to look out for young people like yourself who have need.
I’m going to turn it around and ask you this perhaps, and may be difficult perhaps, but you’re talking to moms and dads on this program right now whose children perhaps are still at home and maybe they are doing their best and they are not in the circumstance where you found yourself.
Could you give some words of encouragement or advice to the families who are listening? Mom and Dads who are listening, who are trying to do everything right, but sometimes maybe get weary in well doing
Tim Schneider: Well, not being a parent myself. It may be a little bit difficult to completely get the understanding there of it, but I would say if you are a mom or dad who are experiencing something like that and you have kids and you’re just trying your best with the culture and everything else to raise them, I would just say continue onward in doing that.
Continue doing what you know is right. Look to the Bible, look to the author Jesus for everything and for guidance of truth because from my understanding, it’s not the easiest thing to raise kids and our grandkids and our culture and our society.
I think if you are a parent you got to believe what it says in proverbs, that if you train a child up in the way that he should go, then when he is old he will not depart from it. Now, I know that’s not always true and that’s not a biblical command, but it is a reference guide for people to be able to hopefully have that set of standards.
I would say, I know it’s not always easy, but keep pressing on and continue looking to the source of truth which is Jesus Christ.
Isaac Crockett: Very helpful there, Tim, very true. Same in Gary’s, we’ve been listening to Tim and just talking through some of these things. It’s striking me that we’re talking about individual responsibility and especially the family.
Family responsibility, parental responsibility and families and individuals who are Christians helping children or spouses in a situation that’s not good. Even the responsibility of government and churches, if we would take the same kind of humility, ability to forgive and to reach out, and not be focused just on ourselves as an individual.
See ourselves as God has intended us to be, to be part of a family, to be part of a church, to be part of a nation and to take some of the same attitudes. Some of the attitude that God has by His grace instilled into Tim, how different our culture, how different our society would be, not just in our churches.
Even on a national level as we often times secret lock between party lines. Gary, I would like to go to you and have you close our program in prayer, but before that, just to get some input from you as father and grandfather, but also as a pastor and one who has had experience working with families who were struggling.
Maybe families who look like they were going to split apart because of sinfulness or selfishness and yet God was able to keep them together. People who were able to, in a situation like Tim come out.
Not unscathed I shouldn’t say, but to come out and give God glory in spite of the bad things that happened to them. Just be interested before you close our program in prayer for some final commentary from you about this subject.
Gary Dull: My, Isaac, there’re so many things going through my mind right now. Forgiveness is so important because unforgiveness results in many bad things and I don’t have time to elaborate upon that. The longer a person holds an unforgiving spirit, the more difficult the relationship will be to be healed.
Even as Sam brought up I think in the first or second segment, the Bible teaches us that we are to forgive one another’s even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. As we have been forgiven by God through Christ, we certainly ought to forgive others and take the initial step to do that.
I’ve often heard people say, I’m not going to forgive people until they come to me and ask for forgiveness. No, you forgive first and then let God take that and work it out in the other peoples’ lives. Christ forgave us before we were even born so think about that.
I just want to say to parents, don’t forget that you’ve got a great responsibility to teach your children in the things of the Lord. Be an example to them. It is difficult parenting. You’re going to make mistakes, you’ll make bad mistakes.
When you make those mistakes, go to your children and say, “Look, I am sorry for what I have done,” and they will forgive you. Then I do want to encourage children to make certain that you recognize, that your parents are not going to be perfect.
If you happen to have a situation where, you are in a relationship with your parents that maybe is not good. Maybe your parents don’t know the Lord. Maybe you’re 16, 18, 25, 30, whatever the case. Look to the Lord. God is the perfect parent, and He will lead you in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake for certain.
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