Ray Comfort - How to Bring Your Children to Christ...& Keep Them There: Avoiding the Tragedy of False Conversion

How to Bring Your Children to Christ & Keep Them There

Published by

Genesis Publishing Group

2002 Skyline Place

Bartlesville, OK 74006

www.genesis-group.net

2005 by Ray Comfort. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or otherwisewithout prior permission in writing from the author.

Edited by Lynn Copeland

Cover, page design, and production by Genesis Group

Printed in the United States of America

Third printing, August 2009

ISBN 978-0-9749300-4-6

eISBN: 9781933591124

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version, 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee.

Scripture quotations designated Amplified are from The Amplified Bible, 1965 by Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

To my children:

Jacob, Rachel, and Daniel

&

their childrens children

T HREE BOYS AND three girls Chelsea and I have gone from Growing Pains to The Brady Bunch. Weve often wondered what will happen when our kids all enter their teens. Six teenagersdating, driving, experimenting with lifes optionsall at the same time. I admit Ive had the thought, If its true that small children have small problems and big kids have big problems, then in ten years Im going to fake my own death and move to Tahiti!

Growing up in this world of ungodly values and immoral lifestyles, our kids are already facing difficult challenges, and it is our responsibility as parents to give them a solid foundation upon which they can build their lives, dreams, and convictions. I find great comfort in this wonderful proverb: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).

As much as Id love for this verse of Scripture to be a guarantee of perfect Christian children as long as we raise them in a godly home, I know it doesnt always work that way. Many godly parents in the Bible had sons and daughters who did not walk with the Lord. But I do know that the principle of preparing the soil for the seed of the gospel can and should start when a child is young. And I believe that the promise of this verse is that if a child learns to turn from sin and trust in Jesus when he is young, then as he grows old he will not depart from his Savior because God has already set him apart for His own glory.

Since we know that only the Holy Spirit can transform our children from the cute little me-centered people that they are into God-loving, God-fearing followers of Christ, the question is: What should I be doing as a parent? How can I train my child in the way he should go so that he will continue on Gods path and become a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ?

My good friend and ministry partner, Ray Comfort, has crafted this book utilizing a solid scriptural foundation to help you bring your children to Christ and keep them there. Ray addresses issues beyond the initial conversion experience and provides additional ideas and practical examples of how to help keep your children from getting off course. There is no greater goal for us as parents than the eternal well-being of our children.

Ray and I have a mutual friend, Mark Waters, whom we asked to write about a very moving and powerful experience. Please read his words prayerfully:

On April 7, 2001, the unthinkable happened. It was a beautiful sunny day and my wife and I were out in the backyard taking pictures with our son, Sam (who at the time was almost four), and our daughter, Delaney (who was sixteen months old). After the hot Florida sun became unbearable, we went inside to cool off.

I had been playing with Sam in the living room and I assumed Delaney was with my wife, Becky, in the bedroom. After awhile I called out, Is Delaney with you?I thought she was with you, Becky answered. My blood ran cold. It had been too long not to have heard or seen her. I knew that she had become increasingly curious about the lake behind the house so I instantly sprinted out the back door toward the lake.

As I came over the top of the hill I saw her. That vivid, horrible image will remain burned in my mind until the day I die. There was our sweet Delaney floating face down about ten feet out from shore. Oh my God! I yelled. Not breaking stride, I ran down the hill to the shore and with one bound I reached her. Call an ambulance! I yelled again. I carried her to shore and laid her pale, limp body in the grass. Our neighbor, an ex-marine, ran over and immediately began CPR on her, but I knew it was too late. I fell to the ground and from the bottom of my soul and with all the strength I had in me, I wailed.

I dont know if youve ever actually wailed beforeI hadnt until that day. I had cried, I had wept, I would even say that I had agonized. But until that moment had never wailed. I can still hear it. How awful it sounded. I could write a hundred books and never adequately describe how I felt. I would only argue that that is the lowest point a human can reach during this lifetime. Once you reach that point, as you would imagine, you never look at anything in life the same way again.

Im a real bottom line type of guy, so let me tell you what my bottom line is now that this experience is a part of my life. I have two sons now. My lifes number one goal is to lead my sons to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. What else is there? A hundred years from now it wont matter whether they drove a tow truck or the space shuttle. Theyll be dead just like Delaney. The only important question is, will they be with Delaney and Becky and me in heaven, or will they be in hell? A hundred years from now, where will your kids be? Where will you be?

It has been my pleasure to have Kirk Camerons friendship for almost fifteen years. He is an incredible example of a loving husband and father, and a loyal friend. He and his family embraced us in our tragedy and for that my family and I are forever grateful.

More important, Kirk and his ministry partner, Ray Comfort, are wholly committed to fulfilling the command of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Thats not only their message, but their mission. In other words, this is what they do, not just what they tell others to do. I also know they would both tell you that this mission starts first and foremost in their own homes.

Since Delaney diedIve said this countless times but it never seems to lose its potencyas much as it hurts when I replay in my mind the events of April 7th, I can live with that. I can live the rest of my life here on earth without my precious little Delaney, and I can bear it. Shes well taken care of. In fact Ill never have one single worry about her again. Shes in heaven; thats a done deal and not even Satan can take that away. What I cant bear is the thought of spending eternity without any one of my children. I love them too much not to devote my life to leading them toward a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

I dont think that I love my kids any more or less than anyone else. Im no super dad, or super Christian for that matter. But God has given me a perspective in my life that not everyone shares, and for that Im thankful, and I intend to do something about it. Life is too short not to.

In picking up this book, you obviously are concerned about the spiritual life of your children. Nothing is more important than where they will spend eternity. Although as parents we each have our own style of communicating and relating with our children, there are foundational biblical guidelines that we all must follow if we hope to have Gods blessings upon our parental toil and tears. Ray has masterfully drawn out these basic guidelines from Gods training manual for childrenThe Bible. I encourage you to read, pray about, and put into practice these very helpful tips so that you can guide your children to genuinely embrace Jesus and stay with Him forever.