Welcome back to another inspirational moment from historical Christian romance novels.

Psalm 78:5-7: He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.

In Julia David’s novel, The Messenger’s Mischief, her leading lady Miss Elaine Balderhoff is a God-fearing teacher. She possesses a sweet innocence that is deeply rooted in her relationship with God. No matter what situation she finds herself in, and she gets into plenty of precarious ones, she is quoting God’s word and speaking life into those around her.

The snippet of a scene below is a word of encouragement she receives from her hero, Sawyer Roth. She shares a painful memory of an event when she was in school and was mistreated by her classmates and teacher. Her experience was vastly different from how she taught and treated her own students.

Laney stopped with heart pounding, looking everywhere but at him. This is what the curious miner’s children would see, the new teacher in a squabble with a man? She straightened her spine and tried to find her composure. “I apologize for all my Bible lessons, Mr. Roth. Please forgive me and allow me to pass.”

“No.” His voice lowered. “I was riled by what those children and that teacher did to you. Then you brought it back to me and that riled me more. And those are both pitiful excuses to be coarse with you." A low growl escaped, and he ran his hand down his face. "I think these children--I'm sayin’ this honest—they’re lucky to have a teacher like you. One who’d never hit ‘em to make them mind, one who’d never humiliate ‘em in front of others. One who cares enough about their souls to show them the truth of the Bible.”

(Julia David, The Messenger’s Mischief, page 84)

As an educator I absolutely love this scene. In my time as a teacher, I have had the joy of nurturing students and sharing Jesus. Our children deserve to the know the truth. There is only one source of truth when it comes to instructing them on how to live their lives, the Bible.

The enemy has misused the concept of separation of church and state to remove God from our schools. The effects of this can be seen in the degradation of our society. I don’t want to focus on the negative, but it is important to point out that removing God from our lives, has led to a society of hurting and lost people.

Do you stop and think about your children’s souls? Don’t you want to give your children the best? Well, the best is Jesus Christ who redeems us and presents us to His father as wholesome, clean, and new. So that, we may have everlasting life in paradise with Him.

Now isn’t that what you want for your kids? It’s time to tell Satan to take hike because our children are children of God. Teach them how to live for God and even if they stray, they will come back to Him who can and will redeem them.

It is our job to teach our children how to live for God and they in turn will teach their children for generations to come. This is the only legacy worth leaving behind. I want to end by re-reading our verse for today.

Psalm 78:5-7: He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.