Books of Hazard

Wartime Parenting has no reviews and seems to be completely unknown. I stumbled across this book earlier this month and the blurb on the back cover intrigued me. Horrible advice is prevalent, so of course there are numerous concerns about a book like this. Let’s look at the motive. Femi Reis wrote this book because “…God spoke clearly to my heart and said ‘There’s a taking away of an entire generation into cyber captivity and you must do all you can to stop it.’ I wrote this book because I strongly believe we all have a crucial role to play in bringing this generation back from captivity and raising God’s end-time army from among them.” (113) He says that he left out many subjects that could have been brought up–most notable to SG readers, of course, is homeschooling. The author states he took his children out of public school and homeschools them, but never explicitly recommends it. This book is not what I expected it to be, and some of the ideas are worth your attention.

“There is a lot God hasn’t done with us that He wants to do with our children.” (1)

Genesis 3:15

And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Femi says that while this Scripture refers to Christ, there is an important principle: “God has something He wants to do with the seed, and satan has something he wants to do to the seed. Neither God nor satan is neutral about our seed.” (2)

Revelation 12:15 is used as an example to show “the attack vector of the devil. While the Holy Spirit operates as rivers from inside; the devil operates with a flood from outside in a bid to get inside.”

“And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”

Femi says the purpose of the flood is to carry away the victims and that there is a different flood for every generation, and that right now this is the fiercest war waged against any generation. He sees a key principle in Revelation 12:17:

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

“The devil’s rage in missing the parents is always transferred to their seed.” (3)

Femi points to Joel 2:28 to show that while the external floods rage around us, God will send a more powerful internal flood if we cooperate:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”

“Regardless of how we bring up our children in our various homes, I believe one thing we would all agree on right now is that we can’t afford to raise civilians at a time of war.” (5)

Femi laments the lukewarm state of many children whose parents don’t seem to be negligent, but who have “adopted a regular model of Christian parenting that has stayed the same while every other thing around us has changed.” (11)

Femi uses the example of Abraham and Lot as a guide for how our model should change. Both Abraham and Lot were righteous and yet Lot’s children were taken away captive.

Genesis 14:8-9

“And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;

With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.”

Genesis 14:14, 16-17

“And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.

And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.”

Femi says “Both men were righteous, but while one was simply raising obedient servants, the other was actively raising both obedient servants and militant solders.” (17)

While parents may have good intentions Femi believes that some are responsible for firing the first distracting shot that is later used by the enemy so successfully. Femi apparently covers this is more detail in his book “Ploushares to Swords” which I have not read yet. In this book, though he decries the use of the “electronic pacifier”(24) and discusses the many negative effects it has on children, such as taking away their agency and focus.

“One of the most crucial things that determine the mental output of an individual is not necessarily the person’s IQ. Rather, it is the depth of focus and longevity of attention that a person is able to sustain on a given task.” (27) Children taken away in cyber captivity cannot focus on God and Femi recommends praying fervently and earnestly for their release, fasting and holding vigils if necessary. (35)

One interesting idea Femi has is to borrow the child’s phone and replace it with a new one that has prayed over and he uses Acts 19:12 as an example.

“So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.”

He also recommends sharing research about the adverse effects of social media with children and encourage them to come up with a “Smart Usage Plan” so they don’t fall into captivity. Another remedy is to talk with rather than to them about “the end-time army he’s a part of and his crucial role to play.” (37) Femi believes a major reason for childrens’ lukewarm behavior is that we have not appealed to their sense of adventure. “So while the devil appeals to their sense of adventure… we are trying to appeal to their sense of maturity…” (38) He also says that parents need to make sure they aren’t in cyber captivity themselves and to understand that “any affection that isn’t found offline would be sought online.” (47)

Femi then discusses the importance of having an invasion plan. “I have discovered that there are many things we pray for as Christians that we don’t plan for. Many Christians, for instances, pray to live long, but when you see what is set before them as dinner every night, you know they don’t plan to live long!” (49) An invasion plan is a plan “to invade and occupy for Christ. It is a plan to dislodge darkness and enthrone light.” (50)

The elements of an invasion plan involve: offensive prayer, the prophetic word, individual gifts, the gifts of the Spirit, the World of Life and Power, the whole armor of God, the shrewdness of a serpent, and the meekness of a dove.

Femi also has ideas for plans for different age groups: 4-7, 8-12, and teenagers. The plans for younger children are obviously more basic.

4-7: “Conversations you could start having with the child could be in the line that God wants everyone to be good, to be full of joy, to be strong, to be wise and to be kind, just like His Son Jesus, but satan doesn’t want that…” (55) Help draw out a plan on a piece of paper with words and pictures, discussing how to disrupt satan’s plans with prayer, asking for wisdom, and how to talk to others who aren’t saved. The goal is to make children intentional in reaching out to others.

9-12: Discuss the importance of prayer and “teach various ways by which the power of God can be accessed—revelation from the word, prayer, fasting..walking in love, prompt obedience…” (65) “Let the child know there’s a fight between darkness and Light, and how satan has taken people and even whole regions captive by sin and death. But then let him know how God is working with children his age and even younger to push back the darkness and rescue these souls from destruction. Explain to him that he is destined to be part of this rescue team, and that for him to really take place and carry out his mission, he has to have a plan.” (64)

Teenagers: Make the child understand that: we are at war, we are to stop the devil in his tracks, there is no middle ground, the reason man things are wrong in the world is because few people on the side of light have actually prepared a clear plan, and that she has been given authority to stop the advancement of evil. Draw up a plan by discussing: prayer, various prophetic words (Joel 2:28, Habakkuk 2:14, Daniel 11:32), how their unique gifts can be developed, the gifts of the Spirit, how to build an arsenal of Scriptures for both offense and defense, the armor of God, any specific elements of invasion which might be peculiar to their situation. Other points: know when to conceal while seeking targets, never be silent in face of evil, build strategic relationships to expand influence, using authority and influence to make room for other agents of Light. Pray over the plan with the teenager.

Early exposure is important and Femi points to Proverbs 22:6

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

The contrast between Lot and Abraham is mentioned again: “Abraham didn’t train the servants born in his house when it was time to go to the battle of the kings; the Bible says ‘he armed his trained servants born in his own house’. The training was already done prior; he simply armed them at wartime.” (75) “Every child born under our roof is a king (Revelation 1:6), a priest (Revelation 1:6) and a soldier (2 Timothy 2:3). Whatever home training we are providing must embrace these three dimensions and the child must be exposed to that training early.” (75-76)

Femi wants to develop a different breed of rich young rulers who are not mastered by money. Teach children how money is made, how they can use their gifts to make money, and help develop their gifts. Build an arsenal of Scriptures to protect children from being distracted by money (Deuteronomy 8:18, 15:6, 2 Corinthians 8:9, 9:10, 2 Peter 1:3, Psalm 23:1)

“The next part of creating value for financial increase that we should help our children understand is that, apart from creating value through gifts and natural abilities, value can also be created through supernatural abilities. God illuminates the mind. He gives ideas, He opens the eyes to see and opens ears to hear and opens the heart to understand mysteries of economic importance.” (85)

1 Corinthians 2:9-10

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

Explain how God can be turned to for ideas (Noah’s Ark, Jacob’s flock, Joseph’s economic plan), teach child to pray that eyes are open to see, ears to hear, keep an idea book, work with child on ideas and teach them how to succeed and fail.

Children don’t need to have big ideas to make money. Teach them they can simply apply brains and brawn to solve common problems, ask them how they can solve common problems (laundry, mowing lawns), and discuss what they can actually do. Implement plan.

Children must learn to master money: there is only a master/servant relationship with money, teach them sacrificial giving, have children make strong declarations over money (“I will use you to reach people and I won’t use people to reach you”), perform “rich young ruler test”, and teach children to tithe.

Teach children how to multiply money. The parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) should be used as an example—all the servants were experiencing the same economic conditions but their outcomes were different.

Teach children how to use money properly. Prepare children to expect God’s leading and instructions, how to inquire of God and wait for instructions, and practice hearing God on money decisions.

Finally, Femi returns once again to Joel 2:28-29 and discusses how to domesticate a prophetic atmosphere: engage the testimony of Jesus (post scripture throughout the house that is read aloud frequently), build a company of prophets, and create an atmosphere of praise.