Help! My fifteen -year-old son has become an alien! I don't even know him anymore, much less, how to relate to him. Please tell me what to do.

       Your desperate daughter

Dear Desperate,

       Relax, rejoice, and PRAY! Your son is going through what every other child goes through after approximately fifteen years on this planet. Be encouraged. This too shall pass.

       The enemy tempts our teenagers with the sin of rebellion about this time of life, encouraging them to "do their own thing," and "be their own person," etc., etc.

       The Bible says, that "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft" (1 Samuel 15:23), and that "stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." Rebellion is surely the sin God hates most. It's the sin that got Lucifer kicked out of heaven. Its' ultimate end is complete opposition to God.

       When children do not honor their father and mother, it's often the first sign that idols have set up residence in your child's heart. These idols are most often the idols of pride and selfishness. So why rejoice? Rejoice because these idols can be destroyed through prayer. Do your battle in the spirit, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12), then watch your child begin to change.

       Remember, your battle is not with your son, (or daughter), but with the enemy. The good news is that Jesus has given you authority "over all the power of the enemy." (Luke 10:19) Don't be afraid to USE that authority through prayer to kick the devil in the face, and OUT of your child's life! In Jesus' name.

       Pray that God would shine the light on any rebellion that is taking root in your child's heart, so that it can be destroyed. Pray that your child will be delivered from it. As you stand in the gap and pray for God to make your child uncomfortable with sin, and help him/her begin to recognize and confront pride in him/herself, you will be helping him/her to get back on the track of repentance, forgiveness, and total victory.

       Don't be intimidated by a rebellious spirit. Jesus is the name above ALL names...including rebellion.

Gail Ramsey, an ordained minister, portrayed the role of Susan Moore on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. She had other roles on the TV programs Mike Hammer, Generations and California Dreams. Today, Ramsey leads Semeion Ministries, where readers can write her at P.O. Box 77, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43063.