Remember yourselves & teach the children. Every feast and every holiday was the same. I have had a blast this year telling my grandson the God story of our family. I am going back though our lives and bringing him up to date with all that God has done for us. I will retell him those stories every opportunity I have as long as I’m alive for two main reasons. So I can remember myself and so I can pass it on to Sparrow. God’s done some amazing things in Widemanville, and I believe with all my heart the best is yet to come!
Deuteronomy 6: 1-8 says, “These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children, and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
It is amazing to me that parents want better for their children than they have had in every area of LIFE but one. We want them to have more opportunities financially, educationally, and socially. We want them to have a better marriage, drive a better car, wear nicer clothes, live in a better house, and the list could go on forever. But when it comes to spiritual things, we don’t want them to go overboard…
We’re happy if they turn out just as spiritual as us. As long as they are not bad….VERY FEW PARENTS HAVE A VISION OF THEIR CHILDREN TO BE SPIRITUAL DYNAMOS! It’s not the same priority and desire we have for them in other areas.
TWENTY-NINE TIMES THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT WE SHOULD LOVE THE LORD- WITH ALL OUR HEART, ALL OUR SOUL, & ALL OUR STRENGTH!.- That’s our goal!
Here are 7 steps for us to pass on to parents how to desire God’s best for the inhabitants of their homes.
1. Establish who’s the king of the castle!
Joshua 24:15 says, “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
What does this look like for your family? (It’s more than attending church once or twice a week! It’s getting involved on a daily basis. Every educator knows that the students whose parents are involved in their education do better! What changes need to happen for Jesus to be the king of your home?)
2. Parents set the example…(it starts with you!) The church cannot do this for you. The church has its part to play.
Deuteronomy 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Be an example of living the Scriptures. Be an example of serving, going to church. Let your children see you praying, speaking the Word, and needing the Lord!
3. Your home should be a place of learning God things!
Deuteronomy 6: 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
It’s our job to take back the time you have with your children. This calls for consistent, intentional actions. Watch out for mixed signals and too many voices in your home.
4. Keep your marriage strong. If you’re not married, keep your relationships pure.
INCLUDE JESUS IN EVERY RELATIONSHIP!
Establish house rules that line up with Scripture-
Ephesians 4:32 is a great place to start…Be kind to one another,tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
A second is…Don’t let the sun go down on an argument.
Ephesians 4:26 “In your anger, do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.
Remember, it’s your job to model love/true love to your children!
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