If you want your children to grow up with strong spiritual values and a personal relationship with Christ, then a good place to start is in Deuteronomy 6.4-9.
This passage of scripture is known in the Jewish community as the Shema. Orthodox Jews recite these six verses twice a day every day of their lives.
So, today read this important passage slowly and thoughtfully:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Ponder these questions:
Do your children see a deeply imbedded faith in your life? Is the faith "on your heart?"
Is "impressing the faith on them" a top level priority for your parenting?
Do you talk about the faith throughout the day with your kids? Sitting at home? On the road?
Are there reminders everywhere that your home is a place of faith?
If not, today is a good day to start.
We have asked our church people to recite these verses twice a day and memorize them. It will be a life changing experience for us. Join us!
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This is an excellent reminder that the relationship with Christ is not just a Sunday thing. It is a 24/7 thing & if I want my children to have that relationship I need to walk the walk.
ReplyDeleteI haven't focused on memorizing Scripture in a long time, until this year at CBS and now this passage. It's been a good challenge! We're trying to find ways to post it around our home (we're even planning to have someone paint it over our doorframe!).
ReplyDeletePS - I still mix up the order of the last part...but I'll get it!
This is an excellent idea. We are all surrounded by forces that can (and do) interfere with a solid relationship with Christ so it is very important that we all cling to our rock as tightly as we can. Reaffirming our commitment to Him all the time via memorizing scriptures (and setting a clear example for others by doing so) is a key discipline.
ReplyDeleteI think is a really good idea and having my children have a relationship with Christ seems so much more important to me than ever. I see families around us not teaching anything about Christ in the home and they really are having some major issues in their lives. It's really sad to see.
ReplyDeleteOkay, okay...I admit it. At first, I didn't think I'd like this sermon series. (the White as Snow series seems easier to swallow). I realize now that this series will look at some failings in our spiritual home life but I'm ready to address these failings now. These last few weeks have been trying ones with one of our teenage children. We have turned to scripture and prayer to help us through this. We have spoken to our child about trusting God, reciting different verses. I do feel God's hand in all of this and we are near the end of this trial (others to come, I'm sure). I believe that just the mere thought that we'll be looking at our spiritual life at home has caused us to step up and to lean on God more. So, I'm grateful for this series for at least two reasons - it has caused me to realize that we do have to work on our spiritual home life so that our children will have a better foundation and second, that we have done pretty well up to this point because we have our own foundation that was apparent on some level during this trial.
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
If Christ followers stay focused on the goal of impressing the faith on their kids, and make it a priority, then really great things can happen. I think we get distracted, and likely need a lot of reminders, peer support, good parenting mentors, etc. I'm really encouraged by what God is going to do through this series.
ReplyDeleteI hope folks will tune into the Lord in prayer as they are memorizing the verses. Let Him speak to our hearts as we roll His words around in our mouths practicing. Those words will be imprinted on our hearts with deeper meaning and investment if we actually recite them twice a day to the Holy Spirit who "teaches us all things and brings to our remembrance those things which He has taught us."
ReplyDeleteI have had the pleasure of teaching students (many of who are in our congregation) who have a strong spiritual background and it is evident in their behavior, maturity, leadership qualities, and responsibility.
ReplyDeleteI think that kids who grow up in a families that have an active relationship with God build a strong moral fiber and sense of accountability that distinguishes them from their peers.
The benefits of these are not just spiritual, but positively affect many other aspects of their lives.