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Teach
Them To Your Children
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The Israelites of the Old Testament reared a generation
“who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for
Israel” (Judg. 2:10). Today we too have raised a
generation
who know not the Lord. A reading of Deuteronomy 11:9 reveals,
“You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when
you
sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and
when you rise up.” So we take a look, teach them to
your
children. Teach your children of:
God’s
Works In The
Beginning. Have you
taught your children “In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen.
1:1). The Psalmist declared, “The heavens declare
the glory
of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps.
19:1).
Our children today are being taught error when they are taught
evolution. A design demands a designer, a creation a
creator. A reading of Hebrews 11:3 reveals, “By
faith we
understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the
things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible.”
God’s
Works In The History
of Israel. Do your
children know about Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob (Gen. 12-50)? We need to teach our children and
grandchildren how God brought the Israelites up out of Egypt and the
miracles God worked along the way (Ex 1-18). The next
generation
needs to be taught such events as the ten plagues, the Red Sea
crossing, and how God provided for the Israelites as they journeyed
toward the Promised Land. We need to teach our children how
the
history of Israel fits into the Bible story. Have our
children
been taught about the great heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews
11? We best get busy lest we raise a generation who knows not
the
Lord!
God’s
Works In Christ.
It seems that children today know more about any one of the past United
States Presidents than the Savior of Man, the Son of God, Jesus the
Christ (Jn. 4:42). Sure, it is important to be educated about
history of any age; the problem is that there is very little emphasis
if any on the life and times of Jesus. Are we educating our
children about the birth, life, death and resurrection of
Christ?
Many parents seek to teach their children to hit a baseball, kick a
soccer ball, run and jump, but fail to teach their children about how
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son”
(Jn. 3:16) and that Christ “became the author of eternal
salvation to all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9).
God’s
Plan For Saving Man.
A lot of false doctrines are being circulated today about how to be
saved. Folks are teaching the next generation to just say
some
prayer, or just believe, or that man has no say in his own
salvation. This is unfortunate in that the Bible is clear on
what
man must do to be saved. Man is required to obey God in order
to
be saved (Mt. 7:21). Man today is required to hear the Gospel
(Rom. 10:17), believe in God (Heb. 11:6), repent, turn from sin (Lk.
13:3), confess his faith in Christ that He is the Son of God (Acts
8:37), be baptized, immersed in water, for the remission of past sins
(Acts 2:38) and live faithful until death (Rev. 2:10). Do you
want to see your children in heaven some day? Teach them what
they must do to be saved.
God’s
Blessings.
What parent would not want his or her children to enjoy the many
spiritual blessings of God? A reading of Ephesians 1:3
reveals
God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly
places in Christ.” These spiritual blessings are
found only
in Christ. To be in Christ is to be in the “one
body”
(Eph. 4:4), which is the church (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 12:13).
How
does one get into Christ? Paul said that we are “baptized
into
Christ” (Gal. 3:27). These spiritual blessings
include
forgiveness of sins, reconciliation, salvation, hope and many other
spiritual blessings.
God’s
Infallible Word.
The word of God is “…perfect, converting the
soul”
(Ps. 19:7). The Psalmist further explains, “The
statutes of
the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is
pure, enlightening the eyes” (Ps. 19:8). When was
the last
time you read from the Bible with your children? Parents read
all
kinds of books to their children except the greatest of them all, the
Bible. Those children who are able to read seem to desire
books
like Harry Potter and other such manmade books and spend very little
time reading the Bible which is God breathed! We need to
impress
upon the hearts of next generation the value of God’s
infallible
word.
All parents would do
well to heed
Moses’ instructions, “You shall teach them to your
children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by
the way, when you lie down, and when you rise
up.”
~Keith
N. Welch
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