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PLEASE,
SAVE THE CHILDREN! (Part 2) What Can Parents Do?
By
Ted J. Clarke - excerpt from the Fulton County Gospel News
at http://www.fultoncountygospelnews.org/
INTRODUCTION
In
"Part I " of this topic we called attention to
the great and ever present need of parents to not only
provide for the physical welfare of our children. but to
especially concentrate on nurturing the souls of our
children. Jesus asked. "For what is a man profited,
if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul"? (Matthew 16:26). We also noted that parents,
not the church, have primary responsibility for providing
this religious training for their children. See Genesis
18:19; Deuteronomy 4:9; Proverbs 1:8; Ephesians 6:4; 2
Timothy 1:5. We also studied in part Deuteronomy 6:2-6.
This chapter is a tremendous admonition to parents,
outlining the intensity with which we should approach our
roles in developing our children's religious
responsibilities. This article continues the study of
Deuteronomy 6.
TEACH
THEM DILIGENTLY
Verse
7 requires that parents teach the words of God
"diligently unto thy children. " The word
"diligently" is from a Hebrew word that refers
to sharpening arrows or a sword. As the sharpening stone
is repeatedly rubbed across the weapon head in order to
arrive at the desired degree of sharpness, so the words of
God are to be repeated and recounted over and over to the
minds of our children, in order to insure their
.sharpness" in knowing and doing God's will. Dear
Friends, one of the most important ingredients in training
your children spiritually is time. If you are not willing
to give your children a large portion of your time during
their formative years, you will not accomplish what God
expects in nurturing your children's souls! If you do not
spend the time necessary to hone your children's minds to
a razor sharp edge, they may not be able to meet the
spiritual challenges the world will throw before them each
day of their lives. Of course, you cannot teach what you
do not know, so God's commandment to teach our children
diligently will also insure that every parent knows and
acts upon God's Word. Brethren and friends, take the time
and obtain the resources available to engage in a diligent
study of God's Word for both yourself and your children.
You could not spend your time in a more worthwhile pursuit
(cf. Ecclesiastes 12: 13-14). If you were not able to do
another thing In your life but have time to make a living
and to train your children properly in the ways of the
Lord, you would have the most rewarding life possible and
never regret one moment of the way you spent your time. On
the other hand, those who neglect proper spiritual
training for their children will regret it much in this
life and perhaps for all eternity. Parents, let's give our
children the time and effort they deserve and the chance
for eternal life.
TEACH
THEM IN THE HOUSE
We
must take time in the home to teach our children properly
the ways of the Lord. Parents must "talk of them [the
commandments of God] when thou sittest in thine
house" (verse 7). Since the Bible teaches us God's
truth about every area of our lives, the common
conversations around the house should be filled with
references to what God's Word has to say about the
everyday events in the lives of the family. How do we deal
with problems in personal relationships; between parents,
children, friends at work or school, neighbors, brethren?
How can we do good to those we meet regularly or
occasionally? What should I do when there is something
else I want to do that conflicts with attending worship or
Bible study? Did I do my daily Bible reading and offer my
daily prayers? Have I searched God's Word for answers to
my problems and prayed about them? How does the world
(school, magazines, movies, TV, songs, government,
community, friends) approach the matters of daily life?
Accordingly, how can we live in the world but not be of
the world (John 17: 14-19; Romans 12: 1-2)? All of these
topics and more should be open to daily discussion in the
home among family members. Parents should introduce these
matters into the discussion when the children will not
bring them up. Remember parents, you are involved in
diligently training your children. You cannot expect them
always to talk about these things voluntarily. By talking
with your children regularly you should be perceptive
enough to know these various issues need to be discussed.
Talk with other parents, buy books and other resources
that will aid you in better understanding your children;
but understand that the one authoritative resource for
instructing your children on what is proper behavior and
what is not is the Scriptures!
TEACH
THEM IN THE WAY
The
"way" refers to a "road; figuratively, a
course of life or mode of action" (Strong's Heb. Dict.
# 1870). What this means is that life away from the home
constantly provides opportunities for parents to instruct
children about the ways of the Lord. Children can be shown
firsthand how people of the world live in contrast to the
way God instructs His people to live. In a great number of
instances parents can show children the consequences of
disobedience to God's Word and the many ways sin brings
heartaches and complications to one's life. A preacher
friend of mine, who lived close to a tavern, was once
walking with his son as they approached a man hanging onto
a streetlight pole. The man was vomiting all over himself.
The young son asked his father, "Daddy, what is that
man doing?" The father replied, "Oh, he's having
fun." When the child asked his father how that could
be fun, the father explained about drinking alcoholic
beverages to supposedly feel good and how alcohol affects
the mind and body. In the course of his explanation the
father told of what God's Word said in passages like
Proverbs 20:21; 23: 29?35 and others. Real life situations
often provide the best settings to reinforce the truths
for living from God's Word. The same type of real life
situations can be used for powerful lessons about drugs,
sexual immorality that leads to unwanted pregnancy or
venereal disease, lying that destroys trust and
friendships, stealing or other crimes that lead to jail,
reckless driving that may lead to paralyzing injuries or
death, and a thousand other matters. On the positive side,
do not neglect to show your children real life examples of
doing good to neighbors, strangers, brethren, and the
community in general. Parents, know what is going on at
school, among your children's friends, in your
neighborhood, or the community at large. Use those
opportunities to magnify the good and expose the evil of
things that are in the world and before your children's
eyes. Do not just generalize with "don't do
that" type of statements; use the Bible to show them
that God's Word is always right and provides the greatest
insurance, when followed, against suffering from the wages
of sin, here and hereafter!
TEACH
THEM AT BEDTIME AND MORNING
The
continued admonition is to "talk of them [God's
commandments] ... when thou liest down, and when thou
risest up (Deuteronomy 6:7). Raising spiritual children is
a full time job. The last thing you should teach your
children at the end of the day is about the goodness of
God and the guidance of His Word to keep us in the right
path of life, speaking of the blessings such always
brings. Praying with one's children is a blessing in
itself and provides a role model for them to follow
throughout life. Teach them to pray about specific things
in their lives and to pray specifically for others. Assure
them that God hears and answers the prayers of His
faithful children. Encourage them to think about the
blessings they receive from God each day to do give thanks
for His good gifts (James 1: 17). Tell them to ask for
God's help with the problems in their lives and for wisdom
and courage to do right each day. Each morning parents
have an opportunity to teach their children to celebrate
the life of a new day, thanking God for a night's rest,
praying for health and blessings for the new day. You also
have the opportunity to reinforce any needed teaching from
the day or night before and to put God in your children's
minds from the very start of each day. Discuss the
possibilities for doing good each day as well as warn
against the temptations to sin that may come from various
avenues. Encourage your children to use their minds and to
think about what God's word says in any given situation.
Remind them that the psalmist said, "Thy word have I
hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee"
(Psalm 119:11). Children will not always do the right
thing, but when they fail you will have the opportunity to
teach them about repentance and God's gracious love and
forgiveness. Those too are vital lessons for them to
learn.
TEACH
THEM TO KEEP THE WORD OF GOD CLOSE
Verses
8-9 speak of the custom of the Jews to write portions of
the Law of Moses on parchment and attach them to different
parts of their bodies and the houses in which they lived.
Some commentators think that Moses was speaking
figuratively and that his real Intention was to teach that
the Jews were to ever keep the Law of God before them as
they lived out their daily lives. Still, although not many
people had full copies of the Law, having printed sections
of specific parts of the Law could remind them of God's
will for them. The obvious meaning Moses intended is that
Scripture is to guide us as we live our daily lives and we
should keep God's Word close by, in our hearts or in
written reminders. We are so blessed today to have printed
copies of the entire Bible so readily available. We can
carry them in our pockets, purses, briefcases, lunchboxes,
and cars or just about anywhere. There are usually copies
in motels and hotels, doctor's offices, and various
patient and waiting rooms in hospitals. Nearly every
bookstore sells Bibles, some admittedly not as reliable as
others. But the Good Book is generally everywhere. How sad
most do not read it nor heed its teachings. Parents, make
certain your children have a reliable copy of God's Word
and instill in them a reverence for it and a desire to
know it (Nehemiah 8:?18). Everything you can teach them
about God's will is in the Bible. See that it is always
close by for them.
CONCLUSION
One
final observation will close our study. Parents are to
live their lives is such a manner that it provokes
religious questions from their children. In Deuteronomy
6:20?21, Moses wrote, "And when thy son asketh thee
in time to come. saying. What meaneth the testimonies. and
the statutes, and the judgements, which the Lord our God
hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son ...
" What? What does one say to a child that asks about
the meaning of God's commandments? Talk about the
deliverance from bondage that God has provided; to the
Jews freedom from slavery in Egypt, to those under Christ
deliverance from bondage to sin. Tell them why God has
done what He has done and the blessings that come to us
through our obedience to Christ (Matthew 7:2 1; Hebrews
5:9). When we connect the principles of Deuteronomy
6:24?25 with the gospel of Christ, these give our children
motivation to follow God's will today. The Scripture says
to tell our inquiring children, "And the Lord
commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord
our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us
alive, as it is this day. And it shall be our
righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments
before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us.".
We commend this study to you, praying that it will help
save the children, the children of Christian families, and
that it will help us reach out to those who are lost
throughout the world.
This
article is copyrighted by the author. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this article may be reprinted without
permission of the author.
©Copyright 2002
Fulton
County Gospel News
Good News About Christ And His Church For All The World
"...Christ
is the head of the church: and He is the Savior of the
body." (Ephesians 5:23)
http://www.fultoncountygospelnews.org/
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