I was recently thinking about Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your
mind and heart and with your entire being and with all your might. And these
words which I am commanding you this day shall be first in your own minds and
hearts; then You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently
upon the minds and hearts of your children, and shall talk of
them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie
down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand, and
they shall be as frontlets [forehead bands] between your eyes. And you shall
write them upon the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (AMP)
The phrase ‘love the Lord’ brought back a memory from when I was 10 years old. I was listening to a missionary in our Sunday school class tell a story which deeply touched my heart. When I began to cry, a teacher came to me and said, “ If you say ‘I love Jesus’, then you can be a Christian like the boy in the story.”
I went away very sad that day because I
could not say that I loved Jesus-- because I did not know Him.
To really love the Lord we must KNOW HIM! And it occurred to me while thinking about this passage, that the keys to teaching our children to know Him are outlined in these verses. First, God’s Word has to be in our own hearts before we can teach it to our children. God reveals Himself in His Word. As we see truths about Him we teach them to our children in the everyday circumstances of life—
When you sit in your house, when you walk by the way,
when you lie down and when you rise up!
When you ‘sit in your house’ do you teach your children that God is your Provider?
—He is the One who provides money to buy
the food we eat, the house that keeps us warm, the clothing we wear; all the
things we need and enjoy.
—Do you talk about that with your
children?
If you don’t direct their focus to God,
they will grow-up thinking YOU are their provider.
Then they don’t learn to depend on The
Lord their God as provider.
—Do you teach them James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no
variation or shadow due to change”
In knowing His Word, they will know Him, and love Him more as
Provider
—He is the One who provided knowledge to
the men who developed the automobile and He is the creator of the fuel
underground that we use to power the engine.
—He is the One who made the trees, the
flowers, the birds, the animals, the sun, the moon, the stars…….
—Do you talk about those facts with your
children?
—Do you diligently impress
on their heart and minds the source
of knowledge found in Job 38:36
“The Lord puts wisdom
in the heart and gives understanding to the mind”
In knowing His Word, they will know Him, and love Him more as
Creator
When you ‘lie down’ with them at bedtime do you teach them that God is their Protector?
—He is the One who protects us
throughout the day. When someone was
driving carelessly on the highway and God prevented you from an accident do you
talk about Him being your protector? Teaching
them to thank Him; or do you let them think it was Dad’s skill in driving that
kept the family safe?
—Do you pray with them before they go to
sleep; teach them to pray His word so
they know they are safe in Him?
—Do you teach them Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety”
In knowing His Word, they will know Him, and love Him more as
Protector
When you ‘rise up’ in the morning, do you teach them that God is their all-in-all?
—He is the One we go to in the morning,
to start our day in prayer.
—Do you teach them to go to the Lord throughout the day for their needs?
—Do you diligently impress upon them the
importance of prayer as instructed in Psalm 5:3
“In
the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before
you and wait expectantly”
In knowing His Word, they will know Him, and love Him more as
All-in-All
—Do you love the Lord with all your heart and know Him?
—Do you live according to God’s Word? Do you impress His commands on your heart?
—Do you memorize God’s Word and teach your
children to do that, so they may know Him?
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living according to your word.
With my whole heart I seek you let
me not wander from your commandments!
I have stored up your
word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
As I think back on that experience when I was 10, I am reminded of how very faithful God has been to teach me about Himself through the circumstances of my life and through His Word. He is truly all He promises to be!
I do know Him and love Him with all my heart! I
want to love Him more as He continues to reveal Himself to me.
When you pray with your children about needs in the family and see God provide, they learn to know and love Him When you are intentional in learning to look for God in all the circumstances of your life and share with your children —His life—His character— they begin to see Him, know Him and grow in their love for Him. They experience His power, His grace, His strength, His peace, His joy, His patience, His love and all that He is and they learn to love and trust Him as you do. This is your responsibility; you are with them everyday.
—Do you “teach and impress God’s Word, diligently upon the minds and hearts of your children, when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up?” So one day, they can say:
“I
love Jesus with all my heart, because I know Jesus”
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