Tell Your Children...

July 10

Evening "Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation." Joel 1:3   In this simple way, by God's grace, a living testimony for truth is always to be kept alive in the land--the beloved of the Lord are to hand down their witness for the gospel, and the covenant to their heirs, and these again to their next descendants. This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord's arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday school teachers, or other friendly aids; these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation; proxies and sponsors are wicked devices in this case: mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High. Parental teaching is a natural duty--who so fit to look to the child's well-being as those who are the authors of his actual being? To neglect the instruction of our offspring is worse than brutish. Family religion is necessary for the nation, for the family itself, and for the church of God. By a thousand plots Popery is covertly advancing in our land, and one of the most effectual means for resisting its inroads is left almost neglected, namely, the instruction of children in the faith. Would that parents would awaken to a sense of the importance of this matter. It is a pleasant duty to talk of Jesus to our sons and daughters, and the more so because it has often proved to be an accepted work, for God has saved the children through the parents' prayers and admonitions. May every house into which this volume shall come honour the Lord and receive his smile. (taken from July 11 Evening reading in Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon) Too many Christian parents are naive when it comes to the dangers facing their children when they go to school or off to college. We must prepare our children to grow up and live godly. The Bible is very clear about the father's responsibility to his children. (See Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Psalm 78, Proverbs 4, Ephesians 6:1-4). The faith cannot be assumed, we must be intentional in passing it on to the next generation.  They must have real faith, they must know what they believe and why. You had better believe that the devil and the world are going to be intentional in trying to lead your child down the wrong path. "The reality is that when you now come to America’s colleges you have to know who you are or else someone will tell you who you are. There is so much pressure on students to drop certain beliefs, and it is very difficult to stop dropping other beliefs once you give in."  Don't let your kids go into battle unequipped!  Sunday religion will not get the job done. Come on Dad, get in the battle. Your kids are worth fighting for! Soli Deo Gloria, allan

The Family

23 Then the man said,"This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." 24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Gen 2:23-24 (ESV)

4  Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
Heb 13:4 (ESV)

The Baptist Faith & Message

XVIII. The Family


God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7. 
_________________________________________________________________


The modern secular concept of the family is largely driven by sociological theories and assumes that marriage and the traditional family structure are merely the products of human social evolution. Thus, proponents of the secular view believe that because the family is simply a sociological development, it can be renegotiated and restructured to meet modern expectations.

Christians must insist otherwise. We believe marriage, which was instituted by God before the fall, was a central part of God's design for humanity from the beginning (see Genesis 2:23-24). Furthermore, we believe the family, consisting of a mother, a father, and their children, reflects God's glory in the right ordering of civilization and society.

In our confused times many people celebrate what is described as a diversity of family forms. Although Christians recognize that families can experience brokenness, we must also assert that God's purpose and intention are that we build, nurture and respect  ties of marriage, blood and adoption. The family is not a laboratory for social experimentation but an arena in which God's glory is shown to the world in the right ordering of human relationships. ...

The primary responsibilities of nurturing the family and raising children are assigned to the husband and wife. Children are also assigned responsibility to honor and obey their parents, for this is pleasing to the God and is a testimony to God's loving purpose for the family.
We live in a time when the definition of family is a matter of political and social controversy and when the culture is confused about the definition of marriage. Christians bear the unique responsibility to tell the truth, to live the truth, and to bear witness to God's loving intention in establishing marriage and the family for our good. God gave us marriage and family for our happiness and our health, but he also created them as structures of accountability so that we can live holy lives, demonstrating His character, love and wisdom as we fulfill all the responsibilities and roles assigned to marriage and the family.

Pray that God will strengthen homes and help Christian families be all He wants them to be.

from The Baptist Faith & Message Study

______________________________________________________

Soli Deo Gloria

ah

23rd Psalm Parenting by Alan Melton

This post is from Alan Melton on how the 23rd Psalm teaches us to care for and protect our children.  He co-wrote the book Disciple Like Jesus For Parents. You can find out more about this ministry and find other helpful resources at www.disciplelikejesus.com . _ ah


23rd Psalm Parenting

In addition to describing the attributes of our Lord and Savior, this beautiful Psalm teaches us much about how we are to care for and protect our children. We are to protect them like Jesus protected the twelve.  Jesus showed us how to make disciples and then commanded us to do the same.


“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Here we see the provision of the shepherd. Most parents are good at providing food, shelter, and transportation to their children. But what provision do you personally make for your children’s spiritual knowledge? What training are you providing in how to interact with others? How are you providing for them in the area of ministry involvement? What is your provision in teaching them to discern good versus evil? Take personal responsibility for not only their temporal needs but also their eternal needs.


“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.” This verse speaks of rest, nourishment, and refreshment. In the midst of the dizzying pace of our present world, do you provide a place of respite for your family? Do you and your children ever stop to catch your breath in a place of safety, solitude, and peace? When God created the earth, He ordained rest every seven days. How often does your family rest? Do your children have a quiet time with the Lord? Ensure that your family gets rest, refreshment, and time with God.


“He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” Since the fall of Adam and Eve people have needed restoration on a continual basis; we fall off God’s path and choose our own. Like sheep we are prone to wander. All of us have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God and we sin constantly. However, His word tells us that we simply need to confess our sins to be forgiven and restored to fellowship with the Lord (1 John. 1:8). Restoration allows us to get back on the path that our Lord has placed in front of us. Do you provide loving correction for your children and then restore their souls? Do you forgive and choose not to bring your children’s sin before them again? Do you show your children where you have wandered off God’s path and then received restoration from the Father? Do you lead them in the path of righteousness? Provide loving restoration to your children and lead them into righteous living.


“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” There is no doubt that in this troubled, fallen world that we all will encounter peril of some sort. Whether the peril is disease, or crime, or temptation, or simply traveling down the road, we and our children are constantly at risk to some degree. We all know that the enemy has come to steal, kill, and destroy. The actions that we take to deal with these perils will determine in large measure whether or not the enemy has victory over our family. The reason that no fear exists in the valley of the shadow of death is the fact that the shepherd is with His sheep and He has some tools at His disposal. The “rod and staff” mentioned here was likely the same tool with different applications. The rod was used to keep the sheep from hurting each other and to keep them within the fold in a place of protection. The staff was used as a weapon to beat back the wolves when they tried to devour the sheep. Parents, are you with your children so that you may protect them? Do you lovingly discipline your children to keep them in the protective care of God’s fold? Do you use weapons or strategies to defend your children from the numerous wolves that exist in the world? Be with your children so that you may protect them. Lovingly use the rod and fiercely use the staff.


“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My
cup runs over”. Shepherds needed to prepare new pastures for their sheep once the existing pasture had been removed of the grass and foliage by the hungry sheep. The “enemies” included not only wolves but also poisonous weeds. Therefore, the shepherd would “prepare a table” for His flock. The meaning of anoint is associated with blessing; the Shepherd’s diligence in preparation is a blessing to His flock. Parents, do you plan in advance the places you will take your children, the activities that they will engage in, the curriculum they will be studying, and the peers they will be associating with? What will your children read, watch, listen to, and engage in? Prepare in advance the environment where your children will live and the influences in which they will be immersed. Create a culture of blessing in your children’s lives by your diligent planning and preparation.


Here is the payoff for the faithful Shepherd and His sheep; for the faithful parent and her children. The children and parents will be blessed with mercy and goodness for the length of their lives. Most importantly, they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.


Parents, I know that you want your children to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You would not be reading this blog if you were not concerned about the spiritual condition of your children. If you will follow Jesus in the way that you shepherd your children, you can know that you have done everything you can for your children to ensure that the Lord will grant them goodness, mercy, and eternal life. While we can’t know with certainty the Lord’s sovereign will for our children’s lives, we can rest knowing that we have been obedient to His calling.


_____
Soli Deo Gloria
ah