In my new book, releasing today, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I discuss the vital importance of raising up the next generation to not only know God, but insure they have a relationship with Jesus. That means parents must follow biblical guidelines in raising their children. The results will be immediate.
Ways to Implement Deuteronomy 6:6-9 in Your Home
In the Generation to Generation section of Forsaken God?, I discuss Deuteronomy 6:6-9, where Moses instructed the Israelites in a timeless parenting skill: make God a priority in your home.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on 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. —Deut. 6:6-9
Here is a preview from Forsaken God?:
- Talk about God. When you walk with your children, eat with your children, play with your children, ride in the car with your children, relax with your children . . . . Include God as a member of your family. How often do you talk about God, and to God, in your home?
- Role model to your children the way you want them to behave. Good behavior is caught more than taught. Children don’t respond to lectures, rational explanations, lists of rules, yelling, cussing, or acting irrational. How you treat others, as well as your children, speaks volumes to them. Speak lovingly and you won’t have to speak firmly as often.
- Live out during the week what they hear in Sunday school on the weekends. If we want our children to respect us, we need to be respectable. They need to see us living what we say we believe.
- Let your children see you reading your physical Bible. If your Bible is on an electronic device, your kids can’t tell if you’re reading the Bible or checking email, social networking, or playing games. Discuss with them what you’re studying. Give children age-appropriate Bibles and teach them how to use their Bibles in their own life.
- Stop and pray as a family over decisions, conflicts, and difficult issues. Invite the children to pray and express their thoughts and concerns.
- When children do something wrong, take the time to show them a Scripture that points out the reason that behavior isn’t acceptable.
- Call sin, sin. For example, explain that lying is a sin and give them a chance to ask for forgiveness and then to tell you the truth. Kids lie because they’re afraid of getting in trouble. They need to know that telling the truth, while it might disappoint you, is always the right thing to do.
- Stay relevant in their world. Find out what’s important to your children and encourage them to use their gifts and skills. Be your child’s biggest cheerleader.
- Do age-appropriate Bible studies and daily devotionals together as a family.
- Use mealtime as a time to discuss God in their life. I have jars with questions relating to the Christian way of life that my grandkids love to answer after we finish a meal. As they get older, there’s another jar with Scriptures for them to look up in their Bibles and discuss.
- Discipline your children in love, never anger, and be consistent with consequences.
- Praise God with them for daily events such as: a good day at school, new friends, a good test grade, feeling better after an illness….
- Play Christian music in your home, car, and electronic devices.
- Find godly parenting mentors. Seek out parents further along in the parenting journey and ask for their wise counsel.
- Establish the moral compass in your home and live by it.
When we think about what our churches are “leaving behind” for our cities, we shouldn’t be thinking of ministry plans or church buildings, but kids. The children in our church are the first ones that God has given us to win for the gospel. Because they are the inheritance we are leaving for our city, the single most important task we have as a church is to teach the next generation the gospel.—Dr. J.D. Greear “Two ‘Gardens’ God Uses to Grow Our Children,” Table Talk, used in Forsaken God?
Excerpts from Janet Thompson’s new book: Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.
About Forsaken God?
Stephanie Shott, founder of the MOM Initiative says, “Forsaken God? equips us to intentionally remember the ‘God-incidences’ in our lives. Uniquely written, this book inspires us to embrace the profound significance of reflecting on our God-moments and pass those memories on–and the faith strengthened by them–to the next generation.”
Our morally deteriorating culture has forgotten God’s goodness to its own peril. Will the next generation even know God? The very survival of the Christian faith depends on creating a culture of God-memories that must start now! The Bible describes the potential destruction through all generations to people who forget God. The dangers are paramount. If we don’t remember what God has already done, we won’t believe what he is capable of doing in the future. Memory builds faith.
Forsaken God? explores biblical examples of forgetting God as God repeatedly pleads for his people to remember his mighty acts and deeds. Janet Thompson provides an opportunity to recall your own memories of God and learn new ways to remember God’s goodness and the power of sharing those memories with the next generation. The author and other contributors share open and honest stories of forgetting God’s goodness and offer ways that help them to remember.
Each chapter includes questions and conversation starters for discussion in small groups, Bible study groups, book clubs, mentors and mentees, or with family and friends.
Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten is available at Christian bookstores, Amazon, Christianbook.com, and author’s website.
Janet Thompson is an international speaker, freelance editor and an award-winning author of 18 books including Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten (release 2/9/16) and Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter. She is also the founder of Woman to Woman Mentoring and About His Work Ministries. Visit Janet at: womantowomanmentoring.com.
www.facebook.com/Janetthompson.authorspeaker
http://www.linkedin.com/in/womantowomanmentoring/
www.pinterest.com/thompsonjanet
https://twitter.com/AHWministries
- Ch…ch…ch…CHANGES Are Coming in 2017 for TMI - December 27, 2016
- What New Thing Are You Ready to See God Do in Your Life in 2017? - December 26, 2016
- Heaviness and Newness - December 23, 2016
