God has a lot to say about parenting. Whoever has ears, let them hear…
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates. [Psalm 127:3-5]
Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. [Proverbs 22:6]
The rod and rebuke give wisdom, But a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. [Proverbs 29:15]
Children are truly a blessing. It is important though for us to train them up properly. We must always remember that they are smart and will learn first from what we do and remember that far longer than they remember what we say!
Don’t just go through the motions and do what your parents did when you were a kid or what others around you or the world do. Seek and understand what God wants us to do. You can set a strong foundation that they can build upon.
Challenge yourself to put God as the focus of celebrations and holidays, and especially our day to day. What media (e.g. movies, books, games, apps ,etc.) do you allow? Do they honor God? or do you rationalize that they are probably not as bad as other stuff that is out there? We should raise our expectations to follow God’s standard, not just try to be less bad than those around us!
And always remember that the best way to show love is not to buy something but rather to spend quality time with them doing something they enjoy.
Focused Ministry
- Focus on the Family is a ministry with specific focus around marriage and family. There are many resources available including material focused on parenting.
Books and Other Resources
- While They Were Sleeping is a prayer guide that guides moms (and dads) through prayer for their children focused around 12 important character traits we all want our children to have.
Check out our website resource page for Parenting to follow as we add more resources that help us honor God as we raise our children.
I invite you to pray with me:
Father, please lead and guide Your people as parents raising children. Help us to raise godly seed. Help us to set the example of being set apart from society. Help us to set and lead to Your standards and not simply be “less bad” than others around us, because that standard is constantly changing and moving further and further from You. Prepare our children to be bold and courageous in living for You and embracing Your ways. Amen.
Shalom
Devotion by John in service to Christ
Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.