“After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10
Did you catch that? An entire generation grew up who did not know the Lord or what He had done for them?
How does that happen? Hadn’t God commanded them: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon 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.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7.
What were the commandments that they were supposed to impress on their children?: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5
That entire generation that had known the Lord and had remembered what the Lord had done forgot to share these things with their children. to train them in the way they should go. to love their God with all their heart, feeling, strength.
What was the result of not loving the Lord?:
“Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals.” Judges 2:11
And this…
“Unlike their fathers, they quickly turned from the way in which their fathers had walked the way of obedience to the Lord’s commands.” Judges 2:17b
What are you doing to train this next generation? You may believe that God is your everything but do you talk about how much you love God when you are sitting at home? in the car? at the grocery store? when you put them to bed? when you eat breakfast?
one brother teaching another to put on the full armor of God (Eph 6:10-11)
Impress these truths on your children. Be intentional. Don’t leave all the work to your sunday school teacher.
- Teach your child scripture.
- Listen to Seeds Family Worship CDs to fill your home with truth and praise
- Read through the Bible together–the Jesus storybook bible is a wonderful resource
- Pray together. Before meals. Before your husband leaves for work. Before they go to bed. Before big decisions.
- Teach your child to pray: praise God for who He is, ask forgiveness if you need it, thank him for His gifts, and make requests because He is our help in times of trouble. For little ones: one thank, one help.
- Verbalize your thankfulness throughout the day. Acknowledge God’s goodness in your lives. Give him this day your daily bread. Daily God provides.
Which one are you going to start with today? What things do you already do to raise up the next generation to love the Lord with all their heart,soul,strength?
What a blessing. Brings to mind scripture.. ‘Train up a child in the way he should go and when he’s old he will not depart from it’. Really good to be reminded to build this into daily living. Thank you!
yes meg! check out the posts, “finish strong” and “how do we know which way they should go” both completely based on that scripture. thanks dear friend!
We started this week with Gen 1:1… In the beginning!
“Intentional” is a word that keeps coming up lately! I am very focused on being more intentional in my own walk with the Lord and with teaching my children. We have been reading through the Gospels this summer—and discussing each chapter after we read it—as a family. It’s a favorite time of day for all of us. We talk about God throughout our day and try to keep our days focused on Him. Thanks for the reminder to keep at it!
Beautiful! I absolutely LOVE this post. Yes, one generation, that’s all it takes…I look around our country…oh, it’s sad…to see the generation(s) growing up without Christ…..but, there are those…like you, working hard to follow God’s words! Thank you for linking up! Thank you for blessing me with this post!