Mom was driving the van full of neighborhood kids home from school one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog.
The children fell to discussing the dog’s duties. “They use him to keep crowds back,” said one youngster.
“No,” said another, “he’s just for good luck.”
A third child brought the argument to a close. “They use the dogs,” she said firmly, “to find the fire hydrant.”*
Sometimes kids are left guessing. When it comes to the purpose of a Dalmatian, it’s not that big of a deal, but with matters of God, never leave knowledge to guess-work. As parents, God has given us the great privilege of passing truth and faith along to our children. This is an intentional attitude—one that evaluates your children and purposely disciples them to be godly young men and ladies who live to know and serve God.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:5-7, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Here are a few tips to help you make this a reality in your life:
-Share with your kids what God is doing in your life.
-Spend time with God when your kids can see you. (Sometimes we tend to spend time with the Lord before our children wake up or after they go to bed. This is a great habit but consider how often your children actually see you reading the Bible.)
-Let your children know that they can ask you anything about God, life or even you.
-Ask your children questions that will stir spiritual conversations.
-Use movies, TV shows and other items in the news as a springboard to discussion godly decision-making.
-Seize times when situations happen in the life of your family to pray together and discuss how God guides us in every situation.
-Set aside time for “family devotions” each week. Have fun while teaching your kids God’s truths.
God has told us how to live. God has given us His Word. Build these truths into your kids so that nothing in is ever left to guesswork.
*This story was taken from an e- newsletter from 2/6/12 by Biblical Parenting: www.biblicalparenting.org.
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