“Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he
will remain on it,” Proverbs 22:6.
The center for the teaching of God’s words to our children is in our
homes. Parents need to present the salvation message to their
children, teach them how to be in God’s plan, and explain how to
have a relationship with God. This will prepare them for adulthood
in our complicated world of today. Remember the future of their
nation lies with the path our children and the children of their
generation will choose.
This home teaching should begin at a very young age. You are the
ones who have most access to your children. Read books to them,
adding your thoughts when they apply. I have found the Arch books to
be excellent, adding or deleting parts when changes are in order.
You need to sing and speak about God and His plan.
Make the teaching a normal and natural part of their lives. A few
simple songs are included along with these tips.
This time should be a happy and fun part of their lives. Make up
songs and put them with familiar tunes. A sample would be — Row,
Row, Row your boat, words — Believe, Believe, Believe the Lord! Do
not be afraid! God’s provided all our needs, His promises He gave.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, words — Daniel’s in the lion’s Den,
Hungry lions there with him. Daniel prays and does not fear, He
knows the Lord is near. You can be a Daniel, too. Believe God takes
care of you. Children are able to remember the training for a longer
period of time when the words are connected with a tune.
As your children grow older and begin to ask questions, encourage
their questions and answer them as honestly and as simply as you are
able, using the children’s vocabulary. The children need to know
about the Lord Jesus Christ taking care of their sin problem for
them so that they are able to spend forever life in heaven with God.
Communicate the salvation message, not overwhelming them or
pressuring them into making a decision. Let the Holy Spirit prepare
the soil in their souls and let them make their own decision to
believe.
After the children believe, you need to explain they are now a part
of God’s family forever and God has a special plan designed just for
them. As part of this plan, God wants them to know more about Him
and his promises for them. In order to know about God, the children
need to be taught the stories about God that are found in the Bible
(which is His letter to them.) Review with them the study guide
messages from the “Letter from God” series for young people, adding
your own thoughts and applying the stories to their lives. Have a
fun time with your children with quiz questions. When your children
need to think to answer the questions, they will remember the
question and the answer.
Your children need to be trained in God’s thinking.
They need to know about sin — the weed plants in their souls (soil)
that make them do, say, or think wrong things.
Teach them the importance of the recovery procedure of I John 1:9.
The sin nature of your children is the secret weapon of Satan that
encourages your children to sin. You need to attack the fallen
natures of your children by teaching them right from wrong. You need
to feed the good-thinking-plants in their soil (souls) with God’s
messages and your children will know that God is their best friend.
Explain to your children that they are able to talk or pray to God.
Explain that they should use the recovery procedure first. “God will
not listen unless they name their sins before they talk to God,”
Psalm 66:18. As you pray with your children, remind them that God
also will hear them when they only think the words because God is
able to read the thoughts in their minds. Encourage your children to
talk to God daily, looking to God, not humankind, for solutions to
their problems.
Teach your children by your example. Let them see that you know and
love God. Daily show that you are interested in God and His plan and
in having a relationship with Him. Show your children how you apply
the stored messages in your soul to your life. Children are always
eager to learn and you need only patience and love to teach and
encourage them. “You must teach the stories to your children and
talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime
and the first thing in the morning,” Deuteronomy 6:7.
Praise to your children is a very important part of their lives.
Praise your children for right behavior and a job well done.
Encourage them when they make correct decisions and teach them they
are responsible for their own choices. Your children will be happy
when you notice their right actions and will realize that you love
them. Praising right decisions and actions eliminates weak
characteristics that come from their fallen natures.
Children need and want boundaries in their lives to guide them. They
need to know the rules and what the right behavior is for them. Keep
the rules simple and be consistent. Your children are all going to
make mistakes because of their fallen natures. They also need to
realize there is discipline connected with their wrong decisions and
actions.
Your children also need training in good manners in order to be
thoughtful and respectful of others. Good manners include obeying
the authority of their parents, teachers, coaches and the laws of
the land. Your children need to be taught how to be responsible and
polite young people.
Talk to your children about death. Explain the real person lives in
their soul and when they die their soul (the real person) leaves
their body and is at home with the Lord in heaven forever. Be honest
and gentle. Explain God gives us our life and God takes us home to
heaven at the right time.
When you tuck your children in bed at night, help them memorize the
verses to “Remember and Use in Your Daily Lives.” Remind them of who
and what is the “Essence of God.” These are all found in the back of
the messages in the “Letter From God” books. Sing a song with them
as you tuck them in. Finish with talking to God and thanking God for
all His blessings and His love for us.
It is Satan’s plan to distract us from traveling on God’s path. We
as parents and extended family need to pray to God for guidance and
direction in teaching our children. We need to put on God’s full
armor and use our shield of faith (God’s stored messages in our
souls, our true treasures in life). With our invisible armor and
shield in place, we will have confidence that we are in God’s plan,
traveling down God’s path, in a relationship with Him, and doing our
best in training our children.
From time to time, we will all fail and make mistakes in this
teaching process. We need to use the recovery procedure, move on
determined not to give up, and keep trying as God the Holy Spirit
stores more of God’s messages in our souls.
With God’s help, we will have a new generation of winners believers,
with great leaders, that represent the Lord Jesus Christ on our
planet. With courage, these winner believers will be under the
guidance, protection, and provision of God. They will be relaxed,
content, and happy while traveling on God’s highway, prepared to
face their future problems on planet earth.
When a nation has a good supply of winner believers, the nation will
be preserved.
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