When everything is scrambled or malfunctioning,
a reset feels really good.
Stop the chaos; shut it down; start over
This a strange time for everyone. We've been thrust into a new normal with no semblance of "normal". Many things are uncertain and shifting, but we have some core responsibilities as the world swirls around us.
One of the most important is our family, especially our children.
We are suddenly home more (or completely), and that brings new weight and responsibilities-
but also fresh opportunities.
In our lives of technology, events, and activities, it seems like the world never really stops. One day blends into the next with a fog of sleep.
With everything changing, let's take the time for a reset.
Let's take advantage of this change.
Schoolwork is and will be coming home, and parents can play a more direct role in classes and assignments.
But, there is something bigger, deeper, and eternal that needs our attention.
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In Deuteronomy, God gives His people the laws they are to follow. He directs their lives with specific terms of obedience, and those laws come with promises. He will be faithful to protect, lead, and provide for them as they obey.
God is also very specific about their responsibility to teach this obedience to their children. They are supposed to ensure that each generation knows, not only how to obey the Lord, but also the stories of His power and rescue.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 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.
He says the same things in Deuteronomy 4:9; 11:18-22.
In Joshua 4:4-7, God has just stopped the Jordan river from flowing so the whole nation could cross over. Then God instructs the people to select 12 stones of remembrance
to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
God gives direct instructions to parents about teaching their faith and obedience to their children.
Joshua continues to lead the people after Moses dies. Joshua is obedient, and the Lord is faithful to His promise as He leads them into the promised land.
Joshua leads by example and declares before everyone what he has chosen for his family:
As for me and my house we will serve the Lord. - Joshua 24:15
In Judges we find out that the people had not chosen to be as faithful as Joshua.
After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. - Judges 2:10
This is heartbreaking.
A whole generation had not been taught the work and miracles of the Lord.
They had not learned to obey.
They didn't know about God's faithfulness to the people who seek Him.
We can't miss this.
Today. Ask yourself:
Have I been teaching and instilling a personal faith and obedience in my children?
Do my children know my testimony?
Do my children see and hear that the Lord is working in my life?
Do I read scripture to and with my children?
Have I expected Sunday school and youth group to teach my children for me?
(If you don't have your own testimony of faith in Jesus, click here)
Maybe this gap began before you. Maybe this was never modeled in your own childhood.
We all have different stories and scenarios, but the responsibility is the same
and eternally important.
We are seeing the effects of people - even in the church - who do not obey and know God personally. These choices and responsibilities begin in each home. Just like Joshua, you can't choose for another, but you establish your home. You teach your children.
Israel had a different struggle than we face now. Jesus has brought us a personal salvation and relationship that changes everything. We are no longer striving in our own strength as Israel had to do.
Salvation in Jesus has brought us straight to the throne of God. We have power and knowledge through the Holy Spirit that actually make it possible to serve and love as God requires.
This gift of a personal relationship means your children need to know so they can choose.
No matter what yesterday looked like, His mercies are new for today.
Christ is calling you to reset your family.
Give your life over to Him in a brand new way. Let God choose and fill your new schedule with His purpose and direction.
Teach and model your faith for your children.
This won't happen without a plan and lots of prayer.
Be intentional.
We are in storms right now and more will come.
The Bible teaches us that our foundation matters in a storm.
We can stand firm, or we will collapse.
It's time to reset your family on the Rock.
Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” - Matthew 7:24-27
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. - Lamentations 3:23
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. - Psalm 46:1-3
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. - Deuteronomy 4:9
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. - Ephesians 3:14-21
Note:
If you're not sure where to start or what to do next, reach out to someone you respect. Reach out to a pastor, church leader, a friend. Talk to someone who has a heart for the Lord. Get practical help and advice. The Lord will provide the help you need.
The Word of God is powerful. Simply reading scripture and praying as a family is a perfect place to start.
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