Its been on my heart all month to talk about how we as parents have such a crucial role in how our children become who they are.
I hear some parents say, "well you never know how they are going to turn out." We can't have that mindset-we have to take control of our children and God's destiny for them while they are young. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
Jeremiah 29:11; "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
1.) Get them into God's presence and have them actually experience God for themselves at a young age.
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33
You need to show your children that the Lord comes first. First before sports, before dance, before school, before everything.
If you put His kingdom first, then you don't have to worry because God will take care of everything else. If you work and can't get off on Sundays; make it happen- if you are afraid you might be fired etc. that is something you can take up with the Lord.
"God I am putting your house first and I just thank you right now that you work everything out for my good in Jesus' name!"
You can't do anything for the Lord and He not bless you for it. Whether that be closes a door on a job and opening up a better opportunity for you or giving you a promotion with a better schedule and pay. It doesn't matter- if you put Him first, He will bless you and work everything out for your good in Jesus' name!
Paul speaks to a group of believers in 1 Corinthians (2:10-16);
"But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual[c] can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ."
As a baby my husband and I dedicated our son in the Lord so we took responsibility in raising him in the the way of the Lord. But your kids will soon have to make that decision for themselves. "Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6. They too need their minds renewed by Christ and to accept them into their hearts so they will have the wisdom of God and understand and the word of God the way God intended us to; not by our own minds, but by His spirit that he has given to us and that lives inside of us. And also, to have ever lasting life and receive all of God's covenant promises.
Romans 8:1-14
Life in the Spirit
"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all. ) And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life[d] because you have been made right with God. he Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God."
Thank the Lord in advance that as you obey His word and ask for wisdom and guidance, as you put the Lord's kingdom first, your kids will experience God for themselves and on a new level. The Holy spirit will reside in them, teach and guide them, and your children will hear the voice of God and follow Him all the days of their lives, in Jesus name!
"As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15