Some months ago, I got in touch with Amy through a blogger’s group and she accepted my offer of collaboration. I therefore had the privilege of writing as a guest on her blog, ‘forever beloved’.
Please Read and enjoy
When we hear the word devotion, the first thing that comes to mind is a time, whether in the day or in the night, that the family sets aside to read the word of God and pray. As much as this is true, it is also very important to note that devotion transcends a particular time and space. Devotion is a lifestyle. Devotion basically means dedication or commitment.
Children devotion, therefore, is about teaching your children to be dedicated and committed to the Lord, by everything that you do.
It’s important to note that children have to be taught. The same way that our children are taught to read and write, potty trained and taught to do house chores, they also have to be taught to be devoted to God. They have to be taught in the things of the Lord. It does not just happen by chance. If they are not taught to be devoted and committed to the Lord, they will be taught something else, somewhere else. As a parent therefore, it’s important that you take the teaching and training of your children, in the way of the Lord, to be of utmost importance. This responsibility is not for the local church, it’s a parental responsibility. What the church does is to reinforce what is being taught at home. Their is nothing as sweet as having one’s children know the Lord. Our children are our first disciples, automatic disciples, and they need to be taught by us.
Some important things to note:
1. Be intentional
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 6-9 NKJV
This scripture emphasizes the intentionality of teaching your children about God. It says to talk of the scriptures when you sit, when you walk and when you lie down. This means every single moment, you should be talking about God’s word. You have got to be intentional.
Have a plan, in line with what God has told you about your children, and in line with your family mission and vision. Curriculum is not just for school education. Have a curriculum for your children’s spiritual training. Have a routine. Have a set time, both formal and informal.
2. Take Heed to yourself
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, especially concerning the day you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, when the Lord said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will let them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.’ Deuteronomy 4: 9-10 NKJV
Notice that in this scripture, before teaching your children about your dealings with God, the first is to take heed to yourself and to diligently keep yourself.
Teaching your kids in the instruction of the Lord and unto godliness is not something mechanical. It starts from your own lifestyle. If you are not devoted and committed to the Lord, there’s no way you can teach another person to be so. That’s why, you cannot joke with your own relationship with God. If you don’t have a relationship with God and you want to teach your kids to do so, it can’t work. You cannot take your children to where you have not been. When you tell them, don’t say this, are you saying it yourself? When you tell them, don’t do this, are you doing it yourself? Our devotion to the Lord is a lifestyle and it can be perceived by our children. If you want your kids to prioritize God’s word, then you also need to prioritize God’s word too. It will be seen by them and evident to them.
3. It’s not too early to start
As soon as a child is born, he starts learning. That’s the time to start training and teaching. It’s never too early. Every seed of God’s word deposited in their heart yields massive fruits. Don’t wait till that child is two, don’t even wait till the child is one. Start from day one. Start now. Lessons are already being learnt and mindsets are already being formed. A toddler can understand God’s word.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, He has ordained praise. That’s how God ordained it.
God has put in every man a quest for Him. He has set eternity in the heart of man. That quest was there, the moment your child was born. You need to start to provide the answers by showing the direction to God right from the beginning. Even when he cannot read, he can hear. Something is getting deposited in her heart, I tell you.
What are the things to teach your children?
Please read the rest of the article on Amy’s Blog.
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