Devotional Day 9: God Centered Home Life

• Deuteronomy 6:5-8 : "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up."
• Proverbs 4:10-11 : "Hear, my son, and accept My sayings and the years of your life will be many. I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths."
• Growing up in a healthy, spiritual based home can and will help you with many things in life. Its our parents job to lay the foundation of opportunity for loving God. However, children and young adults can be just as responsible for encouraging our parents to further their spiritual walk. Everyone has their off days. Its our job as a family to keep each other on track.

     I really like the passage from Deuteronomy. Here Moses is giving guidance to parents, in my opinion. First, as a parent you must learn to love God whole heartedly. Its hard to teach something you don't feel or understand. You have to feel God in your soul and really trust in Him. The next step is teaching this to your children. Sit with them, talk with them, and tell them your testimony. Tell them the love of God and preach to them what He has done. No matter what age your kids are they will always need some kind of spiritual reinforcement. The world can be a cruel and harsh place filled with all kinds of temptations and windows that open to bad choices. If you reinforce God on your child's life everyday they will be able to experience the good things the world has to offer. Now, that doesn't mean shelter them. Real people have real issues. Everyone has to learn things some how. Protect your child and raise them the best you can. Radiate the love of God in everything you do and your child will pick up! They'll form their own testimony and their own opinion on God. You are their spiritual leaders.

     In Proverbs 4:10-11 it speaks of knowing that you've led your child on the right path and done the best you can do to help them in their beginning stages of their spiritual walk! You'll teach them as much as you can for as long as they'll listen. You'll show them the meaning of discernment, the meaning of love, trust, friendship, forgiveness, grace, andspirituality. Trust what God tells you. Translate this to your children. If you do this you'll be surprised at how much the learn and perceive on their own. They'll be able to help you in your days of spiritual weakness, days when you feel no hope, no faith. I feel like this especially relates to single parents. They'll be there to show you the same love you've shown them each in their own way. And when they've grown and began to make their own adult decisions you can sit back and smile knowing that you've raised them with God's guidance the best way you knew how, and they're making sound choices that will benefit them. Parents we need you! We know you need us too. Don't be afraid to ask!

                                                                 Questions/Application

• How do you think you can help your children on their spiritual walk? What about you kids; How can you help your parents when they are in a time of spiritual weakness?
• What's an important thing you can do everyday to make God more involved in your life? Family prayer? Share new Bible verses? Etc..
• Regardless of your past, who helped you start the walk to your spiritual path? Teachers? Coaches? Aunts or Uncles? Etc..