Thursday, January 21, 2010

Be Diligent

Have you ever sat down and thought what you are teaching your kiddos? At night when I am laying in bed and it's quite, my brain begins to go in overdrive. A common thought I have each night is, "What am I teaching my kids"? Our kids are being attacked from society today at every angle. Here are some stats that were given to me at a recent conference I attended.
  1. 9 out of 10 children between 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet.
  2. 19.6% eighth graders use drugs.
  3. 47.4% twelfth graders use drugs.
  4. 52.5% tenth graders drink alcohol.
  5. 47.8% teens have sex by the age of 16.

I'm not sure how these stats make you feel, but when I read this I need to make sure that I am arming my kids daily for the battle. In Deuteronomy 6, I believe we have a great reminder about how to do this.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 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 children 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and your gates.

Do you notice what we as parents should be doing? We should be teaching our kids diligently. The word is defined in Websters this way, "a steady, earnest, and energetic effort." How much energy are you putting towards studying God's Word with your kids? How often do you try to engage in a spiritual conversation with your kids? How often do you pray with your kids? Do you encourage your kids to carry their Bibles with them?

I want to encourage you to be diligent in studying the Bible with your kids.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

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2 comments:

  1. JeffJanuary 26, 2010 at 11:19 AM

    Ummm...those statistics are staggering. STAGGERING. And scary, especially to those of us who have kiddos. 47.4% of Seniors in High School use drugs? I want to pretend that is not real. 47.8% have sex by age 16? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

    One thing that comes to my mind is that we need to constantly teach our kids that they find their identity in Christ and NOT the world. Jesus provides them confidence, self-assurance, peace and LOVE. While the world will turn its back on you in a heartbeat, Jesus never will. Heck, that's tough for me to remember sometimes. I can only imagine how tough it is for a 16 year old girl who just wants to fit in. Or an 18 year old boy whose friends want him to "try something new".

    Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. How do we get kids to turn their eyes away from the world and to God?

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  2. Grace FamilyJanuary 26, 2010 at 7:31 PM

    This is shocking information and it makes me very sad. Our boys are still so young, I can only imagine what the statistics will be by the time they reach those ages if our world continues on the path it's on.

    Man, we have our work cut out for us... but without God, it's a worthless effort. May HE be a part of every conversation "in our house" "when we walk by the way" "when we lie down" and "when we rise up"

    Oh help us Lord to be diligent in this!!! Thanks for the information... scary, but needs to be known.

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