Daily devotion – discussion time.
Deut 6: 4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. 5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
One of the joys that Helen and I now experience with our children and also our grandchildren is to talk with them about the Bible. What book are they reading. Which book do they like the most and why. What don’t they understand but the best discussions are when they excitedly talk with us about what they have learned.
To have times of dialogue about the wonder of God’s grace and to hear the passion in their voices is a great joy.
This is what God desired and commanded of the children of Israel and their own kids. Notice God says to talk about Him and His Word when they are at home, in the car travelling and when they go to sleep at night.
These times fuel our loved one’s souls for years to come and are an important step in their growth as men and women of God.
Too often kids are sadly ignorant of the wonder of God’s Word because their parents have the Church switch on and switch off button only.
The only time the Bible or God is mentioned is in a service at Church. It’s not spontaneous or natural and kids reflect what they see their parents do, say or don’t say. Thus, the Bible and God become purely a religious event they attend like going to school but once they are out of Church not a word is mentioned or embraced.
As parents and grandparents, our task is to have Jesus and God’s Word be a natural and inclusive part of our everyday living and conversation.
This is what the Lord asked Israel to pay attention to.
Let us fill our times with our loved ones with the wonders of God and the blessing of His Word. But let it be spontaneous, when we eat, when we head off to school or sport together, and when we are just hanging out at home.
Make sure Jesus is the guest in your home and family at all times.