An August Project

During the month of August, we're focusing on memorizing these "one-verse statements of the Gospel." Normally our children memorize passages of Scripture at a time, but this will be a great and very doable project for that busy month when school-planning and summer fun are still going on, and it's a bit harder to stick to a schedule.

We're simply using the verses found here at Desiring God.

When you memorize a “gospel verse,” and keep it warm, you have hidden in your heart a divinely inspired and inerrant expression, in human language, of the very point of the whole Bible and all of history. You carry with you the sword of the Spirit in its strongest alloy. One-sentence encapsulations of the Bible’s central message strengthen our spiritual backbone and solidify our core, rooting us deep down in the bedrock of God’s heart and the nature of the world he made, and sending us into confident combat with unbelief, whether our own or someone’s 
else. “Gospel verses” are invaluable in both evangelism and discipleship.
~David Mathis

What's especially great about doing this in a family with many different ages is that everyone is memorizing the same verses, right down to the littlest ones.

With love,
Trisha

To What Lengths Would We Go?

The following story reminds me of the perseverance of my father in his later years of life when he was legally blind. He'd still spend hours of his day in the Word, not just reading, but taking notes, too. It wasn't an easy task, and he had to use the aid of a lighted magnifying glass. When he died, not only did I inherit his Bible, but I also have some of those glasses he used to see the Words of God a bit clearer.

Those habits we make today of being regularly in the Word, of really studying It and meditating on It, will often be unbreakable, especially in times of severe crisis. We'll long for the Food that nourishes for eternity, and we'll go to whatever lengths to feast on It. Oh, for more grace to steadfastly be in the Word and treasure such a privilege!

Evangelist Robert L. Sumner, in his book The Wonder of the Word of God, tells of a man in Kansas City who was severely injured in an explosion. His face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He had just become a Christian when the accident happened, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible.

Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille.
But he was discouraged that the nerve endings in his lips had been too badly damaged to distinguish the characters. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, "I can read the Bible using my tongue." At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had read through the entire Bible four times. If he can do that, can you discipline yourself to read the Bible?

~Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

The Taste It Leaves in My Heart

No book of evidence can be compared with that internal evidence which he obtains who daily uses the Word in the right way...The book satisfies and feeds his soul. A poor Christian woman once said to an infidel, "I am no scholar. I cannot argue like you. But I know that honey is honey, because it leaves a sweet taste in my mouth. And I know the Bible to be God's book, because of the taste it leaves in my heart."
~J.C. Ryle
Practical Religion

Encouraging Our Children to Feast on The Word

Cap'n is cute and he's only 17 months. That's why he gets away with reading the
 Bible while partially clothed. :) We don't recommend you try this at home.

Before I start, let's agree on a few things:

1) You can't make your children delight in God's Word.
2) Bible reading will not guarantee your child's faithfulness to the LORD.
3) Private time in the Word is no substitute for corporate worship and hearing the Word of God preached.
4) Prayer is essential to the Christian life. My post doesn't address this specifically, but you can apply many of the same principles. Remember our children are the best imitators! They tend to develop a love for what we love, good or bad.
5) Any spiritual fruit, any desire for the things of God, in any of us, is by the grace of God.

And I'll set a question before you:

If you love the LORD and want to be more like Christ, why would you NOT spend time in the Word consistently? That's my response when the "legalism" card is flashed at the mention of the discipline of  Bible reading.

So this is not a post about MAKING your children love the Bible. These are my thoughts on ENCOURAGING in your children a love for His Word and a desire to feed upon it more than anything else. I'm still learning. I'm still failing. But these are just a few of the things I've learned along the way.

Consider that we think it only natural when artistic parents produce artistic children. Or musical parents have musical children. What about children who see such a passion and love for the Word and prayer from their parents that they would follow suit?

Where to Start


1) Repentance: Our children don't want to hear what we have to say when we don't live it out ourselves or when we have unresolved sin between us. Make sure that all is well between your heart and your children's. Make sure you're modeling  the joy and importance of being in the Word. Make sure they know and see that this is your spiritual food and you can't live without it. To say we love the Word while we refuse to humble ourselves to our children is to make them resent us and what we're teaching.


2) Pray: Oh, this is what I wish I knew earlier. I have failed my children in not praying more earnestly for them from the moment they were born. So much I have tried to accomplish in my own strength instead of trusting in the LORD and bringing my requests to Him. Pray your children would love the Word and hunger for it and have wisdom and understanding. Pray they would live out what they read in those precious pages.


3) Trust: Trust the Lord to finish this good work He's started in your children. Be firm about developing the habit of Bible reading, but do not resort to sarcasm and punishment when your children are resistant or uncooperative. Do not try to accomplish what only the Holy Spirit can do.


If your child is murmuring about reading the Bible, simply say,"Sara, read 2 chapter of Proverbs this morning. If you don't have a heart to be in the Word, pray for God's grace. He is faithful, and He is generous. I know the Spirit has wonderful things to show you in the Word. Don't let Satan or your flesh rob you of this blessing or this opportunity to grow in Christ."  Our instruction should be with sweetness of lips and earnestness. If your children are outright defiant, you need to drop this focus for now and get the obedience in check.


Don't despair or compare, either. "Well, your sister loves the Word so much. Look at how much time she spends reading it each day." Instructing in this manner provokes our children and divides our families. Remember Joseph?


4) Explain: Be able to give an answer as to WHY you're teaching them the habit of being in the Word every day. Read Psalm 119 together. Read books about Bible reading and study, but never let those replace digging in the Word yourself.


5) A sweet aroma:- Legalism is an atmosphere we create when we shut out God's grace and forgiveness in our homes. It happens when we make Bible reading a thing to be checked off on our to-do list instead of a means of grace that gives us the mind of Christ.  It happens when we walk around with angry, critical spirits and approach our children like they're the enemy instead of gifts from the Lord. Teach your children joyfully and with sweetness of lips, and they will want to learn from you.

6) Remember much is done little by little: We won't necessarily see fruit right away. Don't give up! Be faithful day by day, and years from now, you'll be amazed at the work God has wrought in the hearts of your children.


The Practical


1) Have a general and specific plan: Our children need guidelines. For mine, the general plan is that that upon rising they are to spend time in the Word and in prayer and reviewing their Scripture memory. As they get older, I encourage them to take notes, too.


The specific plan would include what you want them to be reading. Through the Bible? Through a particular book?

My older ones have been reading through the Psalms and using Spurgeon's commentary on David. My oldest daughter (11) is reading through Chronicles (not once has she said, "This is laborious and boring." She's so enthusiastic and being in the Word has become a habit of joy for her) and likes to read from Matthew Henry AFTER she makes her own notes. My younger ones read passages from the Old and New Testaments. Here's a great list to use.

New Testament Readings
Old Testament Readings

And this is an amazing Bible Reading plan already made up for you, with questions included! If you download this, be sure to thank David Murray for his hard work.

Children's One Year Bible Reading Plan

My six-year-old, who is not reading the Bible on her own, has a prayer journal. She copies a request in it and draws a picture and prays for the person. This is how she spends her "quiet time." The littlest ones watch everyone else and will pick up their Bible, pretending to read. They are also the first ones to want to share from their reading when we're eating dinner.

2) Teach your children that this is the primary goal of learning to read--to be able to read the very Word of God for themselves.

3) Make everyone accountable: At the dinner table, we ask our children to share what they've studied in the Word that morning. This makes us more attentive when we know we'll be sharing with others. It also teaches our children that what they're learning is not for themselves alone, but also for the edification of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

4) Make it pretty or handsome: Have fun covering some composition books together and making pretty or handsome Bible journals. Give a Bible journal to your children as a gift. Add some colorful pens.

5) Teach your children to pray before reading the Word that the Holy Spirit would give them understanding. Teach them to pray after that God would grant them grace to live out what they've been reading and learning.


If your children are older and have no desire to be in the Word, I believe prayer is the best way to fight this battle, as well as modeling how the Word transforms us. Asking your children to forgive you for not making the Word a priority in your home is appropriate, too. 


Remember that our failures force us to our knees, push us to remember the truth of the Gospel, remind us that we can do nothing in our own strength, and encourage us to hope and wait on the LORD, expecting Him to do amazing things in the hearts of our children.


With love,
Trisha

But We Make Them Brush Their Teeth

I was once told it was "terrible" that I was teaching my young children about hell. The assumption was that such subjects were best addressed at a later age. I replied that from the very beginning we should be teaching our children about heaven and hell and sin and the gospel and Jesus and redemption. If this is the language of the Redeemed, why would we not speak it to our children from the moment of birth, as naturally as anything else we teach them?

Another time, I engaged in a friendly debate with a mother regarding children and the habit of daily Bible reading. She thought it best to let her child read the Bible when the Holy Spirit "moved" the child to do so. The mother also applied this ridiculous theory to memorizing Scripture as well.

Most of us want to be responsible parents. We teach our children to make their beds, to brush their teeth, and so on. And these skills aren't negotiable. We do them because they're good for us. If I told you that I didn't make my children brush their teeth because it might make them hate brushing their teeth, you'd think I was crazy.

And yet, when it comes to encouraging in our children habits of Bible reading and prayer and giving thanks, this is the very excuse we use.

"Well, I don't want my children to not like the Word, so I'm not going to make them read it."  Fill in the blank.

We place a higher importance on caring for the body than we do for having the mind of Christ, which only comes by feasting on His Word.

Our children are gifts to us to train up in the fear and admonition of the LORD. Can we do that without teaching them that the Word is their food and they must eat of it regularly to grow spiritually? This is not legalism. This is instructing our children in what really matters for eternity.

What habits are we teaching our children, even unintentionally? To care only for the body? To check text messages first thing in the morning or e-mail or facebook, etc.? To have the latest clothing and haircut? To be carried away by every wind of false doctrine because they have no roots in the the truth of the Word?

Oh that God would give our Mama hearts the desire of this godly woman:

"For as the children of Israel must needs starve, except they gath'red every day in the wilderness and fed of it, so must your souls, except you gather the Spiritual Manna out of the word every day, and feed of it continually; for as they by this Manna comforted their hearts, and strengthened their bodies, and preserved their lives; so by this Heavenly Word of God, you shall comfort your souls, make them strong in Faith, and grow in true godliness, and finally preserve them with great joy, to everlasting life, through faith in Christ.."
~Dorothy Leigh, The Mother's Blessing, 1616 


In a later post, I'll share ways to encourage your children to be in the Word daily as well as address the question of what to do if your children are older and are resistant. Always remember that God's grace is inexhaustible!

Let's fervently ask God to give our children hearts that hunger after His Word and delight in it.

With love,
Trisha