Editor’s Note: We continue our series of blogs for those who are reading the Bible with us cover-to-cover this year. Interspersed with our thoughts on our daily reading, we want to provide some tips about reading the Bible in general. Today we want to explore …
Transferring Faith to the Next Generation
Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Every parent, pastor and Eagle Leader wants to know how to transfer his or her faith into the next generation. While there are many great books, seminars and tools available, God created children and knows exactly what is most essential. In Deuteronomy God gives six essentials for transferring your faith into another.
- Love God passionately! (6.5) Let’s face it, more things are caught than taught. If your faith doesn’t register on the Richter Scale, it probably won’t register on anyone else’s either.
- Live God’s Word daily! (6.6) If the Word of God isn’t a part of your daily routine to the point it becomes hardwired into your DNA, you won’t pass it along to another. The evidence of belief is action.
- Leave God’s wisdom clearly! (6.7a) All too often there is a disconnect between the words on the pages of the Bible and the “how to” in real life. If you are going to transfer your faith, show them how you do it, live it, flesh it out.
- Link God’s truths continually! (6.7b) Since God is the author of life, we should be able to see how His Word constantly applies to our every situation. Speaking up about these takes some of the mystery away from faith and elevates it to the realm of reality in others.
- Look to God’s commands repeatedly! (6.8) Jesus told us that, “out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45, ESV) When God’s Word is highly valued, our conversations are fresh with His practical understanding.
- Linger over God’s perspectives visually! (6.9) In my mother’s home a simple plaque is still visual in my life: “Time wounds all heals.” This awful advice is seared into my conscience because it was displayed in our kitchen. How much more profitable than to have God’s wisdom displayed for all to catch?
Raising children (physical and spiritual) is hard enough in this world. God wants to help. These essentials can make a huge difference in the life of those we want to transfer our faith into.
It is our hope that this background information helps a bit as you read on in the Bible. We will continue this series with our next installment on Monday when we talk about “7 Actions to Stop Spiritual Drift.”
For daily insights into the passage we are reading together each day, you can follow Dr. Smith on Twitter and on Facebook.
You can obtain more help from the FREE Bible reading schedule on our resource page. In His Image is a daily devotional that also follows our reading schedule and expresses the Biblical truth: “God Created You to Love You.” You can find this resource on the side bar of our website.
For Our Los Angeles County Friends!
Dr. Matthew Smith will be speaking this coming Sunday, March 13th in Long Beach and would like to invite you to attend. He will be speaking on the subject, “Falling in Love with Jesus!” There is no fee for this event and all are welcome. Here are the details:
March 13 – 10:45 am Worship Speaker @ University Baptist Church, 3434 Chatwin Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90808 – (562) 425-0912
Hope to see you there!
