Back to Basics

There is so much information available about raising children, particularly in terms of discipleship. Books, multi-media, web, and so on. It can be overwhelming. Let’s take a moment and remember the basics, the non-negotiable essentials.

1. Prayer. Pray for your children and with them. Worship God. Ask him for wisdom. Pray without ceasing and with joyful hearts. Pray.
2. Read your Bible. That’s right. I said it. Read your Bible. It is fine to read about your Bible, or to read devotionals, or use Bible study helps. But none of that should replace actually reading your Bible, both privately and, using appropriate passages relative to their ages, with your children.
3. Confess your sin and repent. Ouch. Is that really necessary? You mean in our thoughts, right? Um, no. I mean to other real, live human beings. Particularly insofar as those sins affect others. Got a consistently rotten attitude? It probably affects others, too. Looking at porn? Newsflash. It is not as much of a secret as you probably think. Enjoy talking about others in unfavorable ways? The Bible calls it gossip and has much to say about ceasing and desisting from such behavior. So yea, confess your sin. And not only that, repent of it. That is, stop doing it. Get help if necessary, either from your spouse or another family member, Pastor Phil or another mature believer in the church, or perhaps your small group. And watch the healing begin in relationships.

I could add more, but I wanted to keep this simple. Be a risk-taker. Try adding these three basic practices to your daily life. Watch out for growth in spiritual maturity, not only in your children, but also in your life. Remember, each of these should become foundational to your daily experience. Don’t take a break from them. That is why they are basics. No fluff here. Just necessary practices for the routines of your everyday life.