Hey Parents...

The writer of Deuteronomy realizes the importance of our impact on children….

Deut. 6:4-9: 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. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.

Two important things this text spoke to me about:

1. Most of what your child needs to know about Jesus is going to be "caught" not "taught".

The writer of Deuteronomy understood that the family is THE PLACE to model a love for God. Spiritual values that are to be learned in the family are going to be "caught" as much as they're going to be "taught"--in the daily routine of life!

I am afraid that too many parents leave biblical teaching up to the church assuming that commitment to Christ is only TAUGHT...while they forget that MUCH MORE IS CAUGHT….and the catching is going on at home with the people that mean that most to them. They are watching!

2. Spend time with your family, because QUANTITY= QUALITY!

You know you can bowl a 300 game every time if you really wanted to. Take the ball, walk down the lane and bowl from 15 ft. instead of 60 ft.! Error increases with distance. Important to be near our families often--so we can teach spiritual values. Remember, you can rarely predict a teachable moment.

--A little something for the Parents to think about today.