Part One is here and Part Two is here. You do not have to read them in any kind of order, however. I pray that these thoughts have been helpful to you. Following
Mercy…Extend mercy to your child when he fails, even when he is obviously working against you. Forgive your child of his few offenses as your Heavenly Father has forgiven you of your immeasurable offenses. Win your child by your undying love, as Christ has won you with his dying love. (Ephesians 4:32)
Nourish your child in body, soul and mind. Give him nothing but the best for physical, spiritual and emotional health. Demonstrated through you, God’s truth and grace is health for his spirit; prepared by you, provisions of good, nourishing food builds his body, and expressed through you, the love of Christ will nourish him emotionally. Humbly ask God for His wisdom and strength for this task. And remember that in doing this for your child, you do it for Christ. (Proverbs 31:14-15; Matt 25:37-40 and; 40; Ephesians 6:4)
Observe all that Christ has commanded you. The one who obediently does God’s will, has humbly given up his own will. Your example of humble obedience to God is crucial in training your child to give up his will in order to do yours and eventually God’s. And since your obedience equals love for Christ, your child will be greatly assisted in connecting his obedience as a demonstration of his love for you and eventually for Christ. (Mark 8:34-36; John 14:15-16)
Pray...with your children and for your children. If you are preaching more than you are praying, most likely you are relying upon your own strength for your child’s salvation. You cannot transform his heart of stone into a heart of flesh, but you know the One who can. Take your children to Jesus throughout the day concerning their greatest need. (Luke 18:15-16)
Quick…Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Make what you say count after you’ve listened to your child and understood exactly what he is saying and not saying. Jumping to conclusions is a very poor form of exercise. (James 1:19-20)
Repent...promptly. Everyday our hearts sink into unloving thoughts and deeds. Ask God to tune your heart to hear the Spirit’s call to humble yourself before the throne of grace. I’m sure you all are familiar with the store that every child loves – “Toys R Us”. Well, as Christians, our trade mark ought to be “Repentance R Us”. Listen to all of the R words that repentance is synonymous with: renew, restore, relationship, right, return, remember, revive, and rest. Be a repenter. Repentance characterizes one who is living humbly before the God who is gracious and ready to forgive. And God gives grace to the humble which you are in great need on a moment to moment basis as you train your little ones to confess when they’ve wronged another. (Isaiah 57:15; Psalm 51:10-13; 1 John 1:9; Revelation 2:5)
Receive and Relinquish…Receive your child from the Lord and then relinquish him to the Lord. Your child is God’s sanctifying tool for you. Know that he is a gift from the Lord and will be used to grow you up in Christ – to reveal sins that lurk in your heart that you never knew existed. God continues to use my grown children in this way, even though none of them have embraced Christ. (Judges 13:8; Hebrews 11:23)
Also, like Abraham and Hannah, you must relinquish the child God has blessed you with back to Him and, in fact, until you do, he will be a hindrance to your sanctification. You cannot own what belongs to God, but He graciously lends His tools for your use and for your usefulness. (1 Samuel 1:11; 27-28)
Seek wisdom from the Lord. Always tell yourself that there is a better way of communicating than what naturally rolls off your tongue. Even if it is truth, it may not be truth spoken in love. That takes wisdom from on high. (Proverbs 15:1-2; James 1:5 and 3:17)Copyright Sharon Kaufman 2007/2010
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I love this series; thank you for taking the time to write it and post it. I appreciate it!
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