Called to Lift Each Other Up: Raising Up the Next Generation



“We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.”   Psalm 78:4



I wish I can say that my wife and I have all the answers…we don’t.  We have made mistakes as a parents.  Yet our goal from the day we brought them home was to be parents who pointed our girls toward God and let them know daily that we loved them.  We wanted our girls to see Christ in us, setting up a home where they witnessed God’s love and grace.  It does take work yet I truly believe it can be attained.  We are amazed at our daughters love for the Lord.  The other day we were having a very hard day at work.  We were burned out and each of us was asking God the same thing…“Lord, did you hear our prayer.”  The next morning, we received a text from our youngest daughter, “A little encouragement for today…despite our current struggles, our current uncertainties, our current troubles…God is faithful.”  She continued by sharing 2 Corinthians 7:6-7 and then added a song.  We were so blessed and the timely message was spot on!  I shared with my wife, “Pretty cool when your children begin to minister to you.” 

I began to think, how did our kids come to this place of faith.  I know that each of them had to make their decision to be a follower of Christ, yet I do believe that we as parents had some part in it.  So I began to think back and I was brought to the main equation.  In a culture that cries out, “Show me your system!”…ours is simple.   No gimmicks.  No special formula.  Are you ready?  Let the Word speak for itself, Psalm 78:1-4:

Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

   
1.   Give ear to the law
2.   Do not hide the words
3.  Tell the next generation
             a.    Praises of the Lord
             b.    His strength
             c.    Wonderful works

The passage was written to remind the next generation of God’s faithfulness.  Yet the message is loud in clear…who is the carrier of this message?  You and me…parents.  Parents who love God and have a personal relationship with Christ.  Remember the day you became a Christ follower?  Remember the day that God showed his faithfulness in your life?  Remember the day His Word spoke to the very core of your soul?  It is that which we are called to do…pass on to the next generation the faithfulness of God, so that one day our children may speak…“Remember mom and dad, God is faithful.”

 These next few weeks join us as we will take a biblical look at raising the next generation. 

His call.  His gift to you.  Your purpose.  Irrevocable.



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