May 7, 2020 / Amanda Johnson

II Timothy 2:15

When purchasing a new gadget, it’s helpful to read the manufacturer’s manual. When I have neglected to do so, I usually have problems. I kept having a problem with my I-phone. Sometimes it would not ring! Frustrated, I asked my daughter to help me out. She shook her head and said, “Mah! See this button here? You have the ringer turned off.” I looked kind’a sheepish. ‘Oh.’ If I’d simply read the owner’s manual before trying to use the phone I would’ve known this very basic fact about the device.

Does my parenting reflect the mandates God gives in scripture? Have I been reading the creator’s manual, or am I hoping for the right outcome without consulting God’s instruction regarding the rules of operation and engagement?!

Receiving Christ gave us a whole new approach to life that should directly affect how we parent.  Naturally, each of us has an array of old wives’ tales, family traditions, speculations, and ‘my mom did it this way’ ideas in our child-rearing toolbox.  However, we must allow God’s Word to supersede all of these.  The Bible should be our primary parenting textbook.  As the final authority in establishing our strategies and practices for raising our children. If we give God the respect and deference that He alone deserves, He will give us wisdom and insight to develop successful parenting skills.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, Give me a desire to learn, and follow the mandates you give in scripture for parents.  Help me to value your instructions, since you are the first authority on parenting.  May teaching my children how to obey, love, worship and revere You be a clear priority, reflected by the way I spend my time, talent and treasure.  May I live in a way that develops an appetite in my child for the things of You.   In Jesus’ name, 

Amen.