Praise Him Forever, You Are Good, Heart of Our Home, So Faithful, Holy Forever

What kind of persons would you want to see your children (and disciples) grow up into?

4 “Hear, O Israel ! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up

When it comes to the next generation, we must prepare the child for the path…not the path for the child. Just like a butterfly cannot fully develop when forced out of its cocoon before it’s ready, we cannot have the right life skills for real life if we do not go through the right “growing up” process.

Our world today values speed over “slow”, convenience over “hard”, entertainment over ‘”boring”, nurture over “risk” and entitlement over “labor”. But even neuroscientists today say that boredom is necessary and good for us because it enables our brain to develop creative ideas and empathy. We avoid letting our children take reasonable risks because we just want them to be “safe”. But they will have to face risks for them to develop into mature men and women someday. When things are hard, and we have to work hard for what we need or want it grows us into good adults as spouses, workers, bosses, and disciplers.

Things that naturally took place 50 years ago are things that we have to now be intentional about in our families. In the Old Testament, we read about the tribe of Issachar who understood the times they lived in, and what the Israelites needed to do for that time (1 Chronicles 12:32). We ought to be like the sons of Issachar and find out what we need to do for our families in the culture we live in today.

Four Junctions in Your Day to Invest in Your Kids (Deuteronomy 6:7)

How do we go about investing in our children when a lot is going on that keeps us busy? Deuteronomy 6:7 shows us four junctions in our daily lives that we can maximize in parenting our children:

1. “When you sit down” use mealtimes to teach, process their experiences with them;
2. “When you walk” — use travel time for conversations;
3. “When you lie down— at bedtime, you can play the role of counselor to your kids;
4. When you get up” — you can send them out with encouraging words or a challenge as they go to school.

Train Up Your Child (Proverbs 22:6)

This is an EPIC generation; they are Experiential, Participatory, Image-rich, and Connected. Here are five ideas (gifts) to engage the next generation to help them grow and mature into adults:

1. Do something scary: There’s something that comes alive when we do something risky, that helps put the ‘”fear of God” into you! There’s no growth in the comfort zone, there’s no comfort in growth. Process the experience with them.
2. Meet someone significant: When we meet someone important in our society, we grow as a result of that encounter.
3. Travel someplace new: Going to a new place that’s unfamiliar and uncomfortable makes you trust God more! You don’t have to travel far, but just somewhere different from your comfort zone.
4. Chase a meaningful goal: When you have a target to hit, you will be energized to go after it. Give your children a chance the pursue their goals.
5. Work and wait for something you want: We don’t like waiting! But when children learn to work for what they want and wait for it, they become more grateful when they finally get what they wanted, waited, and worked for. How could you employ these for others?

We need a change of mind about how we treat our children. If we treat them as fragile, they will most assuredly become fragile adults. But if we communicate they’re worthy of high standards, they will rise to the Occasion.

Our Choice as Leaders Of the Next Gen

Shifts We Have to Make

To lead the next generation well (our children and disciples) here are the changes we need to make:

1. Don’t think CONTROL, think CONNECT.When things go wrong, don’t try to take control. Seek a connection; try to understand where they are coming from. You won’t get control, but you gain more influence with them.
2. Don’t think INFORM, think INTERPRET.They don’t need us for information; they get that from so many sources (Google, YouTube, etc.). They need us for interpretation of the things they learn from social media, the internet.
3. Don’t think TELL, think ASK.When children are very young, they need to be told certain things for sure. But as they grow into their teens, ask them questions like, “How did you come to that conclusion?” or “What made you do that?” and “Do you think that’s the best solution?”
4. Don’t think LECTURE, think LAB.Young people need experiences (lab), not more lectures! These experiences help them grow more effectively.
5. Don’t think MANAGE, think MENTOR.Young people prefer mentoring over managing. A “rite of passage” experience can be one way to mentor your children as they grow. Many cultures, such as African and Jewish (Bar Mitzvah), use these to guide young people into adulthood. You can create your own rite of passage for your child. Choose mentors (women for daughters, men for sons) to help your children learn and grow.

Help the next generation flourish! Be a mentor to a young person today, providing experiences that help them mature into Christ-committed followers.

1. When you consider what God said in Deuteronomy 6, how well do you take advantage of the different junctions in your day: meal time, travel time, morning time, and bed time? Do you utilize these items for discipling your kids?

2. How are you planning to help your children mature by letting them do something scary or risky? Do you over-protect your kids?

3. How do you overcome today’s culture affecting kids today with instant gratification because of smart technology? Do you take initiative to make technology your servant rather than your master?

Pray for your family members to be part of a movement of Christlike influence for the next generation.

Start a Dgroup and be a mentor to your family, relatives, and friends.

Share the gospel with a young person this week

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• God’s help and comfort for the Sudanese people caught in violence and conflict.

• War in Ukraine to end, loss of lives prevented; tension in East Asian and Middle East countries to stop.

• Continue to pray for the rest of Israeli hostages to be restored back to their families safely. Pray for Israel and the war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory.

• For the recent political and social upheaval in the US to result in spiritual awakening in the church and a great spiritual harvest.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• Elders, pastors, dleaders, and families (holy, humble, harmonious, happy, heart-working).

• Ministries and churches expansion worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.