S: Judges 2:7-10 The people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of Yahweh that he had worked for Israel. Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash. After all that generation were gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them, who didn’t know Yahweh, nor the work which he had done for Israel.
O: The Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) had many admonitions to the Israelites to make sure to pass on the faith to their children, but they did a very poor job of doing so, so that 3 generations after Joshua, they had by and large forgotten about following Yahweh.
The Book of Judges is a record this fall, with occasional revivals.
I came to Christ in secondary school (high school) and was dismayed that all the committed Christians I knew among my peers were first generation Christians -- converts like me. I was very discouraged about bringing up children in the Lord.
When you visit Europe, you find many beautiful churches and cathedrals, yet they are no longer a movement, they are merely monuments. They often have no real vibrant living communities within them, and are just tourist attractions.
But when I went to USA for university, I discovered that many of the leaders in the campus Christian fellowships were from families that have been committed Christians for generations. So I realized that it is doable.
Furthermore, having returned to Malaysia and teaching at MMU, I have found many leaders in the Christian Fellowship at this university as well as in my church who are from Christian families.
It has been said that God has no grandchildren. Each person needs to personally become a child of God by receiving Jesus as Saviour and Lord.
A: Now that I'm a parent, it is my responsibility to "pass it on" -- to pass the faith on to my children. Even though we make mistakes, we can do it.
A good resource is the Focus on the Family broadcast. As I listened to this Biblically-based programme over the years, it taught me many things about life, romance, and bringing up children.
P: Father, I lift up my children to you. Help me to be a good father, and to bring them up in the Lord. May they grow up to live for You. In Jesus' name, amen.
Note: this is using the SOAP method. For more information, see this page (not written by me.)
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