Pass It Down

When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Joshua 2:10 (NKJV)

The generation of Israelites after Joshua's death did not know the Lord and fell into the sin of the nation's living amongst them. They were spiritually weakened and then oppressed by those nations. The Jews would then cry out to the Lord and He would send someone to rescue them. Thus, the cycle in the history of Judges began. First, Israel would go into go into idolatry and sin, then God would let the other nations enslave them and they would go into servitude, next, they would cry out to the Lord to save them, and finally, God would send a judge to save them, and they would have a time of peace.

Christians today go through the same cycle of sin and redemption as in the book of Judges, so, it is important that our children and grandchildren are raised up to know the Lord. Psalm 22:6 says, "Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it." We all sin, and our children are going to go through trials, but if we give them a good foundation, they will know that who they need to go to. Ephesians 6:4 says, "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. 93% of Americans come to Christ before the age of 18 and 83% under the age of 14, so it is important that we not only train our kids and grandkids about the ways of the Lord, but they see it in us also.

Choose to be the role model that God wants you to be for your kids and grandkids. Raise them to follow God and be their example. Pray with them daily, read the bible to them, take them to church, show them God's love, and follow what the bible says. Invite them to have a relationship with Jesus. They will see that your walk matches your talk and want to follow God also. In doing so, you will raise up a nation that will follow God.