^“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction. My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;” ~ Proverbs 1:7-8

 For our country to survive the catastrophes we are facing today, we need the power of God. Our nation has turned its back on Him who created us. Our children are growing up not knowing Jesus. Why? Because the parents aren’t teaching them. Is it no wonder we are in trouble?

Just as Jesus taught His disciples about Himself and about everlasting life, parents need to teach their children about Jesus. They need to learn about righteousness, salvation from sin and suffering, and eternal life in Heaven.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” ~ Matthew 5:6

This is nothing new as far as world history is concerned. Even in the times before Jesus there were troubles. Let’s go back to the time of the kings of Israel. Many kings followed God and worshiped Him, and many didn’t. Josiah, king of Judah, is one king who did follow God.

Josiah became king at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years, about 640 years before Jesus Christ. He, unlike his father, had a close personal relationship with God. He was passionate about reforms and making great efforts to lead his people back to God. Although his father and grandfather were very wicked, Josiah’s life is an example of God’s willingness to provide ongoing guidance to those who set out to be obedient. This is what you need for your children to see.

Josiah was killed in the war against Egypt and his son Jehoahaz was the next king of Judah while under to suppression of Egypt. He did not follow God. Egypt didn’t like him, so he was exiled and sent to Egypt to die. Then Josiah’s other son Eliakim was made king and changed his name to Jehoiakim. While Josiah followed God, Jehoiakim was evil and led his people astray.

Many good kings had children who did not turn out to follow God. Perhaps it was neglect, preoccupation with political and military affairs, or because the kings delegated their religious education to others. No doubt many of the children simply rebelled at the way they were raised.

Does any of this sound familiar for our times. Are you preoccupied with work or other time-consuming tasks? Have you delegated the religious education to others and hope your children will turn out OK?

Being a strong believer as a parent doesn’t necessarily guarantee that your children will pick up on your beliefs.  Children must be taught about faith and parents should never leave that task for others to do. Just remember, children are great imitators… give them something great to imitate.

If we don’t teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to.

Our children are our future…….

“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” ~ Proverbs 22:6