Daily Devotional for Tuesday May 7, 2019

The most important job God has given you to perform!

(Proverbs 22:6, Psalms 127:3, Joshua 8:35)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, help me this day to be a great ambassador for You! Let my conversation and my actions today draw people to Your hope and love. In the name of Jesus I pray...AMEN!

There is NOTHING you will ever do for the Lord more important than being mom or dad to your children, raising them in the admonition of the Lord. NOTHING! I don't care if you pastor a church of 10,000, if millions worldwide come to hear you speak about the Lord, if you write best-selling books about the Christian faith, there is absolutely no ministry that you will ever have in this life more important than being mom or dad to your children.

Your children are a blessing from God and He has entrusted those children into your care!!! You are to protect them, provide for them, love them, nurture them, and raise them in the Christian faith!!!

As a mother or father, you have the ability to shape the thoughts of your children. You can do that in a negative way, or you can do it in a positive way as you raise your children in the admonition of the Lord. I realize that the vast majority of the moms and dads reading this today would never dream of hurting your children.

However, let me tell you what is just as bad. When you fail to fulfill the responsibility God gave you to nurture your child in the Christian faith, to teach them God's Word, to encourage them to accept Christ as their personal Savior, you leave your children to the messages of this world. The messages of this world are of rebellion to God, rejection of the Bible as Absolute Truth, and mocking Jesus Christ.

Sadly, with the better percentage of two full generations who don't go to church and are not Christians, most children are growing up today in homes void of God. Well over 60% of the children grow up today in broken or blended homes and are influenced by a whole host of people other than by a mother and father who are married and providing the stable, loving, nurturing, environment a child needs.

Each person who ends up influencing a child, influences them based on their beliefs whatever they may be. That is why God's plan calls for children to be raised by a mother and father so that they, and they alone are the primary people to shape the thoughts and beliefs of their child, not some other family member or outsider!

This is a wake-up call to you moms and dads today that you better take seriously the responsibility God gave you in the raising of your children and the nurturing of their minds. At some point, your children will be old enough to decide for themselves what they believe.

However, God has given you the job of raising your children in the Christian faith, teaching them the Scriptures, and laying a foundation of Truth from God's Word in their life. I will be praying for you today as you take this great responsibility seriously. God has blessed you with your children and raising them in the admonition of the Lord is your job as a mother or father.

I love you and care about you so much. You should pray for your child in the womb. Dedicate your baby to the Lord. Pray over your baby every day. Teach that child the name of JESUS as soon as he/she can speak. Read the Bible to your child every day. Teach your child how to pray. Have your child in church. Create a loving and nurturing home environment where your child can grow up knowing that he/she is loved and cared for.

Have your home a place where the name of Jesus and the Truth of God's word is honored. Teach your child the Scriptures as soon as he/she can start to read. Encourage your child to seek out a real relationship with Christ for themselves. Challenge your child to grow in their faith through activities at church and in serving the Lord. Make praying with your child a part of EVERY day!!!

All of these are things you can do as a mother or father to lay that foundation of faith in your child's life. Never forget, as they get older they will start making their own choices, choices you are not responsible for. Even if at some point they choose to turn from the faith, know that the foundation is there and in their darkest hour it will sustain them.

I will be praying as you open your heart to the Lord today and accept this incredible job He has given to you to not just be mom or dad to your child, but to be their spiritual guide as you help raise them in the Christian faith. It is the greatest ministry you will ever have.

In His love and service,

Your friend, brother, and co-laborer in Christ,

Bill Keller