A quick glance around the world and it’s obvious that Truth and absolutes are frowned upon. True tolerance, and love are being replaced with false ideas of acceptance and “truth” seems as ever-changing as the tide.

The pendulum is changing directions in America. The world our children are growing into is going to look vastly different than the one we grew up in.

We must equip them.

We must arm them.

Instead, we are doing our children an injustice by feeding them Bible stories without explaining Bible truth.

Fuzzy stories of Noah and his cute animals, little David with cherub-like cheeks defeating big-bad bully Goliath, Americanized Jesus in a flowy rob holding sheep…… What are we teaching our children?

These stories are great. They are true and they are amazing examples. But they are just a small piece of the pie. We’re missing much of the meat, age appropriate meat that children need to keep them rooted and grounded.

We say that God is no respecter of persons or all we need is childlike faith yet we discount our children as being unable to hear from God or too naive to be led by the Spirit or talk to Jesus in a meaningful way. Our son laid hands on a friend and prayed in the name of Jesus for his eye and all pain left. He did the same for a terrible cramp I had in my foot. There is no Holy Spirit, Jr. 

Truth is Not Just for Adults

How many animals did Noah take on the boat? What answer would your children give?

“2 of every kind.”

That’s the answer most children and some adults give too. It is not accurate.

Of every clean beast you shall receive and take with you seven pairs, the male and his mate and of beasts that are not clean a pair of each kind, the male and his mate. Also of the birds of the air seven pairs, the male and female, to keep seed [their kind] alive over all the earth or land.”
~ Genesis 7: 2-3 AMP, emphasis mine

How is it we miss the fact that seven pairs of animals were taken? That’s 14 of each, not 2.

We do our children a disservice when we stop with cutesy songs and rhymes and never give them the truth meat of the Word.

Teaching the truth of scripture is much like teaching children about sex. It’s sometimes hard, it’s sometimes uncomfortable and it’s a topic whose scopes is not fully realized in one short burst of information. It is a process, an on-going, expanding conversation. Plus, like “the talk”, you should rely on the Holy Spirit to guide you in when and what to share.

Your children can handle the Truth. A living relationship with Christ is not reserved for adulthood.

#1 – Recognizing the Holy Spirit

Does your child know that the thoughts that come to mind can be from 3 different sources?

• His own mind
• Holy Spirit
• Satan

Does your child understand how to recognize the difference and how to hone in on Holy Spirit when He is speaking and nudging?

Home is where our children should be practicing and honing their hearing and discerning skills. This isn’t reserved for Youth Group or Young Adult Ministry. Our job is to provide a safe place where our children can learn, watch, explore and practice things that are imperative to their success: Truth in love, faith, prayer and leading by the Holy Spirit.

Recognizing when Holy Spirit is speaking is often left off the table. Child-like faith is no better demonstrated than in the life of a child. Don’t discount that your little one can and does hear from God. They need help understanding and verbalizing it. This is where our maturity comes into play.

#2 – Preparing for Persecution

If you think the persecuted church is something only in far off countries, think again. As the pendulum swings farther we are going to find ourselves becoming the persecuted church right here in the United States. No elected official is going to change what the Bible says, trials and tribulation are coming, we just don't know when.

God’s word must be hidden in our hearts and the hearts of our children. Scripture memorization is not about checking off a box on the Christian “to do” list or proudly reciting verses to Aunt Jane. Memorizing scripture is about navigating life. Every day, persecuted or not, the more scripture we have in our hearts the better choices we make, the more like Christ we can be.

There may be a day when Bible Hub, the Bible app and a Bible for each family member is a distant memory. How will your child know God’s word?

We cannot say with certainly when things will get worse. We don’t operate in fear for our children but we do operate out of an understanding that the Word of God and voice of the Holy Spirit are what will guide us through any turbulent times be it over-reaching persecution or just troubling times in life.

#3 – Milk and Meat

When I think of how infinite and impressive God really is it reminds me that in the grand scheme of things, we too, are children, barely able to comprehend the vastness and greatness of God. Yet, we are severed meat, little by little as Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.

As we teach and train our children we must listen to Holy Spirit and guide our children to the truth they need. There are many tools we can use to guide them. Remember, this is an on-going conversation. Tools you need are:

• The Bible – not Story Book Bibles but a real Bible
• Family devotional time – Sharing stories and explaining scriptures
• Scripture Memorization with meaning. It’s great if your child can recite a verse but do they know what it means and how to apply it?
• Devotional books – daily devotionals are good for keeping the focus on God’s word while weekly devotionals can help you dig into topics and scriptures.

A Helpful Solution

I don’t just want my son to have God’s word hidden in His heart, I want your child(ren) to have it too. That’s why I made these fun printable scripture cards. These are core scriptures for childhood and beyond. Each card contains a truth to live by and a scripture to reference.  Use these printable scripture cards to facilitate your scripture memorization with meaning.

Get your 27-page printable pack today for $6.99

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