Training: September 21, 2012

TODAYS WORD FOR FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 2012.

TRAINING

DEFINITION:

To teach so as to make qualified; the education, instruction, or discipline of the one being trained.

SCRIPTURE:

When I call to remembrance the genuine training and faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, I am persuaded that is in you also.” II Timothy 1:5.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

The verses above are reminders to us of the importance of the training we receive from our parents. It is also a reminder to parents today of their responsibility to train their children in the way that they should go. This means to use the scriptures as your guide in the training of your children. To start with, the Ten Commandments given in the Old Testament and the two great commandments that Jesus gave us in the New Testament are vital to proper training.

The commandment that Jesus gave us in Matthew 22:37 is that we “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Jesus said that this was the first and greatest commandment.

In the training of children a parent’s first priority and greatest responsibility is to teach their children to love the Lord their God. Training is a vital ingredient in making a happy family. God has given us the Bible as His training manual. Parents have the responsibility of reading it by themselves and to their children.

Most adults need to retrain themselves in some of the basic Biblical principles needed to keep a marriage together and in raising a family. You cannot keep doing and acting the same way you did before your marriage and before you had children. You have God given responsibilities to both your spouse and to your children.

The world would be very confused and chaotic without training. One needs training in almost everything they do. We train people in new jobs, we train people to drive cars, we train people how to uphold the law, we train armed forces personnel, we train bus drivers, and we train our pastors and teachers. Without training children can become very confused and are easily enticed into harmful lifestyles.

Training children can become very difficult at times. Do not be discouraged and do not give up. Instead, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). It takes Godly wisdom to raise children and that requires prayer and lots of it, along with spending time in God’s Word. God is faithful. He will lead you to train your children in the right way.  

In Proverbs 22:6 it tells us clearly that we are to train our children in the way that he or she should go and then when he or she grows up they will not depart from it. Remember that today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and they will be able to lead only as parents have trained them. That is why today we have so many poor leaders. They came from a generation that neglected training and this present generation may be worse.

One night we were tucking our two older children into bed after our family time of reading the Bible together. The oldest said, “I want to ask Jesus into my heart.” After he prayed to Jesus asking Jesus to come into his heart a little voice from the bottom bunk piped up saying, “I want to do that too.” He was only four but he completely understood why he needed to have “Jesus in his heart.” We were thankful that God had used the training in God’s Word that we had been giving them to work in their hearts to love God and to want “Jesus in their hearts.”

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 1:6:

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Lord, for my children. Give me wisdom in training them to live and act as God would have them do. Guide me as I teach them Your Word so that they will have a clear understanding of God’s plan of salvation and of His love for them.