Articles and Testimonials

UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM

Most people don’t turn to God until they feel like they need Him. Even in presenting the plan of salvation to someone, we must point out a real Hell and a real possibility of going to that Hell. Only then will the need for salvation become clear enough for most people to want to trust Jesus.

Children, however, are dependent upon parents, in their eyes, more so then they are in God. Having no need for God, as they see it, is part of the problem. In dealing with teenagers, the largest obstacle we overcome is the thinking that they don’t need God. Often, this is a subconscious thinking process that is difficult for a teenager or child to articulate.

Essentially, until they find themselves in a situation where no one can help but God, they may not fully turn to God. This is the problem with children. They don’t understand or see their need for God. After all, most, if not all, of their needs are supplied by their parents.

The solution is to build an appetite for God that is not built on need. I don’t need french-fries, but I built an appetite as a child for them and have never gotten away from it! Many of you don’t need chocolate, but you have an appetite, a craving, for it that is not built on need. Eventually, a child will grow up and discover how much they need God-because they certainly do. Until then, you will have to build in them an appetite for God.

DON’T USE GOD AS A WHIP OR A WEAPON

This is important. When a child messes up or does something wrong, don’t tell them that God is mad at them or that God hates them. Don’t use God to punish your children. They will begin to associate God with anger, rage, and punishment. This is not a good way to build an appetite for God.

If every time you ate chocolate you got severe stomach cramps and threw up, would you have a desire for chocolate? Of course not. So don’t use God, Jesus, or the Bible to punish your children.

Don’t make them read the Bible as punishment, or pray, or go to Church. These things are to help build an appetite, not to punish your children.

The reverse is also true. Don’t strip God from your children as punishment for messing up. If there is a Church activity and your child does something wrong, don’t strip God or Church as punishment. Take away the Nintendo, or the TV, but not God!

Always allow God to be an appetite they may indulge in.

TIPS ON GETTING YOUR CHILDREN TO LIKE GOING TO CHURCH

Church will become associative with your parenting. So many people I talk to claim they don’t go to Church because they were forced to as a kid. It’s an absurd argument, because they still take showers and brush their teeth despite being forced to as a child. The problem lies in the association.

Make going to Church the highlight of the week. Do things on Sunday that you never do anytime else! After services, go to McDonalds or something. Have a family activity that the kids all look forward to. They will begin to associate Church with you, and doing things fun as a family. This will begin to build an appetite for Church.

Serve in the Church and have your family serve with you. Make it fun!

TIPS ON GETTING YOUR CHILDREN TO LIKE READING THE BIBLE

One thing that I allow my children to do is this: if they are reading their Bible or asking Bible questions, they can stay up for as long as they want. This incentive to stay up is powerful. My sons will ask questions or read their Bible to stay up. They always get sleepy and fall asleep before too long, but suddenly their Bible is a way not to go to bed when they want to stay up. Very quickly, they learn to love their Bible!

We’ll often have contests with the Children. We’ll say something like, for every page of the Bible they read they can play 20 minutes of Nintendo Wii. In order to play a lot, they will read a lot. I require that they ask me questions over what they read too. It is amazing how rapt they get in their Bible.

When the Bible becomes a source of privilege and opportunity, they will soak it up! They will build an appetite for the Bible.

TIPS ON MAKING PRAYER INTERESTING

I never require my children to pray. I ask them if they want to. However, when something happens, even minor, I always stop and tell them I’m going to pray. Then I pray for them and the minor thing that happened to them.

Say that one of the boys gets hurt on his bike; I would tell him that I’m going to pray and ask God to help his knee to feel better. I’ll stop and pray right there. My children pick up on this and soon they stop to pray for anything and everything.

Recently, my six year-old and I were playing basketball with his two brothers. He was having all sorts of problems and he finally ran up to me, conspiratorially, and said, “Daddy, I prayed!” He prayed that he would win the basketball game! A bit selfish, but I’d rather he prayed selfishly than not pray at all!

At night, we pray with the children before they go to bed. I always ask them if they want to pray and I give suggestions of things to pray for. I understand their nature. My suggestions are both in their interests and in other’s interests. In other words, I’ll say something like, “Why don’t you pray for your soccer game tomorrow, and for mom’s doctor appointment.” Well, they most certainly are interested in praying for God to help them win a soccer game, and while they are at it, they’ll pray for mom’s appointment, even though they do not understand the gravity of the latter situation.

TIPS TO MAKE GOD REAL TO YOUR CHILDREN

I do this by pointing out all the things that God does in their life. It is not a hard thing to do if you are even slightly observant. It didn’t take long before I would say something like, “Daddy is the strongest man in the whole world!” Only a slight exaggeration that! But my children will always respond, “But not as strong as God! God is stronger than anyone!” True. So true.

Your children need to learn that God is active in their life. You’ll have to point out where God intervened, involved Himself, or demonstrated His power. It won’t be long before they will see God’s involvement themselves. God will become real to them.