The most influential people on earth aren’t presidents, CEOs, or billionaires, but parents of faith. Your family is the world’s most critical classroom, where the next generation is trained to love one another, become productive adults, and know God. It takes a family to raise a child, and families change the village.
Families are the nation’s foundation. So the devil unleashes all of Hell’s artillery against the family to destroy society’s foundation and wipe out our primary mission: loving God and bringing others to Him. That mission begins with parents.
Parenthood is one of life’s greatest privileges and heaviest responsibilities. Parents face fierce obstacles raising children today. But consider what Moses’ parents, Amram and Jochebed, faced. Pharaoh was on a mission to kill every male Hebrew baby born in Egypt. Moses survived because of his parents’ faith. They’re in God’s “Faith Hall of Fame,” Hebrews chapter 11, for what they did.
Faith’s Vision
Looking upon baby Moses, Amram and Jochebed knew God had a special destiny for his life. God has that for your child as well. Every child should be seen that way. They were people of
great faith. Make Psalm 112:1-2 one of your life verses: “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed.”
Believe God on behalf of your children! You can’t control their destinies, but you can certainly influence their destinies. Pray over your children. Ask God to show you His vision for them.
If your child has a disability, take your child’s unique gifts and challenges, and pray, “My child is a gift from You, God. Give me Amram and Jochebed’s faith to see Your plan for my child.”
Each child is special. Train each as God directs (Proverbs 22:6). Become the world’s best student of your children. Discover what God has put into them.
Faith’s Valor
Amram and Jochebed were raising Moses in the center of Egyptian culture devoted to idol worship and Pharaoh’s murderous decree. Their battle was spiritual. (See Ephesians 6:12.) So is ours! We fight and win by faith. Say, “By faith, in these dangerous days, we’re going to raise this child for Jesus.” It’s a challenge to be “steadfast, immovable” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Moses’ parents’ courageous choices not only spared Moses’ life but instilled a sure belief in the one true God.
Call upon God to give you the vision and valor to be the parents He wants you to be. Lead, nurture, and train your children while they’re still young, around your table. (See Psalm 128:3.)
Faith’s Venture
Real faith isn’t fanaticism: “Well, we’re just going to trust God.” Faith without works is dead. They did something—they hid Moses from Pharaoh’s henchmen.
Real faith is not fatalism: “Whatever will be.”
Real faith is having the courage to go against the culture and train your children. Guide your family by His Word. It’s your duty. Do you have them in a Bible-believing church? Are you training in your home by precept and example?
Be diligent, intentional, continually seeking ways to weave the goodness and character of God into the day’s events. (See Deuteronomy 6:6-7.) Point out God’s role in every facet of life.
If your children are grown, cover them in prayer, starting today. Ask God to work in their hearts, whatever their ages.
Faith’s Victory
Moses faced tremendous temptation, but his parents prayed, trained, and embedded truths in his heart a university couldn’t take away (Hebrews 11:24-27). Now he must choose: Pharaoh? Or God?
Moses made his decision by…
Evaluation
Through his upbringing, Moses learned that:
- future glories outweigh present pleasures.
- being a child of God far exceeds being a grandchild of Pharaoh.
- it is better to commit to the King of kings than the king of Egypt.
Teach your children to evaluate.
Determination
Having made that evaluation, Moses chose God.
Children won’t choose to live for God without proper values in their hearts, and you plant those values there. Our lives are measured by our choices.
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- We’re free to choose
- We’re not free not to choose
- We’re not free to choose the consequences of our choice
We choose…then the choice chooses for us.
Elimination
When parents implant the right values in their children’s hearts over consistent years of training and setting the example in their own lives, children will eliminate the poorer choice.
Continually show your children the riches of Christ. If you don’t, Egypt will have them. Be parents of faith. Faith’s Vision, Valor, and Venture will lead to Faith’s Victory.