| STRENGTHENING YOUR MARRIAGE
|
| LESSON 10: Goals for Children (and Adults)
|
1. Love of God ( Deuteronomy 6:5-9
)
2. Love of Neighbor ( John 14:21
)
3. Character ( Matthew 16:24-25
)
4. Principles of Decision-Making ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17
)
- ¨ Deuteronomy 6:1-9
: Children are to be
taught the law, to be remembered, and not to be forgotten, in
order for them to pass God's truth on to others. God's truth is
to be taught at home; we are not to rely on school, church, etc.
- ¨ The primary responsibility of parents is to secure
the child's welfare and the child's soul on the basis of eternal
values and the teaching of Scriptures.
- ¨ The child's career or popularity in the world are secondary
factors. As the child learns to depend on God, to learn God's
ways, His thoughts, His principles, to learn to honor, to please
and to glorify God, then His heavenly Father will take care of
the child's needs on this earth. As the child depends on God in
everything, God will take care of everything else. (See Matthew
6:33.)
- ¨ All of the above is the long-range plan; reduce it
to the level of the child, which is the short-range goal.
- ¨ Code of conduct is essential; that is, a system of
rewards and punishment are necessary in order to control behavior.
- ¨ The goal of the parent is to teach the child to gradually
be independent of the parent in order to be completely dependent
upon God.
PRIORITIES FOR A MARRIED WOMAN (see Psalm 128:3; John
15:5-8; Galatians 5:22-23
)
- Her relationship with God
- Her ministry to her family
- Her development of a godly character
- Her expression of godly conduct toward other people in and
out of the home.
PRIORITIES FOR A MARRIED MAN
1. To be in awe of God; to worship the beauty of the Lord.
- Psalm 128:1-4: The God-fearing man who reverently
fears and worships God enables God's blessings to flow into the
home.
- Jeremiah 32:38-40
: We are not inclined to fear
God, but God will inspire us as we ask and beseech Him.
- Psalm 25:12: To develop fellowship, partnership,
communion with God in order to establish God's will and purposes
on earth through his family and associations.
2. To be a man of prayer. As the spiritual head, he is to lead
the way.
- Ephesians 1:17-19
; 3:16-19
: To know God and
His ways, that God's personality be expressed fully through the
husband. Through prayer, this wholesome fear of God will be nurtured
and increased and enable the man to build his family God's way.
3. To be a meditator.
- Psalm 46:10: A priorityÄ"be still
and know that I am God." Meditating on God requires spending
time learning Scripture, learning about the person and work of
Jesus, developing a God-conscious and Christ-centered life.
THE ESTABLISHED HEART
- ¨ Romans 8:31
: If God is with me, no one
can successfully be my enemy.
- ¨ 1 Corinthians 3:3
: The human standard
is the sense-ruled mind which engenders fear, sickness, poverty,
and weakness.
- ¨ James 1:5-8
: A mind dominated by God's
thoughts, nature and ways is a Word-ruled mind that is never prepared
to fail.
- ¨ 1 Corinthians 2:16
: We have the mind
of Christ; therefore, we have the thoughts and purposes of His
heart. We are either ruled by impulses or God's Word. Being ruled
by God's Word, no matter what happens, we can stand unruffled
and unaffected. And as we do this, we bring glory to the Father;
we bring joy to Jesus; and we bring victory to our own hearts.
HOMEWORK
- ¨ Work Out and Complete Unit 8 in "Strengthening
Your Marriage," pages 146-151.
AMEN!
( Genesis 1:26
)