Leading Our Children to the Throne of Grace

Devotional times...what does that mean, exactly?
We are to live a life of devotion to the LORD.
We are to guide our little (and not so little) ones
to do the same.
How do we go about it?

"...precept upon precept; line upon line...
here a little, and there a little."
Isaiah 28:10 selected

Daily.
In the rhythm of life.
With the LORD's help and grace.
We cannot do it in our own strength ~
We need HIM each step of the way!

When we sit down, and rise up, and walk by the way ~
taken from Deuteronomy 6:7.

While the children are young, we have a morning devotional
time with them ~ one on one, or one on two.
When the children begin to mature in their own walk with the LORD,
we encourage them to get alone with God and His Word
before the day begins.

We gather as a family after the evening meal.
We set the time aside to read and pray and sing.
The focus is God's Word.
We systematically read through a few verses at a time
(sometimes the entire chapter)
as we make our way through a book of the Bible.
We discuss the questions that may arise.
The Word of God is held in high esteem ~
other books are helps, but not the focus.

We also use the London Baptist Confession of 1689 which
C.H. Spurgeon held to in his congregation about 150 years ago ~
it is solely based on Scripture and features a question and answer format.
We have found it to be very beneficial in grounding us in those things
that are to be held fast to in our faith...a great blessing!

Do we sound PERFECT?
WE are NOT ~
but HE is!
AND we look to HIM for the way to go.
We need HIM to lead us as we lead our young ones.

All of the books pictured above, and linked to below,
have been a blessing to our family over the years.
The boys have each used "A Faith to Grow On"
for their own personal quiet times in days gone by.
Pastor John MacArthur teaches the basic truths of God's Word
faithfully in an easy to understand format...
in "bite-sized" chunks.

The book pictured above has a different cover than the one
you will find at the link provided, but the content is the same.

The "Miller Family Series"
of books incorporates Biblical truths into stories
that each of our children have enjoyed.
We have used these books as read-aloud supplements
to the Word of God during quiet times.
The Miller family is fictional and the stories are set
in an Amish community.

Another amazing book is a rewrite of the classic by Bunyan.
We have read it aloud to our children more than once, much to their delight.
"Little Pilgrim's Progress"is true to the original
and is certainly appropriate for any young teen.

Don't steer clear of it if your children are younger,
you will all benefit from reading it out loud ~
it has been an INCREDIBLE blessing to both of us as parents
as well as our children.

One word of caution if you will be reading this to young children ~
Please be aware that this is a faithful adaptation of the classic,
which means that there are some potentially frightening scenes included.
These deal with Christian's struggles with various enemies as he
journeys to the Celestial City.

Helen L. Taylor is the author and she does a wonderful job of
simplifying this beautiful Christian Classic.
You will not likely find it in your local Christian bookstore.
If you click on the titles above, you will find that they link
to the sites where they can be purchased.

"Leading Little Ones to God"
has a more in depth and thorough handling of the Doctrines of Scripture.
Do not be afraid to delve into these deeper truths with your children...
they are very rich and necessary for their appreciation of the God we serve.
This book has chapters that are usually only a couple of pages long ~
a very manageable amount for family devotional times.
You will likely find that the ideas presented here will
facilitate wonderful discussions with your children.
Once again, the cover is different from the one you will find at the link,
but the content largely remains the same.

Seek, with the Lord's help, to set aside time each day
to have devotions with your children.
It is vital to their Spiritual growth and
to their knowledge of the Holy.
We are, after all, called to this ~
"Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6

May the LORD give us each the enabling, the strength,
and the grace to carry out this all-important calling.
HE is able!

In Him,
Camille


*A repost from the archives with some new information added
*Resources recommended from our experience only ~
not compensated or solicited