Scriptures on Standby (Dennis Rainey)

A bit of grace from Dennis & Barbara Rainey...

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD. . . . He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. PSALM 1:2-3

 As our children grew up, Barbara and I decided that we would “embed” Scriptures in our children’s lives. We did this so that they would know how to make right choices in tempting circumstances. God’s Word has a way of bearing fruit at just the right time, proving that it is living and active. For example, as we read the Scriptures when our children were preteens, we started rehearsing different situations they would likely face later: What should a girl say to a boy who wants to park with her late at night? What should a boy do if a girl becomes sexually aggressive and starts making moves on him? We worked on making topics like these part of our regular conversation as we read the Bible and discussed how it intersected with real life and real decisions.

 This came together one day for our daughter Ashley when she was 13 and found herself in a situation with a boy she liked as a friend. He told her he wanted to kiss her. “Well, I’m not going to let you,” she replied. Undeterred, he shot back, “Well, I’m going to do it anyway.”

 “No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am.”

Finally, Ashley looked at him sternly and said, “You are not going to kiss me, because you are like a reed blowing in the wind, and I am a steel pole set in concrete.” Not an exact quotation of Psalm 1, but close enough to let this guy know that her God had weighed in on this situation. Do you want your children prepared to be able to withstand temptations? Embed the truth of God’s Word in their hearts.

DISCUSS

Talk about how you can do a better job of relating Scriptures to the issues your children are facing today. What are the best times of the day or week to embed the Scriptures in the lives of your children?

PRAY

Ask God to burden you with training your kids in His Word and to give you wisdom to know how to do it."

May the grace of God's word guide you today...