Deuteronomy 6:6-7

NASB	NLT	VOICE
6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.	6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.	6 Make the things I’m commanding you today part of who are.
7 And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.	7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed when you are getting up.	7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you’re sitting together in your home and when you’re walking together down the road. Make them the last thing you talk about before you go to bed and the first thing you talk about the next morning

What are these words and commands? Remembering that God is our God alone, for there is no other God we follow, worship, and obey other than Him. We must love God with all of our heart, soul, and strength.

The people of Israel were called to make understanding God an integral part of our lives. For us, we do this through daily scripture reading, listening to sermon podcasts and worship music, and becoming involved in church communities. Also, teaching about God isn’t limited during Sunday School, Youth Group, Bible Studies, Small Group Gatherings, and Worship Services. It’s found in family meals, deep conversations, intentional listening, mindful decisions, nature walks, and everything in-between.

For the Israelites, religious education was life-oriented, not information-oriented. They used the context of daily life to teach about God. So, I work as a tax preparer. My studies through scripture have taught me a lot about caring for my neighbor, intentionally listening to their situations, learning and understanding ways to help them succeed in their goals, self-sacrificing hours and energy to ensure I am becoming the best tax preparer I can be, and more. This is just one example of how I can use my religious teachings and education in my day-to-day life. There are plentiful examples of how this can show up in relationships, family bonding, communities and friend circles, parenting, career work, and more. We need to embody when it means to love God with our emotions, intellect, decisions, strength, and faith.

Deuteronomy 4:9

NASB	NLT	VOICE
9 “Only be careful for yourself and watch over your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.	9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.	9 So watch what you do! Be careful with your very life! Don’t forget the things you saw with your own eyes, and don’t let them fade from your memory. Remember them your whole life; teach them to your children and your grandchildren.

Moses wanted to ensure that people didn’t forget to share everything they saw God do. He’s urging parents to teach their children about these miracles. What stories do you share about God’s work in your life? For me, I’ve shared my story about my sextortion incident and how that incident spiraled me into an inner peace with God and understanding of his justice. I’ve shared my story about being a young caregiver for my grandpa and how that matured me quickly. I’ve shared stories of past relationships and how God has walked me through to the other side of those battles.

This helped the parents of the time remember how faithful God is. This provided the means for passing on the stories from one generation to the next for many generations. Think about the generations within the Bible, all those stories and chapters we tend to ignore because they’re not important. A generation within the Bible is 40 years typically. It’s crazy to think about that in my context because I will be only 30 this year. I’ve lived only 75% of my generational gap. All my life situations have only quantified 75% of my generational period. My parents are another 40 years, and grandparents are another 40 years, so on. 50 generations of life between the time of Jesus and us today. 80 generations between Moses and us. All this time has allowed us to still share the stories, both good and bad, about Moses and how God interceded on their life.

Ephesians 6:4

NASB	NLT	VOICE
4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.	4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord.	4 And, fathers, do not drive your children mad, but nurture them in the discipline and teaching that come from the Lord.

The purpose of parental discipline should be to help children grow into mature adults and Christians – and not to irritate and provoke them into anger or frustration. In my experience (granted I’m not a parent) – you cannot push your children into a relationship with God or into anything that they’re not already bought into. Kids nowadays are in a why-centric mindset and the classic cliché responses are not good enough. We need to be both a little more knowledgeable about what we’re teaching children and lead by example. When I was doing youth ministry work, I learned this the hard way, but it showed up in droves. Kids didn’t do things because I forced them or told them to do it because I’m an adult. We bought them in. We shared with them the vision of how we wanted to do things and did it. They took charge. They had a say. They had responsibility. And therefore, they had the ability to correct others or themselves when things didn’t go right. Yes, there were still plenty of times where I had to get involved for discipline, but that happened less and less the more and more they bought into what we were doing.

Frustration and anger are not sources of discipline. They are emotional reactions to situations. Discipline should come after those emotional reactions are had and a conversation can happen to work out a mutual solution. The corrections should be down in love and wisdom, treating their children in a way that Jesus treats us. We must be firm in giving instruction but also encouraging them as to why this way is beneficial to them.

Next slice of Manna: Manna for the Mind #183