Ten Ways To Harden A Child's Heart Toward God. Written and Read By Michael Lee
About This Episode: You are probably familiar with the term, "hardening the heart" in both the New and Old Testaments. Essentially, it is what happens to the heart of a person when he receives the truth of God and it is rejected, or when a person hears untruths and it is believed. In either case, the heart of a person is hardened against God. How does this work in the hearts and minds of children? Read on and think deeply. General Information: As we search the Bible for answers to the question: How shall we raise our children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” we can see that the system for educating children was done primary by the parents in the home. However, the world in which we live now is quite different and the vast majority of parents use an educational system that is outside of the home and is that system is called the public schools, or the government schools. As we think about God’s instruction in the Bible, His primary concern was that the parents would fear and obey the Lord, remember to talk about God throughout the daily life of the family, and never expose themselves to the things that the world loves, or idolatry. He knew that fallen men and women were not strong enough to avoid falling in love with the world, so He warned them again and again about the consequences of their disobedience and the chastisement that would follow. There was a time in our country that trusting the teaching of your children to a person outside the family was not necessarily a terrible idea for Christians, but that was at a time when the majority of our countrymen were God fearing people and lived and taught based on Biblical commands and precepts. My view of history tells me that the time of trusting the public schools to teach the children of Christian parents in ways that are acceptable or agreeable, left us at least 70 years ago and the current environment is patently anti-Christian, and may even be described as demonic. To some, this may sound extreme, but as a person who was the administrator of a Christian school for 22 years, my contact with children and parents enrolling from the public schools provided me with a more than adequate insight to the horrors within. Based on my life experiences and the truth of the Bible, I have written several articles to which I ask your deep consideration. The articles were written advocating for parents to consider a traditional Christian school for their children, but the Biblical truths that govern my argument apply equally for parents to consider quality Christian homeschooling. The situation is dire: many Christian parents are doing the opposite of what God commands in the education of their children. God’s plan is to educate and soften the heart of a child towards Him and there are certain things that parents must do to be used by God in this way. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 says to parents: And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. And Ephesians 6:4 says it more comprehensively: Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. I hope the recordings herein will be a help to you as you fulfill your precious God given duties as parents. I also encourage you to also think of others in your sphere of influence and share this podcast for their benefit as well. You may request a PDF of these recordings by writing to me at Mike@CherishEphesians64.com or visiting the website www.CherishEphesians64.com
